Nicole "Nikki" Yanofsky is a Canadian jazz-pop singer from
Hampstead-History:The Town of Hampstead was founded in 1914. It was designed to be an exclusive garden city. There are no retail shops within municipal boundaries. Houses were assigned relatively large lots to allow space for trees and shrubbery. The town's roads were designed with curves in order to slow...
,
QuebecQuebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....
. She is involved in charitable causes, and released her first studio album on her own label, A440 Entertainment, and on
Decca RecordsDecca Records began as a British record label established in 1929 by Edward Lewis. Its U.S. label was established in late 1934; however, owing to World War II, the link with the British company was broken for several decades....
outside of Canada. Yanofsky sang
Canada's national anthemIt has been noted that the opening theme of "O Canada" bears a strong resemblance to the "Marsch der Priester" , from the opera Die Zauberflöte , composed in 1791 by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, and that Lavallée's melody was inspired by Mozart's tune...
at the
opening ceremonies of the 2010 Winter OlympicsThe Opening Ceremony of the 2010 Winter Olympics was held on February 12, 2010 beginning at 6:00 pm PST at BC Place Stadium in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. This was the first Olympic opening ceremony to be held indoors...
in Vancouver. She also performed during the
closing ceremoniesThe Closing Ceremony of the 2010 Winter Olympics took place on February 28, 2010, beginning at 5:30 pm PST at BC Place Stadium in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada...
and the
Paralympic opening ceremonyThe Opening Ceremony of the 2010 Winter Paralympics was held on March 12, 2010 beginning at 6:00 pm PST at the BC Place Stadium in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada....
.
Recordings
Yanofsky recorded the
Ella FitzgeraldElla Jane Fitzgerald , also known as the "First Lady of Song" and "Lady Ella," was an American jazz and song vocalist...
classic "Airmail Special" for
Verve RecordsVerve Records is an American jazz record label now owned by Universal Music Group. It was founded by Norman Granz in 1956, absorbing the catalogues of his earlier labels, Clef Records and Norgran Records , and material which had been licensed to Mercury previously.-Jazz and folk origins:The Verve...
and it was released in June 2007 on the album
We All Love Ella: Celebrating the First Lady of SongWe All Love Ella: Celebrating The First Lady Of Song is a 2007 tribute album to Ella Fitzgerald, released to mark the 90th anniversary of her birth.-Track listing:#"A-Tisket, A-Tasket"...
. Produced by
Tommy LiPumaTommy LiPuma is an American music producer. In his long career, he has worked with many musicians, including Barbra Streisand, Miles Davis, Al Jarreau, Anita Baker, Natalie Cole, Claudine Longet, Dave Mason, the Yellowjackets, Michael Franks, Diana Krall, and The Story...
, this track made Yanofsky the youngest singer ever to record for Verve.
Nikki then recorded "Gotta Go My Own Way" in English and French for
Walt Disney’sWalt Disney Pictures is an American film studio owned by The Walt Disney Company. Walt Disney Pictures and Television, a subsidiary of the Walt Disney Studios and the main production company for live-action feature films within the Walt Disney Motion Pictures Group, based at the Walt Disney...
smash hit
High School Musical 2. The track was included as bonus material on the worldwide release of the
Blu-rayBlu-ray Disc is an optical disc storage medium designed to supersede the DVD format. The plastic disc is 120 mm in diameter and 1.2 mm thick, the same size as DVDs and CDs. Blu-ray Discs contain 25 GB per layer, with dual layer discs being the norm for feature-length video discs...
,
DVDA DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
and Soundtrack
CDThe Compact Disc is an optical disc used to store digital data. It was originally developed to store and playback sound recordings exclusively, but later expanded to encompass data storage , write-once audio and data storage , rewritable media , Video Compact Discs , Super Video Compact Discs ,...
.
Following that, she collaborated with
Grammy AwardA Grammy Award — or Grammy — is an accolade by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to recognize outstanding achievement in the music industry...
-winning musicians
Herbie HancockHerbert Jeffrey "Herbie" Hancock is an American pianist, bandleader and composer. As part of Miles Davis's "second great quintet," Hancock helped to redefine the role of a jazz rhythm section and was one of the primary architects of the "post-bop" sound...
and
Will.i.amWilliam James Adams, Jr. , better known by his stage name will.i.am and occasionally by his other stage name Zuper Blahq, is an American rapper, musician, songwriter, singer, actor and producer...
(from
The Black Eyed PeasThe Black Eyed Peas are an American pop group , formed in Los Angeles, California, in 1995. The group includes rappers will.i.am, apl.de.ap, and Taboo, and singer Fergie. Since the release of their third album Elephunk in 2003, the group has sold an estimated 56 million records worldwide...
) to record a crossover version of the
swing eraThe Swing era was the period of time when big band swing music was the most popular music in the United States. Though the music had been around since the late 1920s and early 1930s, being played by black bands led by such artists as Duke Ellington, Jimmie Lunceford, Benny Moten, Ella Fitzgerald,...
hit "
Stompin' at the Savoy"Stompin' at the Savoy" is a 1934 jazz standard composed by Edgar Sampson. It is named after the Savoy Ballroom.Although the song is credited to Benny Goodman, Chick Webb, and Edgar Sampson, and the lyrics by Andy Razaf, in reality the music was written and arranged for Chick Webb's band by...
". It was released on
Kareem Abdul-JabbarKareem Abdul-Jabbar is a retired American professional basketball player. He is the NBA's all-time leading scorer, with 38,387 points. During his career with the NBA's Milwaukee Bucks and Los Angeles Lakers from 1969 to 1989, Abdul-Jabbar won six NBA championships and a record six regular season...
's audio book,
On the Shoulders of Giants.
In September 2008, Yanofsky released her first full-length album, a live CD/DVD concert package entitled
Ella... Of Thee I Swing. Supported by her production company, A440 Entertainment, Inc. and distributed in Canada and Japan by Universal Music, it garnered critical acclaim and earned her two
Juno AwardThe Juno Awards are presented annually to Canadian musical artists and bands to acknowledge their artistic and technical achievements in all aspects of music...
nominations in 2009: 'New Artist of the Year' and 'Vocal Jazz Album of the Year'. She also won 'Favourite Jazz Artist' at the 2009 Canadian Independent Music Awards.
Songwriters
Stephan MoccioStephan Moccio is a pianist, composer, producer, arranger, conductor and recording artist. He co-wrote Celine Dion's 2002 hit "A New Day Has Come" with Aldo Nova, which reached and held the number one spot on the Billboard AC Chart for a record breaking 21 weeks...
and
Alan FrewAlan Frew is the lead singer for the Canadian band, Glass Tiger, and has also released two solo albums...
chose Yanofsky to sing
CTV’sCTV Television Network is a Canadian English language television network and is owned by Bell Media. It is Canada's largest privately-owned network, and has consistently placed as Canada's top-rated network in total viewers and in key demographics since 2002, after several years trailing the rival...
broadcast theme for the
2010 Winter OlympicsThe 2010 Winter Olympics, officially the XXI Olympic Winter Games or the 21st Winter Olympics, were a major international multi-sport event held from February 12–28, 2010, in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, with some events held in the suburbs of Richmond, West Vancouver and the University...
, "
I Believe"I Believe" is a song by Canadian jazz-pop singer Nikki Yanofsky. Written by Stephan Moccio and Alan Frew, it was used as CTV's official promotional song for their coverage of the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, and instrumental cues based on the song were also used as CTV's main theme for its...
", which hit the airwaves in late January 2010 and was played throughout the Olympics on all of CTV’s media partners.
Yanofsky recorded her first studio album with 14-time Grammy Award-winning producer
Phil RamonePhil Ramone is a South-African violinist, composer, recording engineer, and record producer.-Biography:As a young child in South Africa, Ramone was a musical prodigy, beginning to play the violin at age three and performing for Queen Elizabeth II at age ten...
. Along with the album-release of "I Believe", it includes some of Yanofsky’s first original works—writing in collaboration with
Jesse HarrisJesse Harris is a Grammy Award winning American singer-songwriter. He has collaborated with several musical artists including Norah Jones, Melody Gardot, Madeleine Peyroux, Nikki Yanofsky, and Lizz Wright.-Early life and education:...
(of
Norah JonesNorah Jones is an American singer-songwriter and occasional actress.In 2002, she launched her solo music career with the release of the commercially successful and critically acclaimed album Come Away With Me, which was certified a diamond album in 2002, selling over 20 million copies...
fame) as well as fellow Canadian songwriters
Ron SexsmithRonald Eldon "Ron" Sexsmith is a Canadian singer-songwriter from St. Catharines, Ontario, currently based in Toronto. He started his own band when he was fourteen years old, and released the first recordings of his own material seven years later, in 1985...
and Feist. It was released in April 2010 and will be supported by an international tour.
"I Believe" reached number one on the
Canadian Hot 100 on the week of February 27, 2010. This made her the first Canadian artist to have a number one song on that chart since "
Girlfriend"Girlfriend" is a song by Canadian singer-songwriter Avril Lavigne. The song was written by Lavigne with her producer Dr. Luke for Lavigne's third studio album, The Best Damn Thing . "Girlfriend" was released as the lead single from The Best Damn Thing on 27 February 2007...
" by
Avril LavigneAvril Ramona Lavigne is a Canadian singer-songwriter. She was born in Belleville, Ontario, but spent most of her youth in the small town of Napanee. By the age of 15, she had appeared on stage with Shania Twain; by 16, she had signed a two-album recording contract with Arista Records worth more...
topped the chart in 2007.
Stage
Yanofsky began her professional singing career by performing at the 2006 Montreal International Jazz Festival. This performance made her the youngest performer ever to headline at this festival. She has returned to this festival each year since, culminating in 2009 with a very special outdoor performance for the festival’s 30th Anniversary. Her other Canadian festival performances include Toronto (Luminato and
DowntownThe Toronto Jazz Festival is a jazz event in Toronto and takes place in June and July. Unlike the Toronto Beaches Jazz Festival, most of the events are indoors and located throughout the downtown core. Formerly known as the DuMaurier Jazz Festival until the ban on tobacco advertising by the federal...
), Ottawa (
JazzThe TD Canada Trust Ottawa International Jazz Festival was founded in 1980 and is now a multi-week festival of jazz music, featuring performers from all around the world. It is held in the summer in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, and takes place at various locations throughout the city. The main events...
and
BluesThe Cisco Ottawa Bluesfest is an annual outdoor music festival that takes place each July in downtown Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. While ostensibly focused on blues, the festival has increasingly showcased mainstream pop and rock acts in recent years...
),
VancouverThe Vancouver International Jazz Festival is an annual summer event in Vancouver, Canada.The festival grew out of a local jazz scene that centred around Vancouver Co-op Radio , a community radio station, in the early 1980s...
, Victoria,
QuebecThe Festival d'été, or Summer Festival , has been taking place annually since 1968. It is organized by groups of businesspersons and artists of Quebec City in order to show the artistic, economic, and tourist potential of the region...
, Edmonton,
SaskatoonSaskTel Saskatchewan Jazz Festival is an annual outdoor music, food and fun event in the province of Saskatchewan hosted by Saskatchewan Jazz Festival, Inc. . Normally staged during June, it is host to a range of Canadian and International jazz musicians who travel from across the world to take part...
, and Fredericton. Her international festival appearances include two visits to The Jamaica Jazz and Blues Festival as well as the Ginza International Jazz Festival in Japan where she played to a full house at
Tokyo's, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...
historic
Kabuki-za' in Ginza was the principal theater in Tokyo for the traditional kabuki drama form.-Architecture:The original Kabuki-za was a wooden structure, built in 1889 on land which had been either the Tokyo residence of the Hosokawa clan of Kumamoto, or that of Matsudaira clan of Izu.The building was...
.
On February 8, 2008 – her fourteenth birthday – Yanofsky kicked off a multi-city tour with famed composer and conductor,
Marvin HamlischMarvin Frederick Hamlisch is an American composer. He is one of only thirteen people to have been awarded Emmys, Grammys, Oscars, and a Tony . He is also one of only two people to EGOT and also win a Pulitzer Prize...
at
Carnegie HallCarnegie Hall is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan in New York City, United States, located at 881 Seventh Avenue, occupying the east stretch of Seventh Avenue between West 56th Street and West 57th Street, two blocks south of Central Park....
. This tour included appearances at other world-class venues such as
Avery Fisher HallAvery Fisher Hall is a concert hall, in New York City and is part of the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts complex. It is the home of the New York Philharmonic, with a capacity of 2,738 seats.-History:...
, also in New York, as well as
The Kennedy CentreThe John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts is a performing arts center located on the Potomac River, adjacent to the Watergate complex in Washington, D.C...
in Washington, D.C. This tour also included stops in Seattle, San Diego, Milwaukee and even her hometown of Montreal. In November 2008 she made her Canadian orchestral debut with the
Edmonton Symphony OrchestraAs the professional orchestra of Alberta's creative capital city, the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra presents over 85 concerts a year of symphonic music in all genres, from classical to country...
, and since then has gone on to sing with the
National Arts Centre OrchestraThe National Arts Centre Orchestra is an orchestra in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada's capital. It is a classically-sized ensemble currently conducted by Pinchas Zukerman.-Description:Since 1998, Pinchas Zukerman has been the Music Director. Mario Bernardi C.C...
for a tribute to
Oscar PetersonOscar Emmanuel Peterson was a Canadian jazz pianist and composer. He was called the "Maharaja of the keyboard" by Duke Ellington, "O.P." by his friends. He released over 200 recordings, won seven Grammy Awards, and received other numerous awards and honours over the course of his career...
as well as the
Saskatoon Symphony OrchestraThe Saskatoon Symphony Orchestra is a professional orchestra based in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan administered by the non-profit Saskatoon Symphony Society. The orchestra was founded in 1927 as an amateur orchestra, but today has 10 core members and up to 50 sessional musicians...
– both conducted by Canadian pianist, Senator and
Order of CanadaThe Order of Canada is a Canadian national order, admission into which is, within the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, the second highest honour for merit...
officer,
Tommy BanksThomas Benjamin "Tommy" Banks, OC, AOE is a Canadian pianist, conductor, arranger, composer, television personality and Senator....
.
Yanofsky has performed the
CanadianIt has been noted that the opening theme of "O Canada" bears a strong resemblance to the "Marsch der Priester" , from the opera Die Zauberflöte , composed in 1791 by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, and that Lavallée's melody was inspired by Mozart's tune...
and
American"The Star-Spangled Banner" is the national anthem of the United States of America. The lyrics come from "Defence of Fort McHenry", a poem written in 1814 by the 35-year-old lawyer and amateur poet, Francis Scott Key, after witnessing the bombardment of Fort McHenry by the British Royal Navy ships...
National Anthems at several sporting events including
Montreal CanadiensThe Montreal Canadiens are a professional ice hockey team based in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. They are members of the Northeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League . The club is officially known as ...
at
Bell CentreThe Bell Centre , formerly known as the Molson Centre , is a sports and entertainment complex in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It opened on March 16, 1996 after nearly three years under construction...
,
Los Angeles LakersThe Los Angeles Lakers are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles, California. They play in the Pacific Division of the Western Conference in the National Basketball Association...
at
Staples CenterStaples Center is a multi-purpose sports arena in Downtown Los Angeles. Adjacent to the L.A. Live development, it is located next to the Los Angeles Convention Center complex along Figueroa Street. Opening on October 17, 1999, it is one of the major sporting facilities in the Greater Los Angeles...
,
Florida PanthersThe Florida Panthers are a professional ice hockey team based in Sunrise, Florida, in the Miami metropolitan area. They are members of the Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League . They play their games at the BankAtlantic Center in Sunrise and are the...
at
The BankAtlantic CenterThe BankAtlantic Center is an indoor arena located in Sunrise, Florida, a suburb of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and adjacent to the popular Sawgrass Mills Mall.The arena features 70 suites & 2,623 club seats.The arena is directly accessible from the Sawgrass Expressway...
, a Montreal
NASCARThe National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing is a family-owned and -operated business venture that sanctions and governs multiple auto racing sports events. It was founded by Bill France Sr. in 1947–48. As of 2009, the CEO for the company is Brian France, grandson of the late Bill France Sr...
event at
Circuit Gilles VilleneuveThe Circuit Gilles Villeneuve is a motor racing circuit, venue for the Formula One Canadian Grand Prix, NASCAR Canadian Tire Series, NASCAR Nationwide Series and Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series....
, the 2008 Grey Cup at Montreal’s
Olympic StadiumThe Olympic Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium in the Hochelaga-Maisonneuve district of Montreal, Quebec, Canada built as the main venue for the 1976 Summer Olympics...
, the
openingThe Opening Ceremony of the 2010 Winter Olympics was held on February 12, 2010 beginning at 6:00 pm PST at BC Place Stadium in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. This was the first Olympic opening ceremony to be held indoors...
and
closing ceremonies for the 2010 Winter OlympicsThe Closing Ceremony of the 2010 Winter Olympics took place on February 28, 2010, beginning at 5:30 pm PST at BC Place Stadium in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada...
in Vancouver, BC, Canada. Most recently, she performed at the
Stanley Cup playoffThe 2010 Stanley Cup playoffs of the National Hockey League began on April 14, 2010, after the 2009–10 NHL regular season. The Finals ended on June 9, 2010, with the Chicago Blackhawks defeating the Philadelphia Flyers four games to two to win their fourth championship and their first since 1961...
game between the
Philadelphia FlyersThe Philadelphia Flyers are a professional ice hockey team based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. They are members of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League...
and
Montreal CanadiensThe Montreal Canadiens are a professional ice hockey team based in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. They are members of the Northeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League . The club is officially known as ...
at the
Bell CentreThe Bell Centre , formerly known as the Molson Centre , is a sports and entertainment complex in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It opened on March 16, 1996 after nearly three years under construction...
on May 22, 2010.
Other interesting venues where Yanofsky has performed are the
Bell CentreThe Bell Centre , formerly known as the Molson Centre , is a sports and entertainment complex in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It opened on March 16, 1996 after nearly three years under construction...
for both an appearance with Wyclef Jean as well as a solo performance at UNICEF’s
Unite Against AidsUnite for Children, Unite against AIDS is a global Campaign launched by UNICEF in 2005 to raise awareness of the plight of children globally in relation to HIV and AIDS, and to spur action....
benefit. She also performed a private concert for
The Globe and MailThe Globe and Mail is a nationally distributed Canadian newspaper, based in Toronto and printed in six cities across the country. With a weekly readership of approximately 1 million, it is Canada's largest-circulation national newspaper and second-largest daily newspaper after the Toronto Star...
in front of the Library of Celsus at the 2000-year-old
Ruins of EphesusEphesus was an ancient Greek city, and later a major Roman city, on the west coast of Asia Minor, near present-day Selçuk, Izmir Province, Turkey. It was one of the twelve cities of the Ionian League during the Classical Greek era...
in
TurkeyTurkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
.
In July 2010, Yanofsky performed at Napa Valley's
Festival del SoleThe Festival del Sole is an annual music, food, wine, and art festival held in California's Napa Valley. Founded in 2006 by Rick Walker, an arts manager and Grammy-award winning music producer, the festival attracts over 10,000 attendees annually...
.
Television
Yanofsky has appeared on most major Canadian television stations including
CTVCTV Television Network is a Canadian English language television network and is owned by Bell Media. It is Canada's largest privately-owned network, and has consistently placed as Canada's top-rated network in total viewers and in key demographics since 2002, after several years trailing the rival...
(
Canada AMCanada AM is a Canadian breakfast television news show, which has aired on the CTV Television Network since 1972. It is currently hosted by Beverly Thomson and Seamus O'Regan, with Marci Ien reporting from the headline news desk and Jeff Hutcheson presenting the weather forecast and sports...
,
eTalketalk is a Canadian entertainment news show hosted by Ben Mulroney and Tanya Kim. It airs weekdays weeknights at 7 p.m. ET on CTV, at 1:30 p.m. ET on CTV Two and at 6 p.m. ET and 11:30 p.m. ET on E!...
),
CBCCBC Television is a Canadian television network owned by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, the national public broadcaster.Although the CBC is supported by public funding, the television network supplements this funding with commercial advertising revenue, in contrast to CBC Radio which are...
(
The National),
GlobalGlobal Television Network is an English language privately owned television network in Canada, owned by Calgary-based Shaw Communications, as part of its Shaw Media division...
(
ET Canada),
MuchMusicMuchMusic is a Canadian English language Category A specialty channel owned by Bell Media. MuchMusic is dedicated to music-related programs, pop and youth culture.-History:...
(
MuchOnDemandMuchOnDemand was an hour-long per broadcast viewer interactive television program aired on MuchMusic, Monday through Friday at 5pm ET. It was broadcast live from the Much broadcasting studio on 299 Queen Street West in Toronto. The Best of MuchOnDemand, aired Sundays at 10am ET, highlighting the...
), Radio-Canada (
Tout le monde en parleTout le monde en parle is a Quebec talk show hosted and co-produced by Guy A. Lepage, broadcast on Radio-Canada since 2004. It has been adapted from the French show of the same name, created and hosted by Thierry Ardisson.- Concept :...
)
Télé-QuébecTélé-Québec is a French language public educational television network in the Canadian province of Quebec. Known legally as Société de télédiffusion du Québec , it is a provincial crown corporation owned by the Government of Quebec...
(
Belle et Bum), and
TVATVA is a privately owned French language television network in Canada. The network is currently owned by Groupe TVA Inc. , a publicly traded subsidiary of Quebecor Media...
(
On n’a pas toute la soirée). She has also appeared as a featured artist on YTV’s
The Next StarThe Next Star is a Canadian reality television show on YTV hosted by Adamo Ruggiero. The show is a competition to find the most talented singer in Canada who is under 15 years of age. The next star inspires many to come and audition for their chance to win the next star. Winning contestants are...
.
She also can be seen with Wyclef Jean singing and performing the opening sequence to The Children’s Television Workshop’s 2008 revival of their hit show,
The Electric CompanyThe Electric Company is an American children's educational series for young children aged 4–8 on PBS, derived from the 1971 series. The series premiered as a four-episode mini-marathon on PBS on January 19, 2009, then became a weekly series with an episode shown each Friday. On September 7, 2009,...
. She also appeared alongside Wyclef in a music video called "Electric City" for the same show, choreographed by The Lombard Twins.
On December 31, 2009,
NBC Nightly NewsNBC Nightly News is the flagship daily evening television news program for NBC News and broadcasts. NBC Nightly News has aired from Studio 3B, located on floors 3 of the NBC Studios is the headquarters of the GE Building forms the centerpiece of 30th Rockefeller Center it is located in the center...
anchor
Brian WilliamsBrian Douglas Williams is the anchor and managing editor of NBC Nightly News, the evening news program of the NBC television network, a position he assumed in 2004...
interviewed Yanofsky. She has also appeared on the
KTLAKTLA, virtual channel 5, is a television station in Los Angeles, California, USA. Owned by the Tribune Company, KTLA is an affiliate of the CW Television Network. KTLA's studios are on Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood, and its transmitter is located atop Mount Wilson...
morning show in Los Angeles as well as being the first crossover artist on PBS’ youth talent showcase
From the TopFrom the Top is a national program and initiative to develop and showcase young classical musicians. It is best known for its NPR radio and PBS television programs hosted by pianist Christopher O'Riley, which celebrate the passion, dedication and personal stories of America's best young classical...
.
Yanofsky appeared on television during the
Opening Ceremony of the 2010 Winter OlympicsThe Opening Ceremony of the 2010 Winter Olympics was held on February 12, 2010 beginning at 6:00 pm PST at BC Place Stadium in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. This was the first Olympic opening ceremony to be held indoors...
in Vancouver to sing "
O CanadaIt has been noted that the opening theme of "O Canada" bears a strong resemblance to the "Marsch der Priester" , from the opera Die Zauberflöte , composed in 1791 by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, and that Lavallée's melody was inspired by Mozart's tune...
", the Canadian national anthem. Canada's broadcast of the Opening Ceremonies on CTV concluded with Yanofsky's full-length version of "I Believe" written by
Stephan MoccioStephan Moccio is a pianist, composer, producer, arranger, conductor and recording artist. He co-wrote Celine Dion's 2002 hit "A New Day Has Come" with Aldo Nova, which reached and held the number one spot on the Billboard AC Chart for a record breaking 21 weeks...
and
Alan FrewAlan Frew is the lead singer for the Canadian band, Glass Tiger, and has also released two solo albums...
. She also later performed at the
Olympic closing ceremonyThe Closing Ceremony of the 2010 Winter Olympics took place on February 28, 2010, beginning at 5:30 pm PST at BC Place Stadium in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada...
and the
Paralympic opening ceremonyThe Opening Ceremony of the 2010 Winter Paralympics was held on March 12, 2010 beginning at 6:00 pm PST at the BC Place Stadium in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada....
. She performed the National Anthem and O'Canada for the Canadiens-Flyers 2010 NHL Playoff game on May 22.
Charitable works
In 2008, Yanofsky received the Outstanding Youth in Philanthropy award from the Quebec Chapter of The Association of Fundraising Professionals. Over her career, she has helped raise over $10 Million for local, national and international charities. She is currently associated with
The Montreal Children’s HospitalThe Montreal Children's Hospital is a tertiary care pediatric teaching Hospital affiliated with the McGill University Health Centre. It is also the only pediatric facility serving the McGill Réseau Universitaire Intégré Santé...
,
The Children’s Wish FoundationThe Children's Wish Foundation of Canada is a Canadian charitable organization whose mission is to fulfill the wishes of children diagnosed with life-threatening illnesses. Founded in 1983, the foundation has chapters in every province and territory of Canada. As of 2010 has granted over 16,000...
and MusiCounts. She has also lent her voice to oneXone, Leave Out Violence Everywhere (L.O.V.E.) and
ORTWorld ORT is a non-profit non-governmental organization whose mission is the advancement of Jewish and other people through training and education, with past and present activities in over 100 countries....
.
Nikki Yanofsky sang a solo part on the remake of K'naan's song "
Wavin' Flag"Wavin' Flag" is a song by Somali-Canadian artist K'naan from his album Troubadour. The song was a global hit, reaching the top ten in 19 charts around the world and was chosen as Coca-Cola's promotional anthem for the 2010 FIFA World Cup, hosted by South Africa. The English version was released as...
" performed by
Young Artists for HaitiYoung Artists for Haiti is a movement to engage Canada's young musicians to continue to inspire an ongoing effort and contribution to Canadian charities for their work to help the people of Haiti overcome the devastation from the 7.1 magnitude earthquake that rocked the country on January 12, 2010...
. All proceeds from the single went to charities.
She was awarded the Allan Slaight award by
Canada's Walk of FameCanada's Walk of Fame , located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, is a walk of fame that acknowledges the achievements and accomplishments of successful Canadians...
in October 2010.
Personal life
Yanofsky was born and raised in a "close-knit Jewish family" in
Hampstead-History:The Town of Hampstead was founded in 1914. It was designed to be an exclusive garden city. There are no retail shops within municipal boundaries. Houses were assigned relatively large lots to allow space for trees and shrubbery. The town's roads were designed with curves in order to slow...
, a Montreal suburb. Her parents, Elyssa (Rosenthal) and Richard Yanofsky, manage her career. She graduated from
St. George's School of MontrealSt. George's School of Montreal is an independent school in Montreal, Canada which was founded in 1930. It consists of 2 campuses: the Elementary School campus in Westmount, Quebec, and the High School campus in Montreal. The school is a co-educational, non-denominational day school, where...
.
Albums
| Year |
Album details |
Peak |
Certifications Music recording sales certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped or sold a certain number of copies, where the threshold quantity varies by type and by nation or territory .Almost all countries follow variations of the RIAA certification categories,...
(sales threshold) |
| CAN The Canadian Albums Chart is the official album sales chart in Canada. It is compiled every Wednesday by U.S.-based music sales tracking company Nielsen Soundscan, and published every Thursday by Jam! Canoe and Billboard, along with its sister charts the Canadian Singles Chart and the Canadian BDS...
|
CAN
Jazz |
CAN
Pop |
US The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists...
|
US
HeatTop Heatseekers refers to either of two separate "Breaking and Entering" music charts issued weekly by Billboard Magazine: the Heatseekers Albums chart or the Heatseekers Songs chart. They were introduced by Billboard in 1993 with the purpose of highlighting the sales by new and developing musical...
|
US
Jazz |
FR |
| 2008 |
Ella...Of Thee I Swing
- Released: September 23, 2008
- Label: A440
- Format: CD
The Compact Disc is an optical disc used to store digital data. It was originally developed to store and playback sound recordings exclusively, but later expanded to encompass data storage , write-once audio and data storage , rewritable media , Video Compact Discs , Super Video Compact Discs ,...
, digital downloadA music download is the transferral of music from an Internet-facing computer or website to a user's local computer. This term encompasses both legal downloads and downloads of copyright material without permission or payment...
|
— |
8 |
— |
— |
— |
— |
— |
|
| 2010 |
Nikki
- Released:
CA: April 20, 2010
US: May 4, 2010
UK: May 8, 2011
- Label: A440/Decca
Decca Records began as a British record label established in 1929 by Edward Lewis. Its U.S. label was established in late 1934; however, owing to World War II, the link with the British company was broken for several decades....
- Format: CD, digital download
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5 |
1 |
9 |
105 |
1 |
3 |
49 |
CAN Music Canada is a Toronto-based, non-profit trade organization that was founded 9 April 1963 to represent the interests of companies that record, artists, manufacture, production, promotion and distribution of music in Canada...
: Gold |
| 2011 |
TBA
- Released: TBA
- Label: A440/Decca
- Format: CD, digital download
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— |
— |
— |
— |
— |
— |
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| "—" denotes releases that did not chart |
Singles
| Year |
Single |
Peak |
Album |
| CAN The Canadian Hot 100 is a music singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine which ranks songs in Canada. The chart debuted in the Billboard issue dated June 16, 2007 and was made available for the first time via their online services on June 7, 2007...
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CAN
Jazz |
US
Jazz |
JP The Japan Hot 100 is a music singles chart in Japan. It is compiled by Billboard and Hanshin Contents Link ever since February 2008. The chart is updated every Wednesday at billboard-japan.com and every Thursday at billboard.com ....
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| 2010 |
"I Believe "I Believe" is a song by Canadian jazz-pop singer Nikki Yanofsky. Written by Stephan Moccio and Alan Frew, it was used as CTV's official promotional song for their coverage of the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, and instrumental cues based on the song were also used as CTV's main theme for its...
" |
1 |
— |
— |
— |
Nikki |
| "I Got Rhythm" |
— |
— |
97 |
— |
| "For Another Day" |
— |
— |
— |
13 |
| "Cool My Heels" |
— |
1 |
— |
— |
| "Wavin' Flag "Wavin' Flag" is a song by Somali-Canadian artist K'naan from his album Troubadour. The song was a global hit, reaching the top ten in 19 charts around the world and was chosen as Coca-Cola's promotional anthem for the 2010 FIFA World Cup, hosted by South Africa. The English version was released as...
" |
1 |
— |
— |
— |
Charity single |
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart |
DVDs
| Year |
Details |
Certifications Music recording sales certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped or sold a certain number of copies, where the threshold quantity varies by type and by nation or territory .Almost all countries follow variations of the RIAA certification categories,...
(sales threshold) |
| 2010 |
Live in Montreal
- Released: June 1, 2010
- Label: A440/Decca
Decca Records began as a British record label established in 1929 by Edward Lewis. Its U.S. label was established in late 1934; however, owing to World War II, the link with the British company was broken for several decades....
- Format: DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
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CAN Music Canada is a Toronto-based, non-profit trade organization that was founded 9 April 1963 to represent the interests of companies that record, artists, manufacture, production, promotion and distribution of music in Canada...
: Gold |
Awards and nominations
| Year | Presenter | Award | Result |
| 2010 |
Félix Award The Félix Award is a music award, given on an annual basis to artists in the Canadian province of Quebec.The first Félix awards were presented on September 23, 1979, by the Association du disque, de l'industrie du spectacle québécois...
s |
English Album of the Year: Nikki |
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| Most Famous Quebec Artist Outside Quebec |
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Canada's Walk of FameCanada's Walk of Fame , located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, is a walk of fame that acknowledges the achievements and accomplishments of successful Canadians...
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Allan Slaight Award |
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| 2011 |
Juno Awards of 2011 The Juno Awards of 2011, honours Canadian music industry achievements in the latter part of 2009 and in most of 2010. The awards presented in Toronto, Ontario, Canada during the weekend of 26 and 27 March 2011. A week of related events on 21 March 2011...
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Vocal Jazz Album of the Year: Nikki |
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| Canadian Radio Music Awards The Canadian Radio Music Awards are an annual series of awards presented by the Canadian Association of Broadcasters that are part of Canadian Music Week....
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Adult Contemporary Song of the Year: "I Believe" |
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| WAVE Smooth Jazz Awards |
Female Vocalist of the Year |
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| Album of the Year: Nikki |
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| Song of the Year: "Try, Try, Try" |
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External links