| Emjay | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Marie-Josée Riel |
| Born | December 9 1974 |
| Origin |  Ottawa, Ontario, Canada |
| Genre(s) | Euro Dance, Dance, Freestyle |
| Occupation(s) | Singer, songwriter |
| Years active | 1994–2000 |
| Label(s) | Primus (1994–1997) Tycoon (1997–2000) |
Marie-Josée Riel (born December 9, 1974) is a dance artist of French-Canadian decent. She originates from Rockland, just outside of Ottawa and had a series of dance hits throughout the 1990s. Her style of dance music was Euro Dance with high-energy techno beat and passionate female vocals. Her music was rather well-known to Canadian dance music fans.
Contents |
Career
Young Talent
Her passion for music began at age 12, with a 7 year stint singing as a backup vocalist with a local Ottawa band. She devoted virtually all her spare time practising the many different choreographs, along with gruelling aerobic training to ensure she was in top shape for her live performances of non-stop singing and dancing. Even at that young age, Emjay was willing to work hard and do what it took to attain her dream; to one day becomes a lead singer. The effort was well recognised; the band won 8 American Guild Awards. Still with the band in 1993, Emjay won first place as Pop Solo Artist at the American Guild Awards.
First Success
In 1994 she recorded a solo project, resulting in her first recording contract with Primus, and the song "Sound Of My Heartbeat", which charted at #7 on The Record's Dance chart. More singles followed, "Fascinated" (a cover of the 1986 hit by Company B) rose to #5, "Flying To The Moon" to #3, and of course, her biggest success yet to come, "In Your Arms". In July 1995, she performed at the Théâtre du Forum in Montreal alongside Bananarama, Whigfield, Los Del Mar, BKS and others, in front of a 5000 capacity-crowd.
In Your Arms: The Album
In August 1995, Emjay's first album, In Your Arms was released. Even then she sizzled with Diva authority. This debut earned her 5 hit singles, along with many opportunities, including the honour of a nomination for Best Dance Recording at the 26th Annual Juno Awards, on January 29, 1997, and a MuchMusic Video Award.
In Your Arms Promotion
On August 24, 1996 Emjay performed live at the Kingswood Music Theatre at Canada's Wonderland in Toronto in front of an estimated 15000 capacity-crowd. The event, sponsored by Energy 108, also included artists Coolio, BKS, Ruffneck, Temperance, and many others. On the December 1, 1996 she was nominated on The First Annual Cyberspace Euro-Energy Awards. On February 22, 1997 she performed for the second year in a row on the Parliament Hill at Ottawa's Winterlude. The memorable event was broadcasted live across the nation on the MuchMusic's flagship dance show Electric Circus, including several reruns on CityTV and Musique Plus. Then on March 9, 1997 she was at the 26th Annual Juno Awards at the Copps Coliseum in Hamilton, Ontario.
The Second Wave
In November 1997 Emjay signed with Tycoon Records. She had recorded her first new single "We All Need Love" (produced by Mark Ryan, which was Emjay's second single to be nominated for Juno Awards as the Best Dance Recording), and was working on the full album, first scheduled for a later release in 1998. She was chosen as the opening act for The Backstreet Boys' Canadian Tour, starting in Halifax on December 27, 1997 and ending in Québec City on January 7, 1998. January 4, 1998 was the first filming date for Emjay's new music video. On June 27, 1998 she performed with various artists in front of 70,000 people in Little Italy in Toronto for the World Cup soccer game. Throughout 1998 she continued to work on what was supposed to have been her second album, releasing several singles including "Let It Go", "Over & Over" (both produced by Mark Ryan, "Over & Over" was once again nominated for Juno Awards as the Best Dance Recording), "Love Will Keep Us Together" (a cover of the 1975 release by Captain and Tennille) and "Is It For Real?" in 1999. In January 1999 music video "We All Need Love" entered into light rotation on MuchMusic, appearing quite a few times. In June 1999, single "Over & Over" entered the regular airplay on two of Toronto's very own radio stations Power 88.5 and Z103.5. In July 1999, "Over & Over" even made it to the Z103.5's weekly Top 40 countdown.
Discography
Singles
| Year | Name | Peak Position | Nomination |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1994 | Sound of My Heartbeat | #7 | N/A |
| 1995 | Fascinated | #5 | N/A |
| 1995 | Flying To The Moon | #3 | N/A |
| 1995 | In Your Arms | #1 | Juno: Best Dance Recording MMVA: Best Dance Video |
| 1996 | Point Of No Return | #8 | N/A |
| 1997 | We All Need Love | #5 | ? |
| 1998 | Let It Go | ? | N/A |
| 1998 | Over & Over | #1 | Juno: Best Dance Recording |
| 1999 | Love Will Keep Us Together | ? | N/A |
| 1999 | Is It For Real? | ? | N/A |
Albums
| In Your Arms (1995) |
|---|
| № | Track Name | Duration |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sound of My Heartbeat | 5:26 |
| 2 | In Your Arms | 4:30 |
| 3 | Flying To The Moon | 5:23 |
| 4 | Bring Me | 6:17 |
| 5 | Summertime | 6:13 |
| 6 | So Far Away | 3:52 |
| 7 | Be My Man | 4:35 |
| 8 | Fascinated | 6:13 |
| 9 | You Say Love | 5:12 |
| 10 | Every Night | 4:39 |
| 11 | Falling In Love | 5:11 |
| 12 | Sing It | 4:06 |
| 13 | Point Of No Return | 4:40 |
| 14 | Fascinated (Underground Mix) | 6:06 |
