William Deslauriers

Originating from Plessisville in Centre-du-Québec, Canada, William Deslauriers first learned guitar from his uncle and later joined friends in forming the punk band Silver Catalyst. He subsequently embraced a country-folk singer/songwriter approach inspired by two favored artists, Jack Johnson and Vincent Vallières. The Canadian pop singer/songwriter achieved early recognition as one of 14 contestants on the 2009 season of Star Académie. Although eliminated during the seventh week in a sixth-place tie, he built a devoted following along the way. Three live performances from the series—"Recommencer à Zéro," "Moisi Moé'ssi," and "Le Bord de l'Eau"—were issued digitally, while his rendition of "Moisi Moé'ssi," drawn from former Galaxie 500 frontman Fred Fortin’s acclaimed solo album debut Joseph Antoine Frédéric Fortin Perron (1996), was included on the various-artists compilation Star Académie 2009. Through the label Productions J, Deslauriers released his solo album debut, Un Pied à Terre, in 2010. Scott Price produced the record under the artistic direction of Stéphane Laporte. Consisting entirely of songs written by the singer/songwriter himself along with his version of "Moisi Moé'ssi," the album became a number two smash hit on the Canadian albums chart.