Halifax native Sarah McLachlan turns 42 today, and what better way to celebrate than to showcase our five favorite videos from her nearly two-decade career?
Well, we’ll say these are our four favorites of all time, and her new theme for the 2010 Winter Olympics, “One Dream,” which is growing on us in that epic, sports-montage-of-dreams-coming-true kind of way.
This is going to be a big year for our favorite mystery builder, starting with the aforementioned Olympics theme and continuing with a Lilith Fair revival that will feature some old favorites and new acts this summer.http://canadianoftheweek.com/tag/lilith-fair/
While George Clooney and Co. are running a star-studded telethon across several networks on American television, some of Canada’s biggest names will gather for an hourlong event that has a list of celebrities that more than holds its own.
The CBC reports:
Prime Minister Stephen Harper and Gov. Gen. Michaëlle Jean are scheduled to deliver messages, and the Tragically Hip and K’naan will perform live.
Other prominent Canadians from music, film, television and sport to appear on the special include:
Musical acts Nelly Furtado, Measha Brueggergosman, Justin Bieber, Céline Dion, Sarah McLachlan, Barenaked Ladies, David Foster, Chantal Kreviazuk, Raine Maida and Simple Plan.
Directors James Cameron, Jason Reitman and Norman Jewison.
Actors William Shatner, Joshua Jackson, Pamela Anderson, Eugene Levy, Sandra Oh, Tom Jackson, Ryan Reynolds, Michael J. Fox, Rachelle Lefevre, Will Arnett, Hugh Dillon and Brent Butt.
TV personalities Mike Holmes, Rick Mercer and Alex Trebek.
Sports stars Gretzky and Steve Nash.
Humanitarian Craig Kielburger.
The money raised during the telethon will be distributed equally amongst a coalition of 10 large Canadian non-governmental organizations — including World Vision Canada, Canadian Red Cross Society, UNICEF Canada, Oxfam Canada and Save the Children Canada — with the funds exclusively earmarked for Haiti.
After tearing up the charts and scoring huge with “My Heart Will Go On,” Celine closed the decade with a five-year regular show in Las Vegas, which was — pardon the obvious pun — where she really hit the jackpot.
All told, the Times estimated Celine made nearly $748 million over this millennium’s first 10 years, besting Kenny Chesney ($742 million) and Dave Matthews Band ($737.4 million).
The Beatles ($627.3 million)
U2 ($609.7 million)
Toby Keith ($591.9 million)
Bruce Springsteen ($588.3 million)
The Rolling Stones ($569.6 million)
Tim McGraw ($550.7 million)
Britney Spears ($494.3 million)
The world lost renowned Canadian folk singer Kate McGarrigle on Monday, after she lost her three-year battle with sarcoma, a rare form of cancer that affects connective tissue.
McGarrigle was most famous for performing with her sister Anna as the McGarrigle Sisters, whose hits included “Heart Like a Wheel,” and was the mother of musicians Rufus Wainright and Martha Wainright, whom she had with her ex-husband Loudon Wainright III.
Some fantastic tributes to McGarrigle have already been written, including this thorough obituary from CBC.ca.
Check out the videos below to watch the McGarrigle sisters perform “Heart Like a Wheel,” and to watch Rufus Wainright sing “Beautymark,” a song about his mother.
Michael Buble is singing the tune of love, and bringing one of the northernmost nations in the world together with one of the southernmost.
The Canadian crooner is engaged to Argentine actress Luisana Loreley Lopilato de la Torre. No word on whether she’s going to officially add “Buble” to that list of names.
The Vancouver singer’s rep confirmed to People that Buble proposed in November, “in front of her family in Argentina” and she said yes. “They’re ecstatic. They’re adorable, in love and laugh all day long,” the rep told the magazine.
Buble has been engaged in the past. He was set to marry actress-singer Debbie Timuss in 2005. He also ended a long-term relationship with actress Emily Blunt, whom he dated for two years, in 2008.
To be honest, I’m still trying to figure out who this kid is, but this will surely matter to many people somewhere: Justin Bieber is not dead.
The 15-year-old Stratford, Ontario, native woke up this morning to discover he was the latest in a string of Internet death hoaxes as one was saying he’d passed away. Just before noon EST, Bieber, a notorious Tweeter, posted a link to an MTV News story about the hoax with the comment, “oh yeah…and it feels so good to be alive. haha.”
Bieber shot to stardom in the last couple of months, really, with his debut album “My World” coming out on Nov. 19. Since then, he’s performed all over most television programs in the United States and Canada, as well as for President Barack Obama and the First Family.
He also hangs out with Usher, who signed him to his record label.
Hometown girl Shania Twain returned to Timmins, Ontario, on New Year’s Day to run the Olympic torch as it continued on its trek across The Great White North to Vancouver, B.C.
After the run, she donated the torch and the torch-bearer’s uniform she wore to the Shania Twain Centre, an exhibition center and gathering place that celebrates the singer’s rise to fame from the small mining town.
According to a post on her Web site, Twain revealed a minor modification she made to the torch when she handed it over to Timmins Mayor Tom Laughren: she put white hockey tape on the handle before her run.
She explained she did it “so it wouldn’t slip out of my hand. I thought that would be rather embarrassing if I dropped the torch!”
Twain also remarked that she was pleased to be back at the STC.
“It’s just such a huge honour,” she remarked. She added that she thinks about the centre often and says remembers her Timmins roots and “what it is for a small town girl to come from here.”
In case you missed it, the Order of Canada honorees were announced this week and Governor General Michaelle Jean included NHL legend Mario Lemieux of Montreal, film director Ivan Reitman of Toronto, and folk rocker Neil Young of Winnipeg among the 57 honorees for the year,
All three men were given the honor of Officer of the Order of Canada, one of the country’s highest civilian honors which recognizes “a lifetime of outstanding achievement, dedication to community and service to the nation.”
We here at Canadian of the Week figure if they’re good enough for the Governor General, they’re good enough for us, and we’re therefore proud to bestow the additional honor of Canadian of the Week on all three of them.
Here are their citations from Gov. Gen. Michaelle Jean:
Mario Lemieux For his contributions as one of hockey’s most gifted players, as an inspirational role model and mentor, and for supporting charitable initiatives through the Mario Lemieux Foundation.
Ivan Reitman For his contributions as a director and producer, and for his promotion of the Canadian film and television industries.
Neil Young For his contributions as one of Canada’s greatest musical talents whose unique voice and iconic songs have influenced generations of musicians, and for his support of educational and charitable organizations.
A Canadian guy who got punched in the face by rapper Kid Cudi at a concert in Vancouver over the weekend says he isn’t going to press charges — he just wants to meet Kid Cudi.
In what almost certainly would have been the beginning of a drawn-out legal proceeding, Kid Cudi jumped into the crowd when a wallet was thrown on stage twice while he performed. The rapper found the guy who tossed the wallet the second time and punched him in the face.
And now, the rest of the story.
Canadian Michael Sharpe, who received the punch in the face, tells TMZ he caught the wallet when Kid Cudi threw it back into the crowd after the first time it was tossed on stage. Sharpe caught and threw it back.
Why? Because it didn’t belong to him.
The second throw prompted the rapper to jump into the crowd and mayhem ensued, but Sharpe says he has no hard feelings.
“I’m not upset, I’m not going to be that person,” Sharpe told TMZ. “I just want to meet him and be like ‘I’m the guy you punched.’ I’m not going to press charges.”
Canadians who want to see Susan Boyle set foot in the Great White North need to keep dreaming that dream.
For the second time since becoming an international sensation, Boyle has scheduled and canceled an appearance in Canada. This time it was a Dec. 21 concert and album signing at Toronto’s First Canadian Place, according to the CBC.
“Unfortunately Susan will no longer be visiting Canada at the end of this year,” according to a statement Friday from Boyle’s record label published by the CBC. “The trip will be rescheduled for 2010 to allow more time between international promotional trips. Please accept apologies for any inconvenience and Susan is very much looking forward to visiting Canada next year.”
The date was already a makeup for a postponed November date.
In case you fell into an ice hole last winter, Boyle became an international phenomenon when she appeared on “Britain’s Got Talent.” She didn’t win the U.K. reality show, but her album debuted at No. 1 in several countries, including the U.S. and Canada.
Another day, another Quebecer topping a list.
The world lost renowned Canadian folk singer Kate McGarrigle on Monday, after she lost her three-year battle with sarcoma, a rare form of cancer that affects connective tissue.
Michael Buble is singing the tune of love, and bringing one of the northernmost nations in the world together with one of the southernmost.
In case you missed it, the Order of Canada honorees were announced this week and Governor General Michaelle Jean included NHL legend Mario Lemieux of Montreal, film director Ivan Reitman of Toronto, and folk rocker Neil Young of Winnipeg among the 57 honorees for the year,
Canadians who want to see Susan Boyle set foot in the Great White North need to keep dreaming that dream.
