Strong evening for the 33rd SOCAN Gala: After a year’s absence, around 100 trophies were awarded on Sunday at TOHU. Ginette Reno, Plume Latraverse, Jean-Pierre Ferland and Paul Piché were among the artists honored for their careers during the ceremony hosted by drag queen Barbada.
Updated yesterday at 11:13pm.
SOCAN is not a gala like the others: the winners know that they will receive a hug when they arrive. This year, the Copyright Management Society recognized the exceptional careers of four outstanding figures in Quebec songwriting: Ginette Reno received the Prix Hommage, Plume Latraverse, the Prix Excellence, Paul Piché was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame Canadians and Jean-Pierre Ferland received the Cultural Footprint Award for his song Un peu plus haut, un peu plus loin.
The award ceremony was highlighted at the opening of the gala when Jeanick Fournier, winner of Canada’s Got Talent, performed this song so emblematic of Ginette Reno, who carried it to Mount Royal in 1975. Jean-Pierre Ferland said he was “proud” and “genuinely touched” to have been selected and thanked him in a recorded word. “I would have loved to be with you, but you know, a man my age goes to bed early,” he added.
PHOTO OLIVIER JEAN, THE PRESS
Barbada put on a performance worthy of a pop star at the SOCAN Gala: she literally descended from the ceiling!
PHOTO OLIVIER JEAN, THE PRESS
Catherine Durand, Mara Tremblay and Marie-Pierre Arthur surround the Prix Excellence-winning Plume Latraverse, to which they pay musical tribute during the SOCAN Gala.
PHOTO OLIVIER JEAN, THE PRESS
Banx & Ranx and Benny Adams (centre) were honored for the hit Tu t’en iras de La Zarra.
PHOTO OLIVIER JEAN, THE PRESS
Jeanick Fournier, a saguenéenne who won Canada’s Got Talent, was chosen to perform Un peu plus haut, un peu plus loin, the emblematic song of Ginette Reno, winner of the Prix Hommage.
PHOTO OLIVIER JEAN, THE PRESS
Because we come from afar, by Corneille, will be a SOCAN classic this year. He poses here with his wife Sofia de Medeiros.
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In the next moment, the help of a large number was due. The evening’s host, drag queen Barbada, gave a performance worthy of an international pop star: she descended from the ceiling to the tune of a medley that featured Patrick Juvet’s “Where are the women” and “Take me” by Marie- May etc. by Gabrielle Destromaisons. She led briskly, daring a few salacious jokes, but above all full of liveliness through the evening.
It’s impossible to list the dozens of awards presented during the evening, covering all musical genres – from country to native music, electronica and screen music. What stands out, however, is the lot given to Banx & Ranx and Benny Adams for Tu t’en iras de La Zarra, which will represent France at the next Eurovision competition, and Demy & Clipz, a tandem that contributed to the mega success La Corriente, which earned Bad Bunny a Grammy. Banx & Ranx has won several other awards including the Non-Performing Songwriter Award.
honors
In this rain of awards, honors took up the qualitative part of the evening. Julie Snyder was eloquent in her introduction to Paul Piché’s induction into the Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame, emphasizing his social sensitivity and sense of togetherness. As if to prove himself right, he accepted the honor bestowed on him by insisting that dozens of people work in the shadows. “We don’t do this alone,” he insisted, referring to authors, composers, musicians, stage technicians, office workers and all the others. It’s enormous how many people work to ensure that we find ourselves on stage in front of the audience. »
On stage, after a musical tribute by Catherine Durand, Marie-Pierre Arthur, Mara Tremblay and Martin Deschamps, Plume Latraverse received its Excellence Award with sincerity and a lopsided smile, of course. “Excellence Award, I’m not sure. Price endurance I would say in my case. As the peregrine falcon of the CAQ would probably say: for defying the Runne with my old crooked songs for so long, he said.
A song ages better than its author. It’s the grace of a song: They’re made to last. Make songs. It costs less than film and lasts much longer. Make songs in your language as much as possible. It keeps us alive.
spring latraverse
Later that evening it was Ginette Reno’s turn to be celebrated. SOCAN gave him its Tribute Award. “She sang love with all her courage, she sang for others all her life,” emphasized Sister Angèle, her friend who had bothered to make sugar cream according to the singer’s mother’s recipe, inviting her to her to enjoy morsels of love. “I’ve been singing for 64 years. I always sing like it’s the first time. The older I get, the more it’s like singing for the last time,” she said, as if to say she would continue to do so with the same passion.
The SOCAN Gala is an opportunity for Canadian songwriters and composers to celebrate their careers and achievements, particularly the most enduring ones. Every year, songs that have been played 25,000 times on the radio become SOCAN classics. This year: Toune d’automne by the Cowboys Fringants, La désise by Daniel Boucher, Point de mire by Ariane Moffatt, Because we come from far away by Corneille, Dreaming better by Daniel Bélanger, Walk in Toronto by Jean Leloup, Amalgam des Respectable and We Talk About You by Noir Silence.