Wilco have confirmed that Canadian chanteuse Feist will make an appearance on their latest, as-yet-untitled album, which is slated for release in late June.
“Rumors and blogs regarding a guest appearance on (the track “You and I”) are, amazingly, quite true,” a posting on the band’s website stated Friday. “Feist does indeed lend a great vocal.”
Scarlett Johansson is set to host the upcoming Nobel Peace Prize Concert, which will include performances by Feist and Diana Ross.
Also slated to play the Dec. 11 event in Oslo is an array of international talent, including Dierks Bentley, Julieta Venegas, Seun Kuti, Marit Larsen, Nick Davies and The Norwegian Radio Orchestra.
Additional acts will be announced in the coming few weeks.
The 15th annual show will take place the day after former Finnish president Martti Ahtisaari receives the Nobel Peace Prize for his diplomatic and peacemaking work over more than three decades.
Johansson release a statement saying she was “truly honoured” to be hosting the tribute to Ahtisaari.
“His tireless efforts to promote peace on a global scale are an inspiration to us all,” she said.
The actress herself received high praises from Geir Lundestad, secretary of the Norwegian Nobel Committee, who called her “politically engaged and conscious” in an interview with the VG newspaper.
Feist is getting charitable on her upcoming Canadian tour.
The Calgary-raised, Toronto-based musician will appeal to the goodwill of fans with two initiatives benefiting several charities during her 13-city excursion.
Concertgoers are being asked to bring non-perishable food items and/or monetary contributions to show venues, where local representatives of the Canadian Association of Food Banks will be on hand to collect donations. One person each night will win an article of limited-edited Feist memorabilia.
As well, all the proceeds from Feist merchandise sales throughout the tour will go to CARE Canada, Doctors Without Borders and War Child Canada.
Feist is backing her third album, “The Reminder,” which was released last year and earned the singer-songwriter five Juno awards in April.
Here are Feist’s upcoming Canadian dates, with opener Hayden:
Oct. 14 – Penticton, BC @ South Okanagan Events Centre
Oct. 16 – Edmonton, AB @ Rexall Place
Oct. 18 – Calgary, AB @ Pengrowth Saddledome
Oct. 19 – Regina, SK @ Brandt Centre
Oct. 20 – Winnipeg, MB @ MTS Centre
Oct. 24 – London, ON @ John Labatt Centre
Oct. 25 – Ottawa, ON @ National Arts Centre (Southam Hall)
Nov. 1 – Toronto, ON @ Massey Hall
Nov. 3 – Toronto, ON @ Air Canada Centre
Nov. 5 – Montreal, QC @ Bell Centre
Nov. 6 – Saint John, NB @ Harbour Station
Nov. 7 – Halifax, NS @ Halifax Metro Centre
Nov. 9 – St. John’s, NL @ Mile One Stadium
Nov. 10 – Charlottetown, PEI @ Confederation Centre Of The Arts
Alberta musicians who’ve made it big worldwide will be honoured at the Western Canadian Music Awards next month.
The Western Canadian Music Alliance, which hosts the annual awards, announced Wednesday that Feist, k.d. lang and Nickelback are all being recognized for their international stature and significant album sales.
The gala will take place Oct. 19 at Edmonton’s Meyer Horowitz Theatre.
Feist, whose full name is Leslie Feist, was actually born in Amherst, N.S., but grew up in Calgary. Her third album “The Reminder” sold more than a million copies worldwide and was nominated for four Grammy awards this year.
Lang is from Consort, Alta., and has won multiple Grammys for her country/adult contemporary music, the first being Best Country Vocal Collaboration in 1988 for her duet with Roy Orbison on the song “Crying.” She was also inducted into Canada’s Walk of Fame earlier this month.
Nickelback, formed in Hanna, Alta., has sold more than 26 million albums worldwide and won a World Music Award for World’s Best Rock Group in 2006.
The results show opens with a recap of last night’s performances, courtesy of the guys at TSN’s Sports Centre. Huh?
Simple Plan, guest mentors this week, perform their single, “Your Love Is a Lie,” off their latest self-titled album. Their performance, much like their name, is simple and contrived.
Before getting to the results, Ben asks unnecessary questions to the judges and hopefuls. After bringing Theo, Mookie and Mitch onto centre stage, Ben announces it’s the Idols left on the couch that are in the bottom three, surprising no one but 14-year-old fan girls.
And the unlucky victim this week, or perhaps they’re the lucky one, is Amberly Thiessen. “The Idol mansion has become a frat house,” says Ben. Amberly, on the verge of tears, sings the show out with “1234” by Feist.
The final five will take on Beatles songs next Monday at 8 p.m. EST on CTV.
Leslie Feist came, saw and conquered at this year’s Junos.
The Toronto-based, Calgary-born singing sensation known simply as Feist, walked away with awards in all five categories she was nominated- including the coveted album of the year.
“I am a soft and sucky person, and I would be soft if it wasn’t for my human shields,” the singer said just before thanking her label, her producers and her band.
Feist took home single of the year, the first award of the night, for 1 2 3 4, the ditty that took the world by storm. Feist would be back on stage to accept a few more honours proving that the night was most definitely hers.
Feist may have beat out the best in Canadian music in her categories but others were honoured during the ceremony at Calgary’s Saddledome on Sunday night.
Homegrown host and international funnyman Russell Peters kicked off the night with a low blow joke aimed at Nickelback lead singer, Chad Kroeger. Peters ran on stage quipped that Kroeger was his limo driver as fans roared with laughter knowing the singer was recently found guilty of drunk driving.
The night went on to include some spectacular performances. Finger Eleven graced the staged with a powerful rendition of their song Paralyzer, opera singer Measha Brueggergosman honoured the late Oscar Peterson with two songs, and Anne Murray did a memorable duet with Jann Arden. The show wrapped up with R&B/Soul recording of the year winner Jully Black, singing her hit Seven Day Fool.
Other winners included Halifax indie band Wintersleep getting the new group of the year trophy as Blue Rodeo was named group of the year. The Juno fan choice award went to Michael Buble, who beat out Canadian legend Celine Dion for the nod. Dion was left empty-handed in all four of her nominations.
Celine Dion, Michael Bublé and Avril Lavigne didn’t stand a chance for the artist of the year prize at this year’s Junos.
Toronto’s Feist took home the award as well as songwriter of the year at a pre-ceremony gala held on Saturday night in Calgary.
The rest of the awards will be handed out in traditional award show fashion for the viewing public on Sunday night.
Feist is up for three more Junos at Sunday’s show including single, album and pop album of the year, CBC.ca reports.
The 32-year-old musician, born Leslie Feist, will have to add the Junos to the many accolades she’s already accumulated this year. She’s got four Grammy nominations and a Brit Award nod for best international female under her belt. The difference with the Junos, however, is that Feist is actually taking home some trophies.
Count von Count must be beside himself with excitement.
Canadian songstress Feist, whose number-referencing hit “1234″ is nominated for best single going into Sunday’s Juno Awards, will make a special appearance on the arithmomanic fanged one’s home turf of “Sesame Street.”
The singer was in New York this week to tape an episode on the long-running children’s show in which she duets with Elmo.
Feist and the giggly red monster reportedly sing a song she wrote specifically for the two of them.
An air date for the episode has not yet been announced.
It’s not Feist’s first time working with puppets — she recently shot a video for “Honey Honey” that showcases the Calgary-based Old Trout Puppet Workshop, whose puppetry has been featured in the Disney TV series “Honey I Shrunk The Kids.”
“I’ve always been really obsessed with the naivete of puppeteering,” Feist told The Calgary Herald recently. “It’s a hand pulling a string at the exact right moment or it’s personifying a piece of wood.
“There are no computers, no buttons. It’s just ingenuity and timing and the humanness of the moment. The joints of wood mixed with the joints of blood and bone.”
Feist is nominated for five Junos this year, including best artist, best songwriter and best album for “The Reminder.”
She will also perform at the awards ceremony, which will air live from Calgary’s Pengrowth Saddledome on CTV.
Feist, Muse, Of Montreal, Bloc Party, Deerhoof, The Exit and a host of other artists are going green for an environmentally friendly benefit album.
Green Owl Records, founded by musicians Ben Brewer, Ellenike Abreu and Stephen Glicken, is releasing its first CD/DVD compilation which will feature previously unreleased tracks from the above artists and others.
“The Green Owl Comp: A Benefit For The Energy Action Coalition” will be released digitally to cut down on waste, and also as a physical release packaged in 100 per cent post-consumer paper.
The compilation features a 16-track audio CD and a DVD with eight music videos, an interview with Energy Action Coalition (EAC) founder Billy Parish and eight bonus audio tracks.
All proceeds will go to EAC, a project of more than 40 youth-led clean energy organizations in the U.S. and Canada.
The compilation will be available starting April 8.
Feist beat out the likes of M.I.A. and fellow Canadians Arcade Fire and Stars to take the 2007 Shortlist Prize on Monday for her album “The Reminder.”
The award, considered the American equivalent of Britain’s prestigious Mercury Prize, recognizes artists more for critical acclaim than commercial success. To be eligible, albums must have been released between January and November 2007 and have sold fewer than 500,000 units in the U.S.
Feist beat out nine other nominees to become the first Canadian to win the prize, which was launched in 2001.
This year’s winner was chosen by a panel of music industry insiders including Snow Patrol’s Gary Lightbody, the Killers’ Ronnie Vannucci and journalist Rev. Moose.
“The Reminder” is Feist’s third solo album and has now reached sales of nearly 515,000 in the U.S., according to Nielsen SoundScan.
The Toronto- and Paris-based singer already has four Grammy and five Juno nominations, and will perform at the Juno award ceremony on April 6.
