The Associated Press has a story entitled "Singer-songwriters, or just singers?". It's about Chantal Kreviasuk's recent comments regarding Avril Lavigne's songwriting ability and whether artists actually co-write all the songs they get credit for.
As a Canadian, I was caught off guard by the opening paragraph of this article.
Of all the names in music, Chantal Kreviazuk may be the least likely to appear in a headline. Though she recently released her own album, the songwriter usually stays behind the scenes to pen hits with artists such as Kelly Clarkson, Gwen Stefani and Avril Lavigne.
Sometimes an artist has a string of hits in Canada and you just assume they've made waves in the American market. Ten years ago, Kreviasuk's Under These Rocks and Stones spawned a number of hits over here, with "Wayne" and "Surrounded" being two of my favourites. Hits like "Feels Like Home" and "Before You" followed, but in retrospect it seems these were only hits in Canada. According to her Wikipedia page, she only struck big in the USA with her cover of "Leaving on a Jet Plane" that appeared on the Armageddon soundtrack.
It's hard to say why some Canadian artists sell well south of the border while others do not. Avril's a household name in the states and Kreviazuk is least likely to appear in a headline. Go figure.
