Nicola Ciccone

From a young age the Quebecois singer/songwriter Nicola Ciccone revealed a pronounced gift for composing songs. He first put pen to paper at twelve, initially crafting English-language material, yet it was the French-language work that began earning notice once he reached his late teens. At twenty-four, in 1998, Ciccone captured the Ma Premiere Place de Arts prize, and a recording deal quickly materialized afterward. While pursuing studies in child psychology at McGill University in Montreal, he issued his debut album L'Opera du Mendiant (The Opera of the Beggar) in 1999. The release drew widespread praise and two JUNO Award nominations in 2001 while moving an unforeseen 60,000 copies. That same year he unveiled his second album, the rock-inflected concept record Noctambule, which wove narrative-driven lyrics throughout its tracks. Extensive touring followed, where Ciccone proved equally assured and magnetic in live settings as he had on radio. His third album, J'T'aime Tout Court, arrived in 2003 and held the top spot on the adult contemporary charts for multiple weeks before attaining gold certification at 50,000 units; twelve months later sales had nearly doubled, prompting his label to issue the project across Europe. The title track earned him his inaugural Felix Award in 2004. In 2006 he entered the studio to begin work on Nous Serons Six Milliards, which reached stores that autumn.