Klô Pelgag could break Céline Dion’s ADISQ record

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Klô Pelgag is almost embarrassed by the number of Felix trophies she has won this week.

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Pelgag and his creative team have already won 11 awards at ADISQ’s first two ceremonies, and could potentially win three more at ADISQ’s main gala. The annual Quebec Music Awards ceremony takes place on Sunday at 8 pm at the Salle Wilfrid-Pelletier de Place des Arts and will be broadcast live on Radio-Canada’s ICI Télé.

“I have mixed feelings,” Pelgag said in a phone interview Friday from the side of the road on his way back from a concert the night before in Lévis. “I am happy that my colleagues are being recognized for the work they have done with me. But at the same time, it makes me a little anxious. It is difficult to explain. I’m trying to take it easy, take it like a pat on the back. I’m afraid it will upset other people in the music business here. But it’s not like I’ve chosen to win all these awards.

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“Also, I have to make sure my relationship with the awards doesn’t get a bit unhealthy. I mean, I couldn’t have won these awards and it wouldn’t make my music any less good. Winning awards doesn’t make the album better than before. “

Pelgag won four Felix statuettes at the Premier Gala de l’ADISQ on Wednesday, taking home the hardware for the critics’ choice, alternative album (for Notre-Dame-des-Sept-Douleurs), video (for the song Mélamine ) and international collaboration. (for his duet with French artist Pomme on the song Sorcières). At the ADISQ industry gala on Monday, Pelgag and company secured seven other trophies, including for arranging (Pelgag and Owen Pallett), album production (Pelgag and Sylvain Deschamps) and album cover.

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Notre-Dame-des-Sept-Douleurs, which debuted in 2020, is light years away from most mainstream Quebec pop. It’s ethereal progressive alternative pop that has echoes of Kate Bush, Fiona Apple, and Harmonium. The surprising thing is that it is dominating the awards of mainstream music, because it is so unconventional, in a good way.

At ADISQ they like to differentiate between artist awards and those that go to the artist’s team, so they count this as four trophies for Pelgag and seven for her team. The record for most wins by an artist is held by Céline Dion, who won six in 1985 for her album Mélanie and her “45 tours” Une colombe. (Other winners at the ADISQ gala that year were Corey Hart, The Box, and Luba.)

Pelgag, who is obviously not close to the same business league as Dion, could break that record on Sunday if he wins in all three categories. She is nominated for a composer, female artist, and francophone online show.

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Pelgag is well aware that it is unusual for such an artistic meal to be winning so much love at mainstream grand prix.

“Many musicians write to tell me that my success gives them hope,” he said. “I don’t make music as a commodity. I don’t create songs so they can be played on the radio. I’m not thinking of hit singles. I see an album as a work of art. “

Charlotte Cardin also won Felix trophies at the Premier Gala on Wednesday. He won the awards for the most successful artist outside of Quebec, English-speaking album (for his debut album, Phoenix), and best online program in a language other than French. Roxane Bruneau won for Best Pop Album and Most Popular Album (Acrophobie).

Vincent Vallières won for best folk album (All the beauty is not lost), Jordan Officer took the trophy for jazz album (for Jazz Vol. 1) and Les Cowboys Fringants won for rock album (Les Nuits de Repentigny).

Damien Robitaille, who has been gaining incredible popularity on the web since the start of the pandemic with his covers of well-known songs, won the Felix for Most Successful Artist Online.

Artists performing at the ADISQ gala on Sunday include Pelgag, Cardin, Robitaille, Dominique Fils-Aimé and FouKi.

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