On Sunday, Nov. 3, 2024, in Montréal, stand-up comedian and SOCAN member Pierre-Yves Roy Desmarais brilliantly hosted the ADISQ televised gala for the first time, following the 18-year reign of Louis-José Houde. The annual awards ceremony added three more trophies to the Cowboys Fringants’ tally, bringing their total this year to eight – including Group of the Year, and Songwriter of the Year for Jean-François Pauzé, an award many believe has been well-deserved for a long time.
“We’ve always enjoyed a lot of recognition from the public over the last 25 years and it’s an incredible privilege,” said Pauzé, during his post-gala press room appearance. “We’re very grateful for that. Tonight is a bit like the cherry on top. Frankly, it’s the people around me who were worried about the fact that I’d never been nominated in that category, but I did not give a shit, to be honest.”
The 2024 edition of the Gala de l’ADISQ also saw Alexandra Stréliski win two more Félix awards, including Female Artist of the Year (for the second year in a row). She shared the podium with Daniel Bélanger, who also won the Félix for Male Artist of the Year for a second consecutive year. Charlotte Cardin won the Artist of the Year – International award. During her press room appearance, she talked about the quality of her audience in Québec: “My audience in Québec is still my most loyal audience, they show up every time I announce something new, so they’re obviously an audience that’s close to my heart, no matter where I am in the world. It’s been true since I was very young: I’ve always wanted to share my music with as many people as possible, without thinking about borders.”
R&B and soul singer Barnev, who’s been active on the music scene for 30 years – including several as a backing vocalist for the great Céline Dion, on stages worldwide – won the Breakthrough Artist of the Year Félix, for his first solo album Qui je suis. We interviewed the artist in the press room, where he was full of gratitude for this unexpected honour.
Select the image to play the SOCAN YouTube interview video with Barnev
The evening also featured some wonderful performances from several SOCAN members, including Souldia and Roxane Bruneau in an intense and surprising duet; some of the artists nominated in the Discovery of the Year category, namely Arielle Soucy, Barnev, Émile Bourgault, Rau_Ze and Sophie Grenier;an explosive opening number featuring Karkwa, Half Moon Run, and Élisapie (who won for Indigenous Artist of the Year); as well as standout performances from Les Trois Accords; Roch Voisine, in a duet with Isabelle Boulay; Aliocha; and a highly emotional finale with the cast of the musical Pub Royal performing the Cowboys Fringants’ Song of the Year, “La fin du show,” as a tribute to the late Karl Tremblay.
Eric Parazelli and Marie-Michèle Bouchard of SOCAN’s Communications & Marketing team were on hand on the red carpet and in the press room to gather impressions from the nominees and winners, while SOCAN President Marc Ouellet, Chief Membership Officer Jean-Christian Céré, Chief Legal Officer Andrea Kokonis, and Executive Director of Québec Affairs Alexandre Alonso attended the gala, demonstrating their unwavering support for our members.
For a complete list of winners, visit the ADISQ website.
Stay tuned for our backstage interviews from the Premier Gala and the ADISQ Gala in the coming days.