CRi
It was almost back to business as usual on Sunday, Nov. 7, 2021, when the Gala de l’ADISQ was presented before a live audience in Montréal’s Place des Arts. SOCAN member Klô Pelgag continued her skyrocketing trajectory by winning her second Songwriter of the Year award, and the trophy for the Online Show of the Year – Francophone, which, in addition to the awards she won during the Premier Gala, brought her total to six. That makes her the only other artist to win six “artistic” trophies in a single year, alongside Céline Dion.
Roxane Bruneau also won two honours, Song of the Year for “À ma manière” (co-written with Mathieu Brisset and published by Les Éditions Musique Variole enr.) and Female Artist of the Year, for a total of four awards in both galas.
One big surprise was the victory of CRi as Breakout Artist of the Year category, making him the first electronic music artist to win in that category. FouKi also defied all expectations by winning the Male Artist of the Year Award, while veteran rapper Connaisseur Ticaso won for Rap Album of the Year, his first Félix, but he wasn’t on hand to receive it.
Many were also surprised to see Alex Burger win Country Album of the Year for Sweet Montérégie, ahead of established artists like Irvin Blais and relative newcomers Émilie Daraîche and Léa Jarry. This award marks Burger’s arrival in the Québec country community with a bang, after being mostly known for his work in the rock realm, so far.
Louis-Jean Cormier
Louis-Jean Cormier won the Album of the Year – Adult Contemporary award for Le ciel est au plancher, while veteran Daniel Bélanger won in the Instrumental Album of the Year category for Travelling. One victory that wasn’t a surprise was that of Cowboys Fringants in the Group of the Year category.
The gala offered viewers many wonderful performances by SOCAN members Alex Burger, Angèle Dubeau & La Pietà, Charlotte Cardin, CRi, Damien Robitaille, David Goudreault, Dominique Fils-Aimé, Élage Diouf, FouKi, Guylaine Tanguay, Irvin Blais, Klô Pelgag, Léa Jarry, Roxane Bruneau, Scott-Pien Picard, Simon Leoza, and Vincent Vallières.
For a complete list of winners, visit the ADISQ website.