The Tenors

The Tenors

The Tenors Logo
Background information
Also known as The Canadian Tenors
Origin Victoria, British Columbia, Canada
Genres Operatic pop
Years active 2007–present
Labels Universal Music Canada, Decca Verve
Website tenorsmusic.com
Members
  • Fraser Walters
  • Victor Micallef
  • Clifton Murray
Past members
  • Remigio Pereira
  • Jamie McKnight

The Tenors (formerly known as The Canadian Tenors) are a vocal group consisting of Victor Micallef, Fraser Walters and Clifton Murray. They perform operatic pop music that is a mixture of classical and pop, featuring songs such as "The Prayer" and Panis Angelicus from the former genre,[1] and Leonard Cohen's Hallelujah from the latter.[2]

In July 2016, The Tenors announced that Remigio Pereira would no longer be performing with the group, because he altered the lyrics to "O Canada" at the 2016 Major League Baseball All-Star Game — from "With glowing hearts we see thee rise, the True North strong and free," to "We're all brothers and sisters, all lives matter to the great."

Originating from Canada, Micallef from Toronto, Walters from Vancouver and Murray from Port McNeill, the Tenors have performed on more than 60 international television programs. They appeared on The Oprah Winfrey Show with Celine Dion in 2010,[3] at the 63rd Primetime Emmy Awards,[4] at the opening ceremonies of 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver and on ITV (TV network) Diamond Jubilee Show at Windsor Castle for HM Queen Elizabeth II. The venues they have performed in include the Tel Aviv Opera House, and the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas. They also appeared on the 2009 Grey Cup broadcast and on CBC Television's Holiday Festival of Ice.[5]

They have shared the stage with Sarah McLachlan,[6] Neil Young,[7] Paul Anka,[8] Justin Bieber,[8] Paul McCartney,[9] Brian McKnight, David Foster,[6] and Natalie Cole.

Universal Music Group released their platinum-selling self-titled debut album and double-platinum holiday album, The Perfect Gift. The Tenors filmed a PBS special at the Smith Center for the Performing Arts that began airing in 2012.[10]

The Canadian Tenors were renamed The Tenors in November 2012 in advance of their third album Lead With Your Heart.[11] Also in 2012, The Tenors signed a US distribution deal with Verve Records.

The Tenors latest album Lead With Your Heart went platinum in Canada in seven weeks. The album garnered a 2013 JUNO Award for Adult Contemporary Album of the Year [12] and a JUNO Award Nomination for Jack Richardson for Producer of the Year for Bob Ezrin's production of the title track "Forever Young." Lead With Your Heart was featured on Katie, Good Morning America, Access Hollywood, ET Canada, CNN Morning Live, e-Talk and FOX & Friends.

Career

Origin

The group was the creation of Jill Ann Siemens, originally as a trio (Philip Grant, Paul Ouellette and Ken Lavigne) and debuted in 2004 in Victoria. Siemens then did a cross-Canada search to find four new voices, and chose Micallef, Pereira, Walters and Jamie McKnight. They released their self-titled debut The Canadian Tenors in 2008.[13]

Walters, Micallef and Pereira sang a repertoire of popular and classical music together for seven years. In January 2009 Clifton Murray replaced Jamie McKnight and the official The Canadian Tenors were formed.[3]

The Perfect Gift (2009-2011)

The band released their first holiday album The Perfect Gift on November 3, 2009, and was later certified platinum by Music Canada.

In September of that year, the group toured with David Foster as the opening act. They performed O Canada at the 2009 Grey Cup game. On February 10, 2010, the Tenors appeared on The Oprah Winfrey Show and sang "Hallelujah" alongside Celine Dion.

The album was released in the US October 30, 2010, and has since peaked at #7 on the Top Holiday Albums Chart.

On December 13, 2010, The group performed during a holiday special called Canadian Tenors and Friends, which drew 957,000 viewers.[14] The performance included the Tenors, Justin Bieber, and Jackie Evancho.

The Canadian Tenors appeared at the 2011 Emmy Awards, performing a version of Leonard Cohen's song "Hallelujah."

Another special called Season of Song featuring the Tenors aired December 14, 2011, attracting 743,000 viewers.[15]

2012-2014: Lead With Your Heart

The band announced on July 25, 2012, that they were signed by David Foster to Verve Records.[16]

The group's third album Lead With Your Heart was released in Canada on October 9, 2012 through Universal Music Canada. Lead With Your Heart is a 12- track classical crossover album. It includes covers of Forever Young (Bob Dylan song), Amazing Grace and Nessun Dorma. The album also includes new compositions written by The Tenors. Walter Afanasieff, Bob Ezrin and Marco Marinangeli have production and co-writing credits on the album.

The album's first single "I Believe," was released on iTunes on July 24, 2012 and was sampled on CTV during the 2012 Summer Olympics.[17] The group was awarded with the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal on January 24, 2013.[18]

The album was released in the United States on January 15, 2013, and debuted at No. 1 on the Classical Crossover Albums chart and No. 21 on Billboard 200, selling 16,000 copies in its first week.[19] On August 2, 2013, Lead With Your Heart was released in the United Kingdom. Later that year The Tenors appeared on the BBC's Strictly Come Dancing.

In October 2013 The Tenors released a single I Thank You with Big Brothers Big Sisters of America Spokesperson Laura Kaeppeler to benefit Big Brothers Big Sisters of Canada.

Conceived by Kenny Munshaw and co-written with The Tenors and Marc Jordan, I Thank You was recorded in London and produced by Grammy nominated producer and songwriter Sacha Skarbek.

2015-present: Under One Sky

The Tenors recorded their second PBS Special on March 12, 2015 at Caesar's Windsor Palace in Windsor, Ontario, featuring their new album, Under One Sky. On May 4, 2015 the first release of the CD, Under One Sky, took place in Canada and hit number one on i-Tunes within days. The US release date is held for one month, to be released in June. The PBS special is also slated for release in June 2015 to public television stations. Under One Sky features both original and re-recorded songs, and was well received at the PBS taping by a live, international audience. The PBS Special DVD was pre-released on May 13, 2015 for June 6 shipping. In April 2015 The Tenors announced an 18 date Canadian tour. The tour is in promotion of & named after the Under One Sky album.[20][21]

MLB 2016 All-Star Game controversy

In July 2016, the Tenors released a statement saying that Remigio Pereira would no longer perform with the group until further notice, following an incident at the 2016 Major League Baseball All-Star Game in which Pereira acted as a "lone wolf" and changed the lyrics of "O Canada" to include the phrase "all lives matter" and held up a sign with the phrase.[22][23][24]

Discography

Albums

Year Album Peak positions Sales Certifications
(sales threshold)
US Top Album Sales US US
Class		 US
Digital		 US
Christ		 US
Holiday		 CAN CAN
Class		 DU
2008 The Canadian Tenors 49 - 1 24 2 — 22 2[25] 15
2009 The Perfect Gift
  • Holiday album
  • Released: November 3, 2009
  • Label: Universal, Decca
  • Format: CD, digital download
 200 - 1 — — 7 — 3 —
  • MC: 3× Platinum[28]
2012 Lead With Your Heart
  • Released: October 9, 2012
  • Label: Universal, Decca, Verve
  • Format: CD, digital download
 21 - 1 — — — 3 — —
2015 Under One Sky
  • Released: May 4, 2015
  • Label: Universal
  • Format: CD, digital download
 98 49 1 — — — 3 — —
"—" denotes the album didn't chart.

Singles

Year Single Peak chart positions Album
CAN CAN
Vocal		 US
Vocal		 NL
2008 "Hallelujah" 56 1 1[32] 39 The Canadian Tenors
"Silent Night" — — — — The Perfect Gift
2012 "I Believe" — — — — Lead With Your Heart
2013 "I Thank You (The Tenors)" — — — — I Thank You
"—" denotes the single didn't chart.

References

  1. ↑ Amanda Stephenson (2009-12-05). "Canadian Tenors a winning combination". Medicine Hat News.
  2. ↑ Richard Ouzounian (2009-11-21). "The Canadian Tenors find perfect harmony". Toronto Star.
  3. 1 2 Iain MacIntyre (2012-12-14). "Tenor Fraser Walters struck right note on field". The Vancouver Sun.
  4. ↑ Emmys (2011-09-19). "In Memoriam : Primetime Emmys 2011 Season". Emmys.
  5. ↑ Archived January 11, 2010, at the Wayback Machine.
  6. 1 2 Richard Ouzounian (2009-11-21). "The Canadian Tenors Find Perfect Harmony". Toronto: The Star.
  7. ↑ Chart Attack (2009-09-09). "Sarah McLachlan's Summer Sessions At Ambleside Lineup Finalized". The Star.
  8. 1 2 CBC (2012-12-12). "Season of Song: The Canadian Tenors and Friends". CBC.
  9. ↑ Nicola McCafferty (2012-06-19). "Interview: The Tenors - Clifton Murray, Fraser Walters and Victor Micallef". OK UK.
  10. ↑ David Gordon (2012-07-02). "The Canadian Tenors to Record Upcoming PBS Special at Las Vegas' Smith Center". TheaterMania.com. Retrieved 2015-08-12.
  11. ↑ Michael posner (2012-11-02). "Meet The Tenors Formerly Known as the Canadian Tenors". Toronto: Globe and Mail.
  12. ↑ ET Canada (2013-04-21). "Juno Awards Winners Include Carly Rae Jepsen, The Weeknd and The Tenors". ET Canada Online.
  13. ↑ The Canadian Press (2008-12-28). "Canadian Tenors hitting the beach after whirlwind year". Cape Breton Post.
  14. ↑ Bill Brioux (2010-12-21). "Ratings across Canada Dec. 13 - 19". TV Feeds My Family.
  15. ↑ Archived January 4, 2012, at the Wayback Machine.
  16. ↑
  17. ↑ "CTV to bring back Olympic anthem 'I Believe' with new version by The Tenors | Toronto Star". Thestar.com. 2012-07-27. Retrieved 2015-08-12.
  18. ↑ "Global News | Latest & Current News - Weather, Sports & Health News". Globaltoronto.com. 2015-03-25. Retrieved 2015-08-12.
  19. ↑ "Chart Moves: The Tenors, Yo La Tengo, Civil Wars Debut in Top 40 on Billboard 200". Billboard. 2012-03-10. Retrieved 2015-08-12.
  20. ↑ "The Tenors 2015 Under One Sky Tour Schedule". April 29, 2015. Retrieved May 4, 2015.
  21. ↑ "The Tenors announce 18 Canadian dates on 'Under One Sky' tour". April 28, 2015. Retrieved May 4, 2015.
  22. ↑ Allison, Alexis (July 12, 2016). "'Lone wolf' Tenors singer changed O Canada lyrics to include 'all lives matter' at all-star game". CBC Sports. Retrieved July 12, 2016.
  23. ↑ National Post staff (July 12, 2016). "'Misguided' change to O Canada lyrics at MLB All-Star Game was the fault of 'lone wolf' member: Tenors". The Canadian Press. Retrieved July 12, 2016.
  24. ↑ <iframe src="https://www.facebook.com/plugins/post.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2Ftenorsmusic%2Fposts%2F10153808245320765&width=500" width="500" height="290" style="border:none;overflow:hidden" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowTransparency="true"></iframe>
  25. ↑ "CANOE - JAM! Music - SoundScan Charts". Jam.canoe.ca. 2015-04-21. Retrieved 2015-08-12.
  26. ↑ "US Billboard Top 200 Albums - 03/06/2010 - (with sales) - BuzzJack Music Forum". Buzzjack.com. 2010-02-27. Retrieved 2015-08-12.
  27. ↑ "Gold & Platinum Certifiication". Archived from the original on March 30, 2009. Retrieved April 21, 2009.
  28. ↑ "Canadian album certifications – The Canadian Tenors – The Perfect Gift". Music Canada.
  29. ↑ "Upcoming Releases". Hits Daily Double. HITS Digital Ventures. Archived from the original on May 15, 2015.
  30. ↑ "Canadian album certifications – The Canadian Tenors – Lead With Your Heart". Music Canada.
  31. ↑ Alan Cross (2015-05-14). "A Journal of Musical ThingsWeekly Music Sales Report and Analysis: 13 May 2015". A Journal of Musical Things. Retrieved 2015-08-12.
  32. ↑ Archived July 18, 2011, at the Wayback Machine.
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