Known affectionately as the MMVAs, the iHeartRadio MuchMusic Video Awards took place in Toronto this weekend, honouring the best and hottest Music Videos. Co-hosting this year were Brampton’s own Alessia Cara and Joe Jonas, the latter who has appeared on multiple occasions dating back to his days with his fraternal trio.
In town for the occasion were a litany of talent including performers Imagine Dragons, Arkells, Camila Cabello (formerly of Fifth Harmony), Julia Michaels, Iggy Azalea, Jessie Reyez, Lorde, Post Malone, DNCE (Jonas’ new band) and Niall Horan (formerly of One Direction).
Presenting awards this year are a who’s-who of television among the intended target audience of the awards show including KJ Apa (Riverdale), Tatiana Maslany (Orphan Black), Brandon Flynn (13 Reasons Why), Keke Palmer (Scream Queens), Dove Cameron, Lilly Singh, Nikka Bella, Darren Criss (Glee), Kat Graham (Vampire Diaries), Shay Mitchell (Pretty Little Liars), Carly Rae Jepsen, Bea Miller and supermodel Martha Hunt.
Shutting down a portion of Queen Street at the famed Bell Media headquarters, fans lined the streets and braved the rain for the Red Carpet. The evening’s biggest winners included: A Tribe Called Red ft. Yasiin Bey, Black Bear and Narcy – R.E.D. for Video of the Year, Shawn Mendes – Mercy for Best Pop Video and iHeartRadio International Artist of the Year went to Lorde.
Most Buzzworthy Canadian Artist was awarded to Drake, who beat out Justin Bieber, Shawn Mendes, The Weeknd and Alessia Cara.
We spotted some of the stars of the 2017 iHeartRadio MuchMusic Video Awards around town this weekend. Check out our Snaps!
Ziggy Igs. She’s the realest. #IggyAzalea in town for the #MMVAs #MuchMusicVideoAwards
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The lovely #KatGraham, of #VampireDiaries at #MMVAs. #MuchMusicVideoAwards
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#TorranceCoombs (#Reign) x #AlyssaCampanella (Miss USA) at the #MMVAs. #MuchMusicVideoAwards
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See a complete list of winners here.
(Photo/video credit: MUCH/Mr. Will Wong)
Admit it! You didn’t think GREASE LIVE! was gonna be any good, did you??! I mean, how is it possible to top a Masterpiece? We tried erasing the less-than-stellar GREASE 2 right out of our memories, but have failed time and time again.
Little did we know sitting on our couches at 7:00 PM – an unassuming Sunday night – that Television forever would be transformed for us! What made Alex Rudzinski (Dancing with the Stars) and Thomas Kail (2 Broke Girls)‘s Live TV Adaptation of one of the greatest Films ever made wonderful, was that it captured precisely the charm and energy that made us fall in love with the 1978 Original. This we remind you, is not an easy feat. We’ve seen so many Remakes on the Big Screen in recent years disappointingly fall flat.
Everything from a sophisticated stage design which brought us back to Rydell High right down to the almost identical frame-for-frame replication of the original Film had us in awe. As we cut in and out of commercial break, we got quick flashes of the pandemonium behind-the-scenes, the Actors getting transported in trollies from stage to stage at a frenetic pace, keeping us engaged and rooting for them a la Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show. Most important of all, the casting was phenomenal. Actors like Vanessa Hudgens, Keke Palmer, Carly Rae Jepsen, Julianne Hough and Aaron Tveit didn’t exactly have us jumping for excitement initially, but were we ever off the mark!
Hudgens although a little shaky in her rendition of Look At Me, I’m Sandra Dee, got it together in the Second Act wowing us in full force as a sassy, no-nonsense Rizzo, just mesmerizing in her delivery of There Are Worse Things. What is even more heartbreaking is that Hudgens just yesterday lost her father Greg, channeling her emotions completely tonight on-stage for her biggest Audience yet.
Keke Palmer whom often has been relegated to supporting roles on the likes of Scream Queens and 90210, really shined as flirty Marty, giving Freddy My Love an injection of soul. Promising and underrated describe only the tip of the iceberg for this burgeoning star, who actually is already a veteran.
Broadway star Aaron Tveit was excellent as our Danny Zuko, embodying exactly the endearing unpredictability of being a hormonal teenager. Although making a few modifications to the melodies we loved vocally early, he saved it all for late, stealing our hearts in his powerful performance of ballad Sandy. We only knew him prior from 2012’s Les Misérables, but we now are obsessed.
Julianne Hough perhaps carries the greatest weight of all in the beloved role of Sandy and she did not disappoint at any step, although a bit of fatigue could be heard late after a demanding First and Second Act. She was the perfect Sandy, capturing her naiveté and level-headedness. Vocally, she possessed the strength to deliver for the three-hour show and physically, she was spot-on in her choreography which had her cheerleading and dancing her way beginning to end. It didn’t take us long into the broadcast to realize that we’ve long under-estimated Hough.
What also was amazing is that one of our favourites from the Original surfaced as a Cameo – Didi Conn (originally Frenchy) as waitress Vi and above that, appearances from The Brady Bunch‘s Eve Plumb as Shop Teacher Mrs. Murdock and even Boys II Men as our Teen Angels performing Beauty School Drop-Out. Joe Jonas and his new band DNCE also appeared as Johnny Casino and The Gamblers, while vocal powerhouse Jessie J kicked it all off singing the show’s theme, Grease is the Word.
Although we enjoyed the Broadcast greatly, we knew we were “hopelessly devoted” by the Final Act – the end-of-year Carnival scene to be exact. We didn’t want to say goodbye – which is exactly the same way we felt when he first saw the Original. Truly magical.
Learn more about GREASE LIVE! here and how to stream it.
Download the complete Soundtrack from GREASE LIVE! here.
My instant reaction to GREASE LIVE!:
(Photo/video credit: FOX)
Does she record bad songs at all? Carly Rae Jepsen is back with another taste of her new Album E·MO·TION! A new Video was released today for the Track Run Away With Me, directed by David Kalani Larkins, compiling some of Jepsen‘s travels to Japan, Paris, New York and more! The new Track is a cut from the same cloth of some of the material we’ve heard so far including I Really Like You and All That, a bit of late ’80s which Taylor Swift has made hot again with her 1989 Disc. And if the vibe feels similar, that’s because Jack Antonoff of fun. had a hand in production here too.
Listen to Run Away With Me!:
Get it now on iTunes.
And guess what? Jepsen really, really, really, really, really likes that we like this new Tune!
Universal Music Canada release E·MO·TION on Friday, August 21, 2015.
(Photo/video credit: Universal Music)
The Easter Bunny might not have delivered this year, but Carly Rae sure is. You must check-out this brand-new Track from Canada’s Queen of Pop titled ALL THAT. Jepsen appeared on SNL last night performing her new Track with Producers, Blood Orange‘s Ariel Rechtshaid and Devonté Hynes, with the Track being posted on Vevo soon after. You must check-out this brand-new Track from Canada’s Queen of Pop titled ALL THAT. We’re getting major early ’80s Janet Jackson‘s Again vs. Spice Girls’ 2 Become 1 vs. Force M D‘s Tender Love. This is soooo goodddd. We needed a good Slow Jam.
Check it out:
See her live performance:
We’re still waiting on a release date for Jepsen‘s third Disc, but it sure is sound amazing already.
(Photo/video credit: Universal Music/NBC)
Nobody saw this coming! Tom Hanks teams with Carly Rae Jepsen on her über-cathy new Single. The Clip which has the Oscar Winner lip-syncing and gallivanting through New York City is a refreshing bit of comedy. But where is Carly Rae in all of this? Oh, you’ll see. And she has a couple more surprises too!
See the Video:
This is the epic Comeback that Carly Rae deserves after giving us so much happiness with you know, THAT SONG! And it really looks like her time on Broadway did a ton for her confidence. Love it! And best of all, TOM HANKS!!!!
Download I Really Like You on iTunes here.
(Photo/video credit: Universal Music)
Hot on the heels of last night’s MuchMusic Video Awards, the 25th annual SOCAN Awards honouring accomplishments across multiple genres in Canadian Music. Held by the Waterfront at the Westin Harbour Castle, some of the Country’s most accomplished Musical Acts, Songwriters, Producers, Lyricists and more came out to celebrate their peers.
The likes of Dragonette, Ovi, Serena Ryder, Tom Cochrane, Carly Rae Jepsen, Gowan, Johnny Reid, Alan Frew (Glass Tiger), Mia Martina, Walk off the Earth, Magic, Josh Ramsay (Marianas Trench), Kardinal Offishall and more were in attendance, the Star of the evening was Lifetime Achievement Award Recipient Gordon Lightfoot, who graciously walked the Red Carpet, taking his time fielding media questions. “Thank you for appreciating my music”, he was overheard saying. “I love to work!”.
The Belle of the Ball certainly was a recently back-from-Broadway (she starred in Cinderella) Jepsen who is working on her second major label album. “I’d have to say some of Tegan and Sara‘s stuff”, she says when asked which Canadian Song she wishes she had written. She and the Team of Tavish Crowe and Josh Ramsay received the International Achievement Award for their Smash, Call Me Maybe.
Hip-Hop Megastar Drake also was honoured with the Global Inspiration Award, helping spark the careers of dozens of Songwriters, Beat-Makers and Producers.
(Photo credit: Mr. Will Wong)
Carly Rae Jepsen gets a Heroine’s Welcome Home in Toronto on Monday and this is your chance to meet her! Jepsen is partnering with both Burt’s Bees gud line of Natural Personal Care Products and DAVIDsTEA‘s #CUPOFWARMTH Campaign – the latter in aid of Hunger Relief Charities across North America. For every cup of Tea sold, DAVIDsTEA will donate one cup of Tea to select Charities, with a goal of donating over 30k Cups of Tea to local Hunger Relief Shelters.
Jepsen‘s Agenda on Monday, January 13, 2014 is as follows:
9:30 AM – DAVIDsTEA Yonge and Dundas (10 Dundas Street East (street level). Entrance is on east side of Yonge street, north of Dundas.)
11:00 AM– DAVIDsTEA Church Street (530 Church Street)
1:00 PM – DAVIDsTEA Yorkdale Mall (Unit 305A – 3401 Dufferin Street)
Don’t miss this chance to get up-close and personal with the Broadway-bound, Call Me Maybe Singer!
(Photo credit: Mr. Will Wong/Universal Music)
It certainly was a star-studded night in Toronto as the 15th annual Canada’s Walk of Fame Awards Show was held at Elgin Theatre. The Ceremony honours Canadians who have made significant contributions in the Arts, Sports, Science and Innovation. The Event was preceded by a Red Carpet which shut-down a section of Yonge Street beforehand.
Honourees this year include:
Bob Ezrin
Terry Fox
Victor Garber
Craig & Marc Kielburger
Oscar Peterson
Christine Sinclair
Alan Thicke
Presenters and Performers also added much Starpower to the Affair including the likes of Mike Myers (just here last week for TIFF ’13 with Documentary Supermensch), Martin Short, Carly Rae Jepsen, Jacob Hoggard (Hedley), David Foster, Joanna Kerns, Alice Cooper and several more. Cooper even performed a Medley of his mega-hit School’s Out for Summer together with Pink Floyd‘s The Wall.
Global Television airs the 2013 Canada’s Walk of Fame Awards Show on Sunday, October 27, 2013 at 8:00 PM EST.
(Photo credit: Mr. Will Wong)
The 2013 Billboard Music Awards were held in Las Vegas at the MGM Grand tonight and winning top honours tonight was Taylor Swift with a total eight awards including Top Artist and Billboard Hot 200 Album with her Disc, Red. Poking fun at herself, Swift accepted her Award, stating, “you’re the longest and best relationship I’ve ever had!”.
Not to be outshone, Rihanna and Gotye both picked-up four awards each – the former doing extremely well in the R&B Categories winning Top Album, Song and Artist, while also nabbing Top Radio Songs Artist. Gotye was victorious in the categories: Hot 100 Song, Rock Song, Radio Song and Streaming Song (Audio) based on the strength of his Smash with Kimbra, Somebody That I Used To Know.
Two Pop Legends were honoured also in Prince and Madonna. The former not only performing tonight a Medley which included Let’s Go Crazy, received the Icon Award for his lasting career which has seen ten Diamond Albums and 30 Top 40 Hits. The latter, whom we spotted in New York City last week at the Met Gala, won Top Touring Artist for her MDNA Tour.
Canada’s Carly Rae Jepsen even was recognized with the Award for Top Digital Song with Call Me Maybe.
Although the evening was highlighted by some dazzling performances from the likes of Bruno Mars, Justin Bieber, Selena Gomez, Jennifer Lopez, Christina Aguilera, Macklemore & Ryan Lewis and Pitbull, it was Miguel who stirred-up the most controversy apparently kicking two female Fans when crowdsurfing into the audience during his performance of Adorn.
Click here for a complete list of Winners.
More amazing Photos over at Zimbio!
(Photo credit: Getty Images)
Carly Rae Jepsen was the big Winner at tonight’s JUNO Awards in Regina. The 28 year-old-Singer/Songwriter swept in three major categories for which she was nominated, including: Album of the Year (Kiss), Single of the Year (Call Me Maybe) and also Pop Album of the Year (Kiss). The Awards were hosted by Crooner Michael Bublé.
Beliebers, as much as they have supported Jepsen after their Idol helped expose her internationally, would not be shut-out however with Justin Bieber was named Winner of the Fan Choice Award.
Canadian Icon Leonard Cohen also took him some prestigious honours this year, including Artist of the Year and Songwriter of the Year – the latter repeating his feat in 1994, winning the same Award.
Toronto-based Rapper The Weeknd was rewarded handsomely for his work on Disc Trilogy, winning Breakthrough Artist of the Year and R&B/Soul Record of the Year.
Mariana’s Trench (fronted by Josh Ramsay who penned Call Me Maybe) was awarded Group of the Year, while Mumford & Sons won International Album of the Year with their Disc, Babel.
Click here for a full list of Winners.
(Photo credit: CTV)
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