W is for The Weeknd and The Power of Celebrity

     In the not so very distant past, a lady named Oprah Winfrey had her own television talk show in the United States.  Besides being an excellent host, Oprah was, also, an actress, a philanthropist and a social activist but, above all else, Oprah Winfrey was a Kingmaker.  Oprah was a powerful woman; especially in the Arts community. With a single sticker from her "Book Club" placed on the cover of a new book, Oprah could take, even the most obscure author, and bestow upon them instant credibility and direct toward them, legions of faithful followers who would dutifully ratchet up the sales totals, driving the book quickly up the the New York Times Best-seller charts.  Oprah's Book Club is just example of the power of "the celebrity endorsement".

     In Canada, we have seen the rise of a new celebrity power-broker. The rapper, Drake, has assumed the position of arbitrator of "cool" in this country.  His base of power is the city of Toronto.  Drake reigns over his dominion as a benevolent dictator.

He has rebranded the city as "The 6" and Torontonians love it; especially the athletes, singers and artists, the ones in the public eye.  They took to referring to Toronto as "The 6" immediately, as if it had never been any other name, ever.  He helped to unveil the Toronto Raptors new uniforms during one of his concerts, and the crowds and the city loved it.  Drake is an a-list rapper who hangs with the likes of Jay-Z and Eminem. His cache enables him to effortlessly attract other "cool" figures into his realm such as NBA star, Lebron James and singers such as Pharrell.  Drake has acquired the same devoted following in Canada and, in particular, in Toronto, as Oprah ever had in the United States. He has power to affect change, on his terms and, he is gaining more confidence when it comes to using it. Drake is, single-handedly, helping the city put a strut back in its' stride. As fans, the relationship with Drake in symbiotic in that the more he leads, the more they want him to lead. They are his source of energy. They are his gang, as it were and he is their leader.  They are emboldened by his attitude and they welcome and support, unreservedly, anyone who he deems worthy of his blessing. Such is the case with, arguably, the hottest, fastest rising music star in the country these days, rapper and soul singer, The Weeknd.

     The Weeknd is the stage name of Toronto-area rapper, Abel Tesfaye.  He began his career only a few years ago in 2010. Initially, he bypassed the usual music industry requirements of having an agent, signing a record deal, etc. and, simply recorded three songs and released them on YouTube.  He only gave his name as The Weeknd and provided no other information; letting his music speak for him.  The quality of his rapping was so stellar that people took notice and talk of his music spread by word-of-mouth, ending with Drake taking notice and deciding to involve himself by placing the songs on his own website.  Such a personal and public endorsement catapulted The Weeknd into the spotlight in a hurry.  Only one year into his career, The Weeknd was shortlisted for The Polaris Music Prize and found himself performing at Drake's own OVOfest concert.

     The Weeknd has displayed a tendency to use social media as his way to connect with his fans and to market his product.  Initially, he released three separate "mixed tapes" on his own website, available for free download.  Even when performing live on a stage, The Weeknd would never want to grant interviews. Instead, he would respond directly to his fans via Twitter, for example.  In doing so, The Weeknd created an air of mystery about himself while, at the same time, developing an intimate relationship with each fan who became a member of "his crew".

     Eventually, The Weeknd signed a record deal and released an album that combined the three previously released mixed tapes.  This album, Trilogy, went into the Top Ten on BillBoard's Music Charts, in the categories of Rap and Soul.  Ever since then, The Weekend has had a steady stream of hit songs such as The Hills, Earned It, Live For, Often, The Morning and Kiss Land and has raised his profile considerably by appearing on such well-known soundtracks as The Fifty Shades of Grey.  The Weeknd is well on his way to enjoying a career marked by tremendous commercial and critical success. He has achieved what he has to date by maintaining strict control over how he releases new songs, as well as, in how he interacts with his fans.  He has always kept the music "industry" at arms length which, when you have friends like Drake in your corner, you are able to get away with doing.

***Note:  Part II of "W" will appear tomorrow, along with the "Hats off" list, too.   Thanks for taking the time to read my work. As always, your comments are gratefully appreciated.
   

Q is for Quartette and Utter Q-lessness

     I would really rather be discussing a whole host of great new performers whose name begins with a "Q" but, in reality, there is only one group/performer of note; a group called, Quartette. They are a folk-country group whose members include, Cindy Church, Sylvia Tyson and, at one time, Colleen Peterson. Quartette have won two Juno Awards since their inception.  Here is their moment in the @Cobourgcobbie spotlight:

    They possess sweet, soulful and beautiful voices.  I thank them for naming themselves as they did because, otherwise, I would be completely Q-less, as it were. :)


     So, my plan with the rest of this post is to introduce you to a few performers that I have unintentionally omitted during the course of this series and to give you a bit of news at the end. So, here we go:

    I can't believe that I missed Breeding Ground when I was creating "B is for Breau. Broken Social Scene and Bahamas".  When I was living in Toronto (attending Ryerson Polytechnical Institue), my musical universe was exploding!  There were so many new singers and bands, so many parties and clubs to go to, so many good times waiting to be had.  Breeding Ground was one of those new bands. This particular song, Happy Now I Know was very popular at the time of its' release in the early 80s. The female singer, as you may have guessed, is a young Molly Johnson, who was mentioned in an earlier post, "J is for Mendleson Joe, Carolyn Dawn John and the Japandroids!"
 
    Another Ryerson-era favourite that slipped past my gaze was Blue Peter.

     Blue Peter had big hits with Don't Walk on Past and with, Radio Silence.  But, more than that, Blue Peter had a "cool" look about him and, as a result, feel free to picture me, in all my late teen/early twenties gawkiness, wearing my hair the same way, donning my skinny ties and showing off my white-boy jerky-swaying dance moves at all of the parties.  It was a glorious time in my life-long love affair with all things nerdy.

      While I have missed a few of my favourite artists in the fog of nostalgia, I have, also, omitted two current artists, both of whom are making a big name for themselves in Canada and the U.S.  The first in Lindi Ortega.  Originally from Toronto, Ortega has recently recorded albums in Nashville that have been very well-received across North America.  She has a folk-country style that has earned her nominations for The Polaris Prize, two Juno Awards, as well as, several Canadian Country Music Awards.  She has enjoyed hits with Tin Star, Little Red Boots and, with this video, Cigarettes and Truckstops.  Ortega is certainly someone to keep an eye on. Her star is, definitely, on the rise. Enjoy.

    The other performer is a young lady from Prince Edward Island named Jenn Grant.  Jenn Grant sings a combination of Alternative and Adult Contemporary. She has been nominated for several Juno Awards, has been shortlisted for The Polaris Prize and has won three Eastcoast Music awards for Song of the Year for her hits called, The Beautiful Wild and I've Got Your Fire.  Her song, Dreamer, is the theme song to the hit CBC TV show, Heartland. 

     Jenn Grant is climbing the ladder to success but, as she does, she does so with a heavy heart.  Two years ago, she released a song that was dedicated to her mother called, The Fighter.  Grant's mother lost her fight with cancer not long after the song was released.


     As for me, my bit of news is that I am approaching 1000 page views for this series. While those numbers may not seem overwhelming for my successful published author friends, they are encouraging for me.  In the course of those 1000 page views,  someone from Moosebait.com, a Cape Breton firm dedicated to promoting Hiking and Camping and all things Cape Breton, picked up my post, "M is for Rita, Ashley, Natalie, Buddy and the Barras" and has published it in their on-line newspaper called, "The Moose's Mouth".   Again, The Moose's Mouth is a long way from The New York Times but, when you are a writer just starting out, it feels good to be noticed.

     Thanks to every one of you for reading and sharing my work and for leaving such encouraging comments.  It all means a lot.  :)