Celine & Rene helped the new Canadian chart-topper

[Bellamy]

Celine & Rene helped the new Canadian chart-topper.

Little-known Quebec singer a surprise chart-toppe

 

ORONTO (Billboard) - Meet Gregory Charles -- the Canadian chart-topper most Canadians don't know.

 

The vocalist was an unknown quantity for the majority of his countrymen when he topped Canada's Nielsen SoundScan album chart in late October. The 38-year-old Montreal-based radio/TV host and actor's debut studio album, "I Think of You," sold 93,000 copies on its way to No. 1 the week ending October 25.

 

That's the kind of first-week figure rarely seen in Canada by domestic acts -- excepting Celine Dion and Shania Twain -- or even established international acts. But what makes it even more remarkable is that almost all the English-language album's sales were in the French-speaking province of Quebec. "I Think of You" will not receive a full national release for several months.

 

"It's insane," says Charles, the son of an English-speaking, Trinidad-born father and a French-speaking Quebecois mother.

 

"I knew some people would buy the album early," he says, "because the title track was played so much in Quebec this summer." It reached No. 3 on Nielsen BDS' Quebec-based English-language airplay chart. "But I had no idea we'd see such first-week sales."

 

The collection of 11 R&B-style, Charles-penned songs was released in Quebec on October 17 by Charles' own Disques NBW label, distributed by Sony BMG Canada. It stayed at No. 1 for two weeks, scanning 44,000 units in its first week and 23,300 in its second.

 

Charles' first-week sales outstripped those of new albums by two Canadian music giants, according to Nielsen SoundScan. The Tragically Hip's "World Container" (Universal) with 27,000 units and Sarah McLachlan with "Wintersong" (Nettwerk) at 19,000 units, entered behind "I Think of You" at No. 2 and No. 3, respectively.

 

In culturally distinctive Quebec, a media explosion often surrounds album releases by local French-language acts, but it is rare for Quebecers to buy a domestic English-language album in such quantities.

 

Charles has been a high-profile radio/TV host in Quebec for two decades, and he currently has a weekly regional radio show on French-language network Radio-Canada.

 

His musical talents, however, received substantial regional exposure through his autobiographical musical show "Noir et Blanc," which ran at Montreal's Bell Centre from 2000 to 2004 and also played in New York and Toronto.

 

A classically trained pianist, Charles was also a backing vocalist on fellow Quebecer Dion's 1998 world tour. Dion and her manager/husband, Rene Angelil, are self-proclaimed fans. 

 

"Gregory is so talented," Angelil says. "He sent us the song 'I Think of You,' and Celine and I fell in love with it. I introduced him to our record label, Sony BMG."

"We came in very late," Sony BMG Music Canada senior vice president of marketing Shane Carter says. The major finalized a Canadian pressing and distribution deal for the album only weeks before its Quebec release, he says, "but when we had the opportunity to jump on it, we were thrilled."

 

Reuters/Billboard

http://ca.today.reuters.com/news/newsArtic...&archived=False

[SuperLove4Celine]

Nice article! Thank you!

 

Btw, do you know of anywhere where I can either download or stream the song? It would be nice to hear it.

 

...Joe...

[Love,]

http://www.gregorycharles.ca

 

He's pretty slick!

 

...and classically-trained pianist? YAY!

Edited November 18, 2006 at 06:39 AM by Love,

[SuperLove4Celine]

Wow! I love that song! I may have to get the album now!

 

I can totally hear Celine singing that song! Wouldn't it be nice if she did a version of it for the new English album? I know, I know, I know, but hey I can dream!

 

...Joe...

[Ronny83]

Yes, he is great. He sold a lot in Canada in the past weeks. I like "I Think Of You": http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cnwn5PldTWE

[Bellamy]

Wow!  I love that song!  I may have to get the album now! 

 

I can totally hear Celine singing that song!  Wouldn't it be nice if she did a version of it for the new English album?  I know, I know, I know, but hey I can dream!

 

...Joe...

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Angelil says. "He sent us the song 'I Think of You,' and Celine and I fell in love with it."

Maybe he sent the song to Celine to sing it? So I think it's possible that Celine would record it.