We spoke to some of the nominated artists before they entered the Salle Wilfrid-Pelletier at Place des Arts.
Calamine, nominated for ADISQ for the first time this year, in the “Revelation of the Year” category. :
I’m calm. I think it’s funny that we’re doing a number together, the nominees in the Revelation category. That’s a huge exposure. I think it’s really cool that the queer community has this visibility. Part of me is afraid of acting like a lesbian in front of an audience that didn’t know me before, but to maintain my visibility, I’m willing to carry that torch.
Alexandra Stréliski, nominated for four Félix Awards this year :
We have to recognize that ADISQ is something industrial. It’s hard to do that when you don’t have a partner. To all the artists who don’t go to the public’s ears, I want them to know that this is not what they represent. And we do the same thing. Even on our side it is difficult because of the visibility. You can’t give up. We need all the music.
2Frères, nominated for four awards on Sunday:
We are aware of the strong support of the radio stations, but we have not stolen it from anyone. We went into the smallest rooms in Quebec to build relationships with the radio crews and broadcasters. If everyone had the recipe for success to get on the radio, we would have a different problem. If everyone were beautiful, we wouldn’t know what was ugly.