Key Takeaways:

• Lauren Spencer-Smith from Vancouver Island has a new single called “Fingers Crossed” that has been climbing the music charts since its release at the beginning of the year.
• The song debuted at 69 on Billboard’s Hot 100 chart last week and has since risen 50 spots to 19 this week.

Lauren Spencer-Smith of Vancouver Island has a new single called “Fingers Crossed,” which has been climbing the music charts since its l at the start of the year.

Spencer-Smith, Jakke Erixson, and Fransisca Hall co-wrote the song in mid-November and teased it on her TikTok account in December.

The video went viral as a result.

Spencer-Smith told CTV News, “I already understood it was doing well as well as figured it was heading to stream better than the rest of my songs.” “However, I had no idea it would do as well as it did.”

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Her manager texted her the day after it was released for streaming on Jan. 5 and said he needed to speak with her right away.

“He called and stated, ‘It’s number 2 in the world on iTunes.'”

The former American Idol contestant is still adjusting to the success of her new song.

“There are times when I think to myself, ‘Oh my goodness, this song is going to be the most important thing in my life,'” she explained.

Since then, Fingers Crossed has topped the most popular song lists on several musics streaming services.

Here’s where the song was on various music platforms’ global charts as of Thursday morning:

• Apple Music’s Top 100 Global Charts, ranked 14th.
• Spotify’s Weekly Top Songs chart places it at number 17.  
• Top Songs on Amazon Music (No. 9).

The song debuted at number 69 on Billboard’s Hot 100 chart last week and has since climbed 50 spots to number 19 this week.

The concept of the song, according to the 18-year-old, is about when someone says they love you but doesn’t mean it, which she believes many people can relate to.

“I believe everyone has gone through something similar,” she explained. “Everyone has been harmed in some way or another.”

Fingers Crossed is inspired by a real-life experience that Spencer-Smith has had, as she says she writes all of her songs.

“I feel like creating music is almost like journaling your emotions,” she explained. “I always want everything to be true to the story and true to who I am.”

Spencer-Smith is currently in Los Angeles and filming a music video for her new single this weekend.

She also hopes to release a new album and begin touring shortly.

Source: CTV News

Key Takeaways:

• Nirvana’s surviving members want a judge to dismiss a lawsuit over their most iconic album cover.

Spencer Elden, whose baby photo appears on the cover of Nevermind, sued the former grunge band earlier this year for alleged “commercial child sexual exploitation.”

According to Billboard, in a new filing on Wednesday, the company argues that Elden’s claims are without merit and that the statute of limitations has passed.

Elden, according to the band’s attorney, “has spent three decades profiting from his celebrity as the self-anointed ‘Nirvana Baby.'” He has many times re-enacted the photograph for a fee; he has the album title ‘Nevermind’ tattooed across his chest; and he has appeared on a talk show wearing a self-parodying, nude-colored onesie.

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He’s sold autographed copies of the album cover on eBay, and he’s used the connection to try to meet women.”

“Elden has alleged no facts about any barriers outside his control that prevented him from asserting a timely claim, and cannot plausibly allege any such facts to warrant tolling of the statute from 1995 to the time of filing, even if he were given leave to amend,” the lawyer said. Elden’s failure to file a sex trafficking claim within the statute of limitations bars it now, to the extent that it is not already dead on arrival.”

“Nirvana and UMG’s motion to discharge focuses on their past conduct or ignores their ongoing distribution, particularlywith the 30-year Nevermind anniversary and profit margins,” Elden said in a statement to Spin magazine.

Child pornography is a “forever crime” any allocation or profit made from any sexually explicit image of a child not only creates long-term liability, but also causes lifelong trauma. This is true for all of our clients who have been victims of actively traded child pornography, regardless of how old the image is.”

Source: etcanada

Key Takeaways:

• Anyone can learn music with the help of loaned instruments, virtual courses, and low fees.

Ciaran Williams, 15, plays drums in a white room with a piano painted on the door, with his music instructor, John Francom, accompanying him on guitar. They can play a wide range of music, from death metal to dad rock.

Williams is one of several students that attend BGC Dawson in Montreal’s southwestern Verdun neighborhood for music lessons.

“It means a lot to me,” he started, “and it’s a good break from schoolwork and stress.” “It’s fantastic to be capable to come here once a week and play my heart out while pursuing a love.”

After earning a master’s degree in music instruction, Francom taught music at BGC Dawson since early 2020.

He’s delighted to be able to teach children to play at a low cost. After-school music classes are free for anyone with an annual membership or enrolled in the community center’s after-school programs. Non-members pay $240 for eight weeks of lessons, with a sliding scale based on their financial circumstances.

Students who cannot afford their instruments can borrow instruments.

“My family couldn’t afford lessons when I first started. As a result, I had to remember everything on the internet, “Francom stated. “A lot of that was challenging since it was pre-YouTube.”

Lessons had to be delivered online when the program began during the height of the pandemic. As a result, Francom soon noticed pupils from all across the city who otherwise would not have been able to travel to Verdun for lessons.

Learning to play the drums makes 10-year-old Neveah Taylor happy and allows her to focus her energy on something productive. She claims to adore every aspect of the instrument.

“I enjoy learning to play since it’s a new experience,” she explained. “Banging on something you’re permitted to bang on is fun.”

A grant enabled the music closet to be stocked with acoustic and electric guitars, amps, a drum kit, keyboards. Francom said the next step is to get more instruments and sufficient soundproofing for some maintenance tools so that students can play as loudly as they want.

Source: CBC News

Get Northwest Territories and Canada’s top News, Latest News, and other news of the world only at the most trustable news website of Canada nwweek.com

Key Takeaways:

• ‘Father Of All Motherfuckers,’ their most recent album, was released in 2020.
• After the band teased new music on Instagram, fans speculate that Green Day has written and recorded a new album.

Green Day shared a short video clip of them recording music at London’s RAK Studios earlier today (December 19), possibly for a new song.

The numbers “1972” flash on the screen at one point in the video, leaving fans wondering if it could be the title of a new song or an entirely new album. One fan pointed out that the band’s three members Billie Joe Armstrong, Mike Dirnt, and Tré Cool were born in 1972.

“1972? Another fan speculated, “50th birthday special?” This could refer to a 50th birthday release of some kind. “I guess that rumor about Billie telling a fan that they’re releasing new music soon is true,” another fan said.

The band’s most recent album, 2020’s ‘Father Of All Motherfuckers,’ was praised by NME’s Andrew Trendell in a four-star review as a “good old knees-up” free of the band’s usual politics.

“Green Day has been bold, brazen, and unpretentious,” he wrote. “When comparing 2 of the band’s record sleeves, ‘American Idiot’ was a heart the size of a hand grenade, and ‘Father Of All’ is a unicorn puking a rainbow.” Not attempt to make sense of it. Just have fun.”

The band’s decision to record at RAK comes as they celebrate the 30th anniversary of their second album, ‘Kerplunk!’ All three members of the band recently took to social media to pay tribute to the album. Which was reissued on vinyl by Reprise Records in 2009, along with a reissue of their ‘Sweet Children’ EP, the title of which alluded to the band’s original name.

While bassist Mike Dirnt and drummer Cool shared the artwork for the LP, frontman Armstrong dug deep into the archives for some throwback photos from the period.

Source: NME News

Get Northwest Territories and Canada’s top News, Latest News, and other news of the world only at the most trustable news website of Canada nwweek.com

Key Takeaways:

• The singer’s tour will be throughout April 2022 and will visit six cities in the United States and Canada.
• Mika has announced his 2022 North American tour, which will be sponsored by Indeed.com, the world’s largest job search website.

The singer’s tour will stop in six cities across the United States and Canada in April 2022. On-sale tickets for the tour will go on sale on Friday, December 17 at 10 a.m. local time.

“Having to cancel my North America shows due to the pandemic crushed a part of me,” Mika says of today’s announcement. It had been a long time in the making, and the anticipation from my fans was palpable. That is why I am overjoyed returning to the road with new dates in 2022!

This is a new show, as the time during the pandemic made me reconsider the importance of gigs and how powerful intimacy can be, regardless of the size of the venue. An intense show with new material that will be both explosive and intimate. More dates will be announced in the coming weeks! “We’ll talk again soon!”

Indeed will celebrate Mika’s tour by hosting virtual hiring events at each stop. Where industry professionals and fans will be available to apply for positions and network with like-minded companies to demonstrate the power of music as a vehicle for promoting empathy and equality at work.

Indeed and Mika is looking for a Content Roadie, a dedicated ambassador who will share the tour and hiring events on social media using their own eyes and ears.

Mika first collaborated with Indeed to bring the #SoundtrackOfEmpathy to life during Pride 2021, drawing attention to workplace equality and empathy. MIKA hosted a virtual concert on YouTube, which a quarter-million people viewed, to celebrate and not able everyone to bring their whole selves to whatever they do.

Mika will appear on the following North American Tour dates in 2022:

• Boston, MA, Roadrunner, April 3
• April 5: Kings Theater, New York, NY
• April 7: Videotron Centre, Quebec City, QC
• The Bell Centre in Montreal, Quebec, will host an April 9
• Sageunay, QC, Theatre du Palais Municipale de La Baie, April 11
• Toronto, Ontario, April 13, History

Source: Udiscover Music

Get Northwest Territories and Canada’s top News, Latest News, and other news of the world only at the most trustable news website of Canada nwweek.com

Key Takeaways:

• The Tragically Hip, a Canadian rock band, has released a new music video to honor the mass shooting victims at the Ecole Polytechnique in Montreal on December 6, 1989.

Ten women and four men were also wounded when a gunman opened fire on the engineering school at the Universite de Montreal 32 years ago. The video was released on the National Day of Remembrance and Action Against Violence Against Women.

The video depicts The Tragically Hip performing their song ‘Montreal’ live at the Molson Centre in Montreal in 2000.

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Portrait sketches of the women died in the attack are also included in the video. Anne-Marie Edward, Anne-Marie Lemay, Annie St-Arneault, Annie Turcotte, Barbara Daigneault, Geneviève Bergeron, Barbara Klucznik-Widajewicz, Hélène Colgan, Michèle Richard, Nathalie Croteau, Maud Haviernick, Maryse Laganière, Maryse Leclair, and Sonia Pelletier were among those killed that day.

Except for two victims, all those killed in the shooting were university engineering students. Artist Stew Jones created the portrait sketches in the music video, and Willo Downie created the background paintings.

The video, directed by Mike Downie also Tim Thompson, also depicts Mont-Royal. Where 14 beams of light are protruded into the sky all year on December 6 in memory of the women killed.

At the end of the music, the band stated that they “stand with the families of the 14 victims and survivors of the femicide at Ecole Polytechnique in 1989.” “We fully support their ongoing efforts to ban all semi-automatic assault weapons,” reads the message.

The song ‘Montreal’ was included on the band’s EP Saskadelphia, released in May. The EP consists of six previously unreleased songs from their 1991 album ‘Road Apples.’

According to a Twitter post, the band has also created a CD and Flexi disc single with’ Montreal’ and ‘It’s a Good Life if You Don’t Weaken,’ featuring the artist Feist.

The Tragically Hip declared that they would be bundled with t-shirts, with proceeds going to the PolyRemembers/PolySeSouvient group. Montreal Mayor Valerie Plante said in a Twitter post on Monday that the memory of the attack is “still painful.”

Source: CTV News

Key Takeaways:

• We have all seen the photos of Toronto Raptors Head Coach Nick Nurse carrying a guitar off the team’s plane.
• He makes the plays and, it appears, also the beats.

Nurse enjoys playing the ivories and is currently learning an obscure rendition of Prince’s iconic song “Purple Rain.” The Iowa native enjoys music almost as much as basketball.

Nurse has worked tirelessly in recent years to establish and sustain music programs and opportunities for children in Toronto or the Greater Toronto Area.

“It started simply because we had so much success with the championship run, and I was given this incredible platform to get out and do some good in the community.” The nurse stated that the Nick Nurse Foundation would be launched in March 2020.

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The foundation officially launched on March 11, 2020, to implement basketball, literary, and music programs for children throughout the city.

It just so ensued to fall on the night the NBA suspended their season, and the majority of North America went into lockdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

“That night, I’ll never forget,” Nurse told News. “We went straight to the hospital after the first evening of music to get tested from our event.”

Trying to run a foundation amid a pandemic while coaching Canada’s only NBA team is not a simple task. Still, it is the Nurse’s passion to ensure that all the children, regardless of background, have the opportunity to play, whether on the court or the guitar.

The foundation has taken several steps to make the community more accessible and inclusive, from donating $20,000 in music equipment to a Hamilton music program to providing Thanksgiving meals to those in need.

“We want to make perfect that we can help people who can’t afford instruments or lessons or who don’t know where to get them.” I believe that music should be an essential part of everyone’s life.”

“Five years from now, I want some of these kids who we’ve given musical instruments to come back, and I want to take them out to the Budweiser Stage and let them play in front of a sold-out crowd.”

Source: Toronto. city

Key Takeaways:

• Ryan Reynolds receives the Canadian Governor General’s Award, celebrated with a song written by Steven Page of the Barenaked Ladies.
• Ryan Reynolds was honored with a song by Barenaked Ladies frontman Steven Page after receiving the Canadian 2021 Governor General’s Performing Arts Award.
• Reynolds recently co-starred in the Netflix original film Red Notice with Dwayne Johnson and Gal Gadot.

Despite receiving mixed reviews, the movie has been a massive hit for the streaming service, quickly becoming one of its most-watched originals. Reynolds is also well-known for his portrayal of the Merc with a Mouth in the Fox X-Men universe films Deadpool and Deadpool 2, which he is set to reprise in the MCU with Deadpool 3.

Reynolds received the National Arts Centre Award, one of seven categories in the Governor General’s Performing Arts Awards. The awards are given in remembrance of work in the performing arts of exceptional quality and significance.

To be considered, recipients must have made a contribution to the arts in the previous year. Many of the recipients also look for ways to give back to their communities. The award is a significant honor for Canadians involved in the performing arts.

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Reynolds has since posted a video of himself accepting the award. He also reacts to a music video created for him in honor of receiving the award in the video. The video’s mainstay is singer Steven Page, former lead singer of the Barenaked Ladies, who created the theme used in The Big Bang Theory.

Reynolds’ reaction to the video is undoubtedly moving, as he is both tearful and grateful. Reynolds has made significant contributions to the performing arts, bringing many eccentric performances in some stellar films. He is also known to be involved in humanitarian efforts for his country.

Reynolds and his wife Blake Lively donated $1 million to food banks in Canada and the United States during the height of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. These factors undoubtedly aided him in his victory, but more importantly, he gave so much to his community. The award shows that his contributions to Canada and its people extend beyond the release of films.

Reynolds recently announced that he would be taking a break from acting. However, he recently completed work on the upcoming Apple TV+ film Spirited, a reimagining of A Christmas Carol. Reynolds has had a hectic schedule in recent years, appearing in many blockbuster films such as Free Guy, and has Deadpool 3 on the horizon.

Understandably, he’ll be taking a break after doing so much for his community and the performing arts. Ryan Reynolds can enjoy his break until the next project while also being proud of his award.

Source: Screenrant News

The Northern Arts and Cultural Centre will host a double-act, super weekend of comedy and classical music on Dec. 12-13. 

Although the Ever Late Show: Christmas Edition! comedy event and the Gryphon Trio Celebrate Beethoven@250 Watch Party events are catered to different audiences, NACC executive director Marie Coderre said she’s trying to cater to as wide an audience as possible leading up to the holiday season.Advertisement

“We’re trying to target two different crowds and we tried to find programs that could really satisfy local audiences with laughter while also celebrating a big composer,” Coderre said.

Tickets are now on sale for the Ever Late Show: Christmas Edition, to be held on Dec. 12 at 1 p.m. The event will feature Martin Rehak and JD and a lineup of comedians. 

Rehak, 36, has been part of NACC’s mentorship program for more than a year and has been among the Yellowknife-based arts performers building a community of comedians in town, said Coderre. 

“I think that during the pandemic, we really need to laugh right now and we really need funny content,” she said. “We are used to having music shows for Christmas and stuff like that, but I think  a parody comedy show around Christmas will be quite different and quite relevant in these unprecedented times.”

The lineup will also feature comedians Skye Plowman and Emily Blake, a brief appearance by Tom Parker and other surprise acts.

The musical guest is Ryan McCord and there will also be a special appearance by David Thomas Micheal. 

Due to Covid-19 restrictions, there are only 50 spots available for the live act in the cultural centre. However, the event will be broadcast via Facebook and Northwestel later that day at 7:30 p.m. 

All sales will be online as the box office is closed and people who attend are asked to take public health precautions. 

Coderre said the show will be a Christmas-based parody and viewers are advised there could be adult content involved. 

NACC hosted a Martin Rehak event in August at the Willideh stage and he said that audiences can expect a similar performance.

“It will be like a late-night talk show format with multimedia and local acts with some silly bits in-between and sketches,” he explained. “The one at Willideh was the first of its kind that we had done and this is the next installment as a Christmas edition.”

Gryphon Trio

The same weekend will also feature a virtual concert by the Gryphon Trio on Dec. 13 at 3 p.m.  to mark the 250th birthday of musical composer Beethoven.

One of Canada’s most celebrated classical music trios, the Gryphon Trio comprises pianist Jamie Parker, cellist Roman Borys and violinist Annalee Patipatanakoon. 

Tickets are also on sale for that event. The show will include a pre-recorded performance of Beethoven’s G Major Piano Trio Op. 1, No. 2 and the Piano Trio in Bb Major, Op. 97, nicknamed the “Archduke.” 

The event will only be seen via screen, exclusively for ticket-holders.

“All the classical music lovers will love that show and we’ll have a chance to talk to the members afterwards,” Coderre said. “I will be on stage with them on the screen and we will have a discussion and the audience will be able to ask questions. “

She said that show will be a reunion of sorts as the Gryphon Trio have toured in the NWT in the past, the last time being December 2016 as part of the Broken Hearts and Madmen Project.

“So yes, it’s good just going to be a reunion with the Gryphon Trio who have been an important asset for the community here and who have done so much for the Northwest Territories,” she said. “I’m sure they will be thrilled to to see a few patrons even though it will be just 50 people.”