Had I known Angèle had new music coming in March, I wouldn't have posted her in February.
I literally could not wait any additional time to post her newest single today. It's in English and French, and it is just a GREAT pop song. Teaming up with electronic duo Justice, they have made possible the most accessible and obvious hit song for both of them - and since it was written by Angèle herself (with composition contribution by Justice), it's clear she's well in tune with what makes a hit.
The video was shot on iPhone. No joke. And it's completely unhinged.
Indeed, she is Chinese - raised in Hunan province - and got her big break on Korean and Chinese reality TV shows.
She released her new EP Teenage Ramble in 2025, and this song as its lead single. It's superficial, poppy... and an awful lot of fun. Co-written by the artist and producer Yu Zeng, the song is definitely CONSTRUCTED, but also PERFORMED and performed and constructed WELL by Liu.
She's young, yes, but also, she has a hell of a stage presence, as can be seen in this 2024 performance of the song. Even before this song was released as a single, she had the crowd LOVING it.
This is probably the weirdest song I've ever posted.
"But it doesn't sound weird".... well, actually, the entire concept of the album was strange. You see, Ariane Roy, Thierry Larose and Lou-Adriane Cassidy are all popular musicians in the francophone music scene in Quebec. They are also tremendous friends and have regularly appeared on each other's albums.
In 2024, the three of them did a few shows together where they were all the headliners - Le (Ariane) Roy, (Thierry) la Rose, and Lou[p](-Adriane Cassidy) (this structure was a throwback to similar groups like this from the 1970s).... and then they released a live album - called Le Roy, la Rose et le Lou[p] - where each of them had 1/3 of the songs, and then they all got together and performed a theme song with all of them together.... the title song named after the three performers, written by the performers and Alexandre Martel (songwriting and romantic partner of le Lou[p] (and songwriting partner of la Rose, to be fair)).
But when I tell you that Fionn is by far my most listened to artist so far in 2026, this cover of the Fastball classic is a big reason for this.
OK, sure, it's really Felix Cartal's song - he's providing the music while the Finn-Morris twins are giving you the great harmonies - but c'mon. He's not why you're here.
This video was filmed in five hours in Mission, British Columbia. And yes, they did turn a motor vehicle into a ball pit.
I have traditionally saved the last day of March for the last few years for a newer artist I have recently discovered that has been on heavy rotation for me.
For this last day of March, I'm going to talk about a band I only just discovered a few months ago.
In fact, I first heard them and their latest album, scum., on December 10th of last year. It was so good, I rated it my 16th favorite album of 2025. Let's read what some critic said about them:
"Fionn’s scum. is pure femme‑rage pop‑rock, a tight, snarling little record where every chorus feels like finally saying the thing you swallowed at work, at the bar, on stage. Songs like “Blow” and the title track turn mansplaining, bad exes and low‑level everyday misogyny into sugar‑rush guitar anthems, all Veruca Salt/Elastica‑coded hooks and twin‑sister harmonies that made this one of my go‑to “I'm pissed, but I need to be pissed safely” albums of 2025." - literally me.
Since then, I've had a chance to live with Fionn's catalog and music. Not only would I rate scum. higher now than I did in December - and spoiler alert, I'm going to revisit that list - it's likely a top 10 album and woefully underappreciated. They are my most listened to artist so far in 2025 - and I have branched out further than their latest album.
Today's song is the title song from their 2023 set that featured the same femme-rage pop rock and same twin sister harmonies - and may have been been a little angrier.
I kind of like the Vancouver-based harmonies even more live. And, here, you can tell that - although they do have a drummer - the signature sound is all Alanna and Brianne Finn-Morris's work.
Yes, the band's name is a play on their last name.
I think this video probably shows best why Fionn's music resonates with me.
I was looking through my drafts after hearing last night's tribute to her on the JUNOS as she received the Lifetime Achievement Award... and it was given to her by the literal Prime Minister, Mark Carney. I've never been a huge Joni Mitchell fan - but she was a fantastic songwriter and performer.
Sarah McLachlan and Alison Russell did a brilliant job performing this song in tribute... and then Joni walked out on stage and tried to perform as well... but her mic wasn't working for some reason. I feel like someone else up there could have given her a working microphone... but anyway. Because she got cut off from singing more, I wanted to make sure *I* paid tribute to her here.
This performance is from 1970 and the Isle of Wight festival.
Now, what is maybe not so well-remembered is that she also won a lot of Grammy Awards... and her last win came in 2024, with her live album from the Newport Festival. She performed this song live in the ceremony that year, and it was very different sounding.... not just her voice, which was huskier, sure, but also a woman who had lived a life and a GREAT one at that.
A year ago, I had no idea who Lou-Adriane Cassidy was.
Well, I will admit that I have a draft from 2024 of one of her songs for this blog. I literally didn't realize that until I was writing this post.
Three months ago, I declared her FIRST 2025 album, Journal d'un Loup-Garou, my favorite album of 2025. I would reconsider a number of my 2025 list choices. THAT is not one of them. CLEAR best album of 2025. If that album had not won the Francophone album of the year at the JUNOS this weekend (which, of course it did), I would have been shocked!
One of the choices I would reconsider is on my honourable mentions list - and it is Triste Animal, Lou-Adriane Cassidy's SECOND 2025 album. Whereas the former tells a huge, sweeping story, the latter is more intimate - a quieter, different-sounding album. Both albums deserved top 10 spots, and I really hope Triste Animal is a Polaris consideration this year.
So, what better way to show you a frustrated waltz than a huge crowd?
I think it's telling that there aren't really videos for the songs on Triste Animal. There's just her, her huge voice, and the strong emotion from the songs she wrote with Alexandre Martel.
YES, that is Thierry Larose on guitar. Let's just dispense with that right now.
But if you REALLY want to hear the studio version, here ya go. It's still pretty great!
Lou-Adriane Cassidy and Thierry Larose will return.
I know we talk about the Polaris Music Prize an awful lot here.
However, the shortlist for that prize has a long history of excellent music.
The OBGM's (Oooh Baby Gimme More) 3rd album, Sorry It's Over, was shortlisted for the Polaris Prize last year, and is nominated for a JUNO award this weekend. The album is an angry and noisy sonic masterpiece, and you should check it out.
The band got a big break from an audition for a Budweiser ad, when the black Canadian-fronted band went from being booked for "urban" gigs to punk festivals.
I mentioned that they were black Canadian-fronted. In the video above, you saw Densil McFarlane.
In this live video, you can see that they're a Canadian punk band and no other adjective matters.
cootie catcher are a band from Sheboygan, Wisconsin.
I'm kidding. They're from Toronto.
For those unfamiliar with Canada, three guesses as to what province Toronto is in. For those familiar with Canada, THEY LITERALLY WROTE A SONG ABOUT THEIR HOME PROVINCE.
I mean, they didn't write a POSITIVE song about their home province, but they DID write it.
From their 2023 EP 5678, this is a great representation of the lo-fi pop music cootie catcher has been making for years.
Did you realize that we've never posted Nelly Furtado during March?
We didn't.
Which is a shame, because on Sunday, Nelly Furtado - who announced her retirement from live performances that she better be breaking tonight - is inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame. And, really, we should have given her more due before today.
So, we chose this song, co-written by Furtado, Jim Beanz, and producers Timbaland (who appears on a different Nelly Furtado song that was an even bigger hit than this one, and who also provides background vocals to this) and Danja (who ALSO contributes background vocals), that is Nelly's 2nd biggest hit in Canada (to date, I presume), making it to #2 in 2006.
Of COURSE she went on Letterman and performed the hell out of the song.
This is the last regular post I'm writing for this year's Maple Leaf March. I think. I may write more stuff. We'll see.
Triples is the Toronto-based musical project of Eva Link - singer, songwriter, guitarist and actor. It wasn't always that way - it started off as a joint venture between Eva and her sister, Madeline. This song, from their 2019 album Big Time, is from the days it was a duo - and you can see they both appear and sing here.
I lied. THIS is the last regular post I'm writing for this year's Maple Leaf March. I think. I may write more stuff. We'll see.
PACKS is the Toronto-based musical project of Madeline Link - singer, songwriter, guitarist and onetime actor. It wasn't always that way - she started off with a joint venture with her sister, Eva, called Triples - but Madeline left when PACKS became too much of a demand.
There's no acrimony between the sisters, by the way. They're still very close.
PACKS's 2024 album Melt The Honey gives the same Liz Phair/Juliana Hatfield vibes, and it is really good. This is the title song from that set.
Unlike Triples, we have some live material we can share from PACKS.... like this show from 2023, prior to the album release. You can see that Madeline is an excellent, if not a little shy, frontwoman... and that the rich sounds from Packs is not just one person, but a whole band.
This is the last regular post I'm writing for this year's Maple Leaf March. I think. I may write more stuff. We'll see.
Triples is the Toronto-based musical project of Eva Link - singer, songwriter, guitarist and actor. It wasn't always that way - it started off as a joint venture between Eva and her sister, Madeline - but Madeline left when the success of her project, PACKS, became too much of a demand.... so it became Eva's project.
It's pretty good, too - her 2026 EP Every Good Story gives solid Liz Phair/Juliana Hatfield vibes. "Be Around" closes the set, and it is a love song that was inspired by Eva's relationship with her boyfriend and the honeymoon period she experienced at the beginning of it.
By the way, Inuktitut was a great album, but it wasn't the first time Elisapie had sung in that language.
This song was the lead song and single from her 2018 album The Ballad of the Runaway Girl, a multilingual masterpiece, with songs in Inuktitut, English and French - years before Rosalía showed off being a polyglot.
The album got Elisapie a Juno nomination and her first Polaris shortlist. The song - the title translates to "Woman" in English and speaks to the strength of women - is absolutely masterpiece level work.
I debated which of the many excellent live performances of this song to share with you.
I chose this one, from CBC Music, which shows 1) it's a clearly guitar-driven song and 2) the song has a slow burn and slow build to an epic conclusion.
But also, I couldn't not share this performance from Seattle, WA, UNITED STATES radio station KEXP - from 2024, when she was touring in support of Inuktitut. This 2018 song was epic and iconic enough to make the cut for the short setlist.
Just because she released an album called Inuktitut does not mean that she doesn't speak English.
Or write her own songs.
Indeed, this song is both original and in English. Her 2012 album Travelling Love was completely in English. Of course, as a Quebec artist who also happens to identify as First Nations, she's at least trilingual, and a lot of her earlier music was in English.
Fun story - she received a 2012 Juno Award nomination timed with this album, in the Breakthrough Artist category...... but she had previously won a Juno in 2005, so the nomination was rescinded.
This song, co-written by the artist, is one of my favorites from her early career. It's just a sweet pop song. It is here for you to enjoy.
Do I understand every cultural reference in every song I post? Nope. Especially I don't understand some from Quebec.
Do you know who does? Quebecois indie singer-songwriter Thierry Larose.
And I feel like I am missing a cultural reference here. Maybe one of you can tell me what it is.
At any rate, this was the title song from Larose's debut album, cowritten by the artist and a large team, including Charles-Antoine Olivier (who also plays drums on this song) and Alexandre Martel (no joke, he's banging the congas and tambourine here), with whom he won the 2021 SOCAN Songwriting Prize - for a different song, but just to show you that he's got a solid team with strong chops surrounding him.
I don't care that this song is in French. I care that it's a great song that would sound in place on any indie radio station.
We talk a lot about the Polaris Music Prize on here. Mostly because it does honour really great Canadian music. Hell, I could do a Polaris month at this point.
Until last year, it honored albums only. Last year, they partnered with SOCAN and gave out a song award as well. This was the winner, and given what was going on in the world last year that I hope as of the time this blog post is published (I'm literally writing it the day after the win) is resolved because it's awful, it makes an awful lot of sense.
This song was a big single from Mustafa (the Poet)'s album DUNYA, which was also shortlisted for last year's album prize. It was good, and heartfelt, and a very pretty album, and this is a beautiful, emotional song.
This is a single from DAPHNI, which is a project by Canadian electronic musician Dan Snaith. On this single, he collaborated with CARIBOU, which is a project by Canadian electronic musician Dan Snaith.
Yep. He collaborated with himself.
Which, well, is kind of fun.
DAPHNI's new album Butterfly was released last month, and, well, it's a bright, happy electronic sound (unlike CARIBOU, which is darker). I enjoyed it, and I hope you do, too!
Last year, Polaris Prize-winning artist Debby Friday released yet another great electronic album, The Starrr of The Queen of Life.
Debby isn't necessarily a typical Canadian artist - she's signed to Seattle record label Sub Pop, she was born in Nigeria - but the Montreal-raised and Vancouver-based artist is certainly the embodiment of everything that is great about Canadian music and why I dedicate approximately 1/12 of the year and a solid 10-15% of the posts on this blog to Canadian music - because it's innovative and fun and exciting and unlike anything you hear anywhere else on earth.
Also, Canadian artists tend to put on a hell of a show no matter the genre, and you can see that Debby has the way-too-small early day crowd in the palm of her hand.... and brings ALL the energy to this very cool song.
This song is the first one she wrote and performed, while she was undergoing cancer treatment. It also appears on her 2017 debut album Landing.
The thing about this song is, it's one that requires the artist and a piano..... and it's much easier to see just how personal this song is to her in a live setting, especially an intimate one.
Part of me really feels terrible pulling out more francophone content when most of my audience is English-speaking.
Part of me knows that 2 of my top three posts of all time are by artists from Quebec (yes, doing anglophone songs, but stay with me). Francophone content does very well here.
And, since Beyries's latest album Reprises made my Wicked 25, and remains one of the few artists I have not otherwise discussed, let's talk about her.
Amélie Beyries was a public relations professional until age 28... when she was diagnosed with breast cancer. During her treatment (she's twenty years past that, guys), she discovered songwriting and began making music as a career.
This song, with music written by the artist, is from her 2024 album Du feu dans les lilas, which is an excellent francophone set from an artist who seamlessly glides back and forth between English and French. It's absolutely beautiful - so I hope you enjoy it.
You thought you were getting away with no Carly Rae Jepsen this March?
Nope.
But we went OLD. We went to her debut album, from the pre-"Call Me Maybe" times. This was the title song and main single off that album - written by Jepsen and her producer, Ryan Stewart. It was her first Canadian hit - and second single overall - peaking at #36 on the Canadian Top 100 and doing better on adult contemporary radio.
This album and single were released in 2008, a year after her third place Canadian Idol finish. Bonus points if you can name the top 2.
It's a song about her begging a guy to stay in with her tonight.
I love these "before they were really famous" performances, because you can see her excitement, even back then.
I find myself coming back to the Hip more the older I get.
And why wouldn't I? They're clear Canadian music royalty. And this song - from their 1993 album Fully Completely - is quintessentially Canadian - named for the line that separates the East from the prairies, running somewhere between Winnipeg and Regina, really close to the western shores of Lake Winnipeg.
Yep. I looked it up.
But it was more than that. It was a song about being at the edge - the brink - and pressing forward.
Written by the band, it was a top 20 hit in Canada and a top 40 hit at US rock radio - further cementing their legendary status.
I think my Canadian fans know and by now my worldwide fans know as well that lead vocalist Gord Downie passed away in 2017, and the 2016 tour was their farewell. Their last shows, in their hometown of Kingston, Ontario, were nationally televised and watched by 1/3 of the Canadian population.
Of course they played a spirited performance of this song. Note the faster tempo and extended jam break.
Also, we really miss Gord Downie and we're not afraid to say it.
Daniel Caesar is a great up-and-coming R&B singer who happens to be from Toronto.
And by "up-and-coming", I mean multiple Grammy-nominated and Grammy-and-Juno-winning, #1-hit-singing singer/songwriter.
He's a big deal, who has had some big collaborations with other hitmakers like Justin Bieber, Kali Uchis, and H.E.R.
This song - a non-album single that was the b-side to his mega hit "Get You" - ended up being his first charting hit, reaching high on the Adult R&B charts in the US and running up some pretty impressive streaming numbers.
So, when he first appeared on the NPR Tiny Desk in 2018, it makes sense that he'd lead off with this song.
Well, here we go. It's everyone's favorite Canadian cringecore queen, Sophie Powers.
What else do you want me to say here?
That she's releasing music slowly but virally and it seems to be working?
That she's got an alter ego for her goofy stuff (yeah, I'm pretty sure now) and her main stage name (because Powers is not her real last name) is getting more serious?
That this song is an early, old single, released in 2021, and it's really strong? And leans serious?
That she designs her own outfits?
That her mom is proud of her?
It's nice to see a mom so proud.
That she's clearly Canadian? And that I'm pretty sure this video was filmed in Toronto because the CN Tower makes an appearance?
OK, I guess we can say all that.
But can we say we have a strong live performance of the song?
Yep, we can.
OK, but a cringecore artist like this can't duplicate that, right?
Emmanuelle Querry's website says the following about her:
"Emmanuelle Querry est une autrice-compositrice-interprète émergente de la scène francophone, qui se distingue par une pop assumée et sensible, nourrie d’influences R&B et électroniques."
I don't know. I don't speak French.
I'm kidding. It calls her confident yet sensitive, and infused with electronic and R&B influences.
Her debut album, Au 10ᵉ étage, was released in early February, and I encourage you to give it a listen. It's really good.
Did I mention she was from Quebec? Yeah. She's big in the Montreal club scene.
It was important to me that I start this post like I have started no other in this blog's history - leading with the music.
In his life, Gord Downie, leader of the Tragically Hip, was a board member and vocal supporter of Lake Ontario Waterkeeper - which is now known as Swim Drink Fish after merging with other like-minded organizations - who are concerned with preserving the water and the culture of the lakes and waterways surrounding the Great Lakes and Lake Ontario specifically.
He was a great public speaker - which a lot of people did not know - and he once told a story at one of the LOW events, in April 2015 - about the drop off. Alex Lifeson heard this beautiful spoken word piece, and it stuck with him.... so when Rheostatics put together The Great Lakes Suite, they took Gord's beautiful words, and put them to music.
Gord Downie passed away in 2017, but his words from that Waterkeeper Gala are still with us. And below, they are without music.
Learn more about Swim Drink Fish at www.swimdrinkfish.ca - and donate in Gord's memory if you are able .
I did not have a new Rheostatics album on my 2025 bingo card.
I didn't have a GREAT Rheostatics album on it, at all.
You see, I wasn't really a big fan of Rheostatics before 2025.
And then they released The Great Lakes Suite, a concept album around the Great Lakes. And critics were kind to the album, such as this great one quoted below:
"I was not a Rheostatics person, which is exactly why it shocked me how hard The Great Lakes Suite landed: a sprawling, mostly improvised love letter to the lakes that turns geography into this wild, shifting soundscape. Alex Lifeson and Hugh Marsh are here, but the moment that really broke me is “The Drop Off,” built around a haunting spoken‑word recording from the late Gord Downie about Lake Ontario and water stewardship – it’s like having a ghost of Canadian music history standing in the middle of the suite, reminding you why this landscape matters.
This song, written by Kevin Hearn, closes the album, and it is a beautiful, sweeping piece about the Lakes and their status as an inland sea. Alex Lifeson of Rush joined the band on guitar.
Have they had a chance to perform the song live yet?
Of course they have, and Alex Lifeson joined them for that, too!
Honestly, I knew there was gonna be a Lights song come March. Probably today, but because things happened, I had to rearrange.
Because I WAS going to intentionally skip posting one day in February to make something happen.
And then I did not. Because I got sick of rearranging things.
And then more things happened and I just moved this back. Because it was just easier.
On January 28th, she very much told me (and all Lights fans) exactly what song that was gonna be.
You see, that's the day she released the song "COME GET YOUR GIRL" and its accompanying video, two days before she released A6EXTENDED, the deluxe edition of her fantastic 2025 album A6, about which one critic said:
More than a decade after Siberia and Little Machines, A6 is the first Lights record that really feels like it belongs beside them - not as a sequel, but as their evolved equal. It’s a neon‑soaked grief diary that shows she is still the blueprint for the new wave of alt-pop, folding the heavier, LŪN‑era electronics into synth‑pop songs about damage, numbness and clawing your way back to yourself. she manages to make the "glitch-pop" trend feel grounded and visceral rather than just aesthetic, hitting with the urgency of someone rebuilding in real time. - Literally me.
Yeah, I put A6 #7 on my 2025 list.
This video is why I put it there. If you are a Lights fan and you recognize the scenes from the "Second Go", "Toes", "Running With The Boys", "Giants", or "Prodigal Daughter" videos (guess we have our next two Lights posts written), you have a sharp eye. The scenes from those videos are recreated pretty meticulously (no idea if the scenes were redone or if these are digitally enhanced versions of the originals but I'm leaning towards the former) (Edit: I know now that they were, indeed, redone), but she's clearly singing the song, today, modern-day. It's definitely 2026 Lights, not 2011 Lights with her lips changed.
The song (after which her 2026 tour is named) is also great, but dang, the video is distractingly good.
Today is NOT the 2000th post on Wicked Guilty Pleasures. It was supposed to be, but stuff happens. #1000 was mentioned above. THAT, I did not plan.
Yeah, it was supposed to be 2000. Oh well.
But because we did some rearranging, we get to heard this song, live, from February 26th!!!!!
Yes, the band named after their neighborhood in old Toronto is probably just gonna be posted here every year now.
No, seriously, this map is from Wikipedia.
And while the rest of the world learned about them because Jordan Miller decided to write a song about Brett Emmons, they've actually been making music for more than a decade. Today's song is from their 2021 EP Future Lovers, and it has an ever-so-slightly poppier sound than their current stuff - but it's still pretty excellent.
The band doesn't play this song much anymore, but when they do, they play it as part of a medley I had to crudely edit, and yes, my sister is very excited to hear it.
Saya was the daughter of classical musicians - and parents who TAUGHT music, both privately and at world-renowned institutions. She has released two albums. In 2025, she released SAYA, which was shortlisted for the Polaris Prize and, according to one critic:
"Saya Gray’s SAYA is like scrolling through someone’s brain: songs splinter mid‑phrase, guitars and strings smear into each other, and you’re never quite sure where the groove is going to land. It’s dense and sometimes disorienting - it's not an easy listen, and even took a few listens for me to connect - but once it clicks, it becomes the thing to put on when regular alt‑pop feels too tidy and you want something to gently pull your head apart and rewire it for 40 minutes." - literally me
I sincerely liked the album on first listen, but with subsequent listens, it went from pretty good album to absolutely chaotic and indispensable soliloquy on heartbreak. This song is one of the more upbeat on the album and it makes me smile, every time.
I mentioned Polaris, and yeah, she performed this song at the Polaris Concert and Award Ceremony.
I didn't get too deep into it above, because I wanted you to SEE that 1) she's an absolute wizard on the guitar and 2) her vocal range is next level
This wasn't special for Polaris. She's just that good.
And she opened her NPR Tiny Desk Concert - a year ago - with this song, too.
This time, I'm here because, as part of my 1000 albums listening project which is quickly turning into a 2000 albums listening project, I listened to Shad's acclaimed second album, The Old Prince, which is far less Kanye and far more Big Willie Style than his later work that was previously featured.
And, I posted on Instagram that I loved The Old Prince. And, to be fair, several other albums.
I got one response. Guess which London, Ontario based rapper was the responder?
To be fair, Lights liked it, too. But she didn't respond
So, yeah, that day, I said to myself, "Next March, we are telling all TWELVE blog readers about The Old Prince and how great it is." Because it is.
It's a fun, modern hip-hop classic that sounds timeless, with an award-winning video that seems inspired by a trip to Bel Air or something. The song is very much about... well, still living at home.
The Old Prince was very much short-listed for the 2008 Polaris Prize, and although he didn't win, he did perform this song at the gala.
And the performance is a classic. He does it LIVE, with instruments. In the lead-up, you can hear he credits Common and Lauryn Hill as influences, and I definitely hear it.
What happens when you mix electropop and great storytelling?
You get Baby Nova, the stage name for Kayleigh O'Connor, who has been signed to a publishing deal since she was 16. Her earlier synth-folk sound has been replaced by something a little poppier, but still telling the good stories.
She's from Nova Scotia, so.... there's that.
In January, after a lot of singles, Baby Nova finally released her debut album, Shhugar, and it is delightful. Here's a single from that album that I hope is a worldwide hit by the time you read this.
This six-piece collective that originally started off as a bunch of street performers in 2004 ended up staying together for seven years, releasing three albums and cementing themselves in Quebec folk-country lore.
This is from their 2007 2nd album Kerosene & Coal, and is about a restaurant in Montreal. The video is mostly consisting of working class scenes from along the Lachine Canal in Montreal - they were a working-class group making working-class music.
I really wish they were still around, because they made some amazing music.
I always want to try to get you a live version, so you can see the band in action. THIS was hard, but this short live performance includes this song, and you can see the mellow dynamic of the band.
Oh, and keep listening. There's a lot of great songs they play.
Marie Davidson's 2025 album City of Clowns was shortlisted for the 2025 Polaris Prize.
And rightly so. Not only was it an innovative album that merged pop, techno, and... spoken word, it was, in the words of one great critic:
"City of Clowns is what happens when Marie Davidson points her dry, dark sense of humor at capitalism and nightlife and decides to dance on their graves instead of just eulogizing them. It’s electro, spoken word, satire and genuine anxiety all tangled together, and in a year obsessed with AI and hustle culture, this record felt like someone finally saying, “This is insane, right?” over a beat you can actually move to." - Literally me
She may be from Quebec, but her songs are international hits, and his album even hit the charts in the UK.
This was one of four singles from the album, and, in my opinion, the best of the four. Co-written by Davidson, Pierre Guerineau, and Belgian producers Soulwax, the song is kind of about awkwardness.
I know that the song is kind of about awkwardness because that's literally what she said when she opened the 2025 Polaris award show with THIS song.
So, when they quickly released a follow-up EP in the summer of 2025 called PENSACOLA, I was very much expecting to be disappointed.
Nope. JUST as spectacular. Just as incredible.
This is the title song from that EP. It is dark and brooding and a work of art. The video is just as dark and brooding and leans into their indigenous roots.
And yes. They're from Montreal.
They haven't really performed the EP's song very much, but they did at this show in October, when they were opening for Wombo.
OK, I know I'm pushing it with the francophone content. I promise I'll post an English-language song tomorrow.... from someone possibly not even from Quebec.
It would be a little funny if we posted an English-language song by someone from Quebec, wouldn't it?
Today, we're going to go ahead and just put that œ right on our clipboard, because we're talking about Cœur de Pirate and I just REFUSE to type it "oe". Nope, it's "œ" or it's nœthing.
Today's song, written by the artist, is the second single from her 2026 album Cavale, which is of course very good and pretty. This song really highlights her piano skills on top of her unique vocal.
I'd love to say she's going to win the Juno for Best Francophone Album this year (we're writing this before the nominations) but there's no way she beats Lou-Adriane Cassidy. (Yep. BEFORE the nominations are made, I'm making THAT bold prediction). Which our favorite heart of a pirate, who owns and leads Bravo Musique - the label that is the home to BOTH Cœur de Pirate AND Lou-Adriane Cassidy..... so she wins either way.
Juno winner or not, this song is gorgeous, and I think I like the piano edit - without the synth accompaniment - even better.
You would not think it based on my native language, but our March francophone content really traditionally does well.
Now, I don't usually open March with three straight days of it, but....
Anyway, Bibi Club, the Polaris-shortlisted duo from Montreal consisting of Nicolas Basque (of Plants and Animals, if you are so inclined) and Adèle Trottier-Rivard, just released a new album last Friday. This song, the first single and title song from the album, is cool and trippy and gives us Phantogram-meets-.... oh, I didn't think that analogy through very well. But really, rock-electronic duo from the Snow Belt of North America.... where else did you expect us to go with that.
Anyway, it's very good, and both written and produced by the duo. It is still a side project for now, but it's quickly becoming a core part of the Montreal music scene.
I've had drafts for Ariane Roy for years. I just needed an excuse to post her music.
So why not give her an individual day and take away from the Cassidy family funfest?
Well, Ariane Roy and Lou-Adriane Cassidy are very much friendly with each other - the latter literally had a song called "Ariane" on her album Journal d'un Loup-Garou. They did a live album together! And, if anything is going to take the Francophone Album of the Year award at the JUNOS away from Lou-Adriane Cassidy, it's Ariane Roy's excellent Dogue.
This song closes Dogue and is just great. Enjoy it.
I definitely did NOT expect last year that we'd be opening Maple Leaf March (which yes, I know. We opened yesterday - but, actually, as you'll see in a minute, still applies) with an artist I had not heard of.
ESPECIALLY not a francophone.
Here we are.
Daughter of famed Quebec singer Paule-Andrée Cassidy (see what we did there?) and Serge Lacasse, who was a professor of music at L'Université Laval, both had a profound influence on her career. No, she did not attend L'Université Laval - she forged her own path.
This song is from her excellent 2nd album Lou-Adriane Cassidy vous dit: bonsoir and it holds up well against her 3rd and 4th, both released in 2025 (her third topped my Wicked 25 in 2025 and her fourth ALMOST made it on the list, too). It's a short and lively French pop song that would fit on English radio just fine.
You can see how bouncy and lively the song is is she performs it - first, just like on the record. Also, the song is a little punk, isn't it????
I usually open Maple Leaf March with someone you have heard of, because I've written about them in the past.
Well, this year, I wanted to set a table - with an artist who most people outside of Quebec would never have heard of, despite her nearly 30-year career.
And, make no mistake - Paule-Andrée Cassidy is a legend in Quebec independent music. We've talked a lot here about the chanson francaise movement in Quebec, but she was one of the early adopters. She still makes music, too - this is from her 2023 album Au bal des océans. The song - co-written by Alexandre Martel (the producer), Gabriel Desjardins, Paule-Andrée and her daughter - is an absolute masterclass on a new classic album.
Well, I screwed up. I immediately published a scheduled post. So now we start Maple Leaf March a day early.
So, Goldie's nominated at the JUNOS next month, and I think she's got a shot.
Nominated in the Breakthrough Artist category, she's making fun, compelling pop music. Getting a big break opening for Katy Perry - even at this stage in her career - has really helped her immeasurably in reaching a larger audience.
From her 2025 album Goldie Boutilier Presents.... Goldie Montana, without further ado.
We weren't kidding about that Katy Perry tour. And Ms. Boutilier made the most of her chance.
Neil Sedaka is a big enough deal that he gets TWO posts.
In 1973, he released a single called "Love Will Keep Us Together" that he wrote (with Howard Greenfield) and recorded himself.
This performance isn't from 1973, but it's still really good.
Anyway, I know you know this song. As we approach post #2000 on this blog, take a look at post #10, In 1975, pop duo The Captain and Tennille recorded a cover of this song that ended up being the literal biggest hit of 1975. It was just a monstrous song - and at the end, they paid tribute to its originator.
In 1976, they performed the song with Sedaka.
That wasn't the only time they did that.
Sedaka was a great songwriter and a delightful performer, and he will be missed.
The famed singer songwriter Neil Sedaka passed away yesterday. His music will be missed. He was probably more successful as a songwriter, but he *did* perform as well. This song, from 1960, was his first top 5 hit in the United States and a #1 in Canada! The song, co-written by Sedaka and Howard Greenfield, is really a sweet tribute to the pinups of the past.
This video is from 1966.
Sedaka never really stopped performing, and he always mentored the next generation of musicians. Here he is with Fountains of Wayne in 2007.
Lilly Hiatt is music royalty. Her father is famed musician John Hiatt. Her husband is Coley Hinson of Coley and the Young Go Hards fame.... plus, he's a producer. And playing the instruments Lilly isn't.
She released an excellent album - Forever - in 2025, and the first single is an absolute earworm. Why this isn't a hit song is BEYOND me. Written by Lilly Hiatt, it's a hard-rocking but country-tinged instant classic.
But my writing style has changed since then. This time, I'm going to start with Kasey Chambers, the Australian country star who wrote and released this song on her 1999 album The Captain, produced by her older brother (and acclaimed producer) Nash Chambers.
The song is spectacular.
For her 2025 album Rhinestone Requiem, Sunny Sweeney covered this song, and it is a FAITHFUL cover.
The cover is spectacular.
So, the one change I made since 2012 is that I endeavor to include live performances for all these songs. For Kasey, I decided to go with a 2011 performance that literally closed her whole US tour, from Dallas and featuring her father, musician Bill Chambers.
Sunny literally uses the song as her encore now.
And, the best part is, she gives full credit.
Now, if only they'd do a performance together! I'm not even sure they've ever met!
It's been a bit since we posted about Olivia Rodrigo, so we felt we were due, since her 3rd album is expected to drop sometime this year.
We went all the way back to the beginning - to 2021, and her debut single (not counting her High School Musical stuff), from her debut album SOUR. The song, co-written by Rodrigo and her producer, Dan Nigro, is mature and drives right into the multifaceted feelings one might feel after a breakup.
The song was a record-breaker - it debuted at #1, making 17-year-old Rodrigo the youngest artists to ever do that (Billie Eilish was younger at #1, but did not debut there). It spent its first eight weeks, in fact, at #1.
It's actually quite a sad song, lyrically. And it's not one that I initially liked, although it's grown on me.
There are so many great performances of this song. I chose her Austin City Limits performance because, well, she is very clear about how much the song means to her.... and also, that's probably the youngest audience in ACL history.
In January, Rodrigo announced a project where other artists would be covering songs from SOUR. Alongside that was this version of "drivers license" by David Byrne.
In 1995, I went to see Throwing Muses in concert in Northampton, Massachusetts. Kristin Hersh was wearing a black t-shirt that said "i hate milk".
A few songs in, she explained her shirt. It was a labelmate of hers, Air Miami - it was a name of one of their songs.
So, naturally, I had to seek it out.
Air Miami was a DC duo comprised of Mark Robinson and Bridget Cross, both formerly part of the trio Unrest. They only lasted from 1994 until 1996, but managed to get this classic song released. Their music was released on Robinson's Teen Beat Records as well as 4AD.
You know, this close to Maple Leaf March, I really shouldn't be doing another French artist, right?
Well, Roméo Elvis - the stage name of Roméo Johnny Elvis Kiki Van Laeken, and yes, that's a really long name - is Belgian, so I guess that makes it OK.
But seriously, he also makes great music.
He was born in a household where the performing arts were important and central - his father is famed singer/songwriter Marka - and yes, I know most of you haven't heard of him, but trust me. His mother is actress and musician Laurence Bibot. I think his sister did something, too.
But he's a talented rapper and producer in his own right, and since I enjoyed this song by an artist I definitely found because of Angèle, I wanted to share it with you.
And yes, he does perform live, and yes, it is entertaining.
LISASINSON is not a band you're going to understand.
They aren't like anything I've ever heard, and yet, also exactly the right kind of bright pop/rock fusion - they call it "punky pop" - I needed.
From Valencia, Spain, the band released their latest album, Desde Cuándo Todo, last month. This is a single from the album, and I think you're going to hear the bright punky pop pretty clearly.
There are actually two versions of the video (the song is remixed here by David Van Bylen and this version also features La Casa Azul).
I did not put Ela Minus's album Día on my Wicked 25 last year... although she did make the very long honorable mention list. If I was making that list today, I'm not sure that album wouldn't make it. This album is growing on me over time.
The Colombian native artist started off as a drummer, but her time in college in Boston shaped her electronic/jazz stylings that are her signature now.
This song, from Día, was co-written by Minus and Katie O'Neill (who also did sound engineering and additional production on the album).
I want to make something clear. A lot of electronic artists are DJs. Ela Minus is first and foremost a live artist, and I think this video - where she is appearing with analog equipment - illustrates that well.
So, by the way, does this actual live performance.
It takes a cast iron set to name a song after yourself.
It takes a bigger one to name it after your alter ego.
Meet Suga, best known for being a member of BTS.... you know, that Korean boy band you love. He's done some solo stuff as Agust D, his rap alter ego.
This is not BTS music.
This is just.... awesome. It's strong, angry hip-hop that happens to be mostly in Korean. Using heavily a sample from "It's A Man's Man's Man's World" by James Brown, it is unabashed and in-your-face. That sample held up its release on streaming platforms for five years - as clearance was needed to use it. That clearance finally came in 2023.
I was actually not expecting to find a live performance of this song.
So, with rumors of a BLACKPINK comeback having Blinks everywhere apoplectic, and with Rosé nominated for three Grammys a few weeks ago, I felt like looking back at the first US hit for the group was in order.
Indeed, this was the first BLACKPINK song to hit the US Hot 100, peaking at #52 in 2018, which was practically unheard of for a non-novelty Korean single at the time. Now, not so much. Written as a combination of pop and trap, it was designed by Teddy Park to suit the voices and styles of the four women, and accomplished that well.
The influence does not stop there. Rolling Stone named it the sixth most influential K-Pop song of all time in 2023, as well as one of the 250 best singles of the century so far in ANY genre. It won a Kid's Choice award! In the UNITED STATES. This song tore down walls and changed pop music forever, more than any of their others.
And now, you're humming it and yelling "BLACKPINK!"
They also got to perform the song - actually live, with a full band - at Coachella in 2019.
And yes, Dua Lipa and Angèle do stop their video in the middle to talk about Dexter, who is clearly Dua's pet, getting his balls cut off. In English.
The song is from Dua Lipa's huge hit album Future Nostalgia and was a huge #1 hit... and now most of you are thinking "but I don't remember this song being a huge hit and in fact my copy of Future Nostalgia doesn't have this song." Well, while it did eventually get a lot of streaming play in the US, it was a HUGE hit in France and Belgium - both Flanders AND Wallonia, and if you know Belgium, you know that's a BIG deal - and was originally included only on the French version of Future Nostalgia. It was eventually added to worldwide versions of Future Nostalgia and also the expanded Future Nostalgia (The Moonlight Edition).
The song itself is a lot of fun, and was written by the artists and their songwriting teams.
So both artists actually play the song live, and I wanted to share a few of those performances. I'll start with one from June 2025, at a Dua Lipa show in Antwerp. For those not up on their world cities, Antwerp is the largest city in Belgium, in the Flemish region of the country a.k.a. Flanders.
So yeah. There was a special guest who happened to be in the neighborhood, and by in the neighborhood, I mean a 33-minute train ride away in Brussels. No word on whether or not Angèle drove or took the train.
Unlike that 2025 performance, the crowd KNEW Angèle was in the building, as she was the opening act for that show and several on the Future Nostalgia tour... .so it would have been weird for Dua to not bring her out, right?
By the way, they're really good on stage together.
Now, Angèle also has toured, and she also performs the song live.
She unfortunately can't get Dua Lipa to show up most of the time - and certainly not in New York City for her Nonante-Cinq tour, so a larger-than-life projection of her had to suffice.
