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William Prince (musician)

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William Prince
Background information
BornSelkirk, Manitoba
OriginWinnipeg, Manitoba
GenresFolk, country
Occupation(s)Singer, songwriter
Years active2012–present
LabelsSix Shooter Records, Glassnote Records
Websitewilliamprincemusic.com

William Prince (born 1986) is a Canadian folk and country singer-songwriter based in Winnipeg, Manitoba.[1][2]

Life and career

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A direct descendant of Chief Peguis,[3] Prince was born in Selkirk, Manitoba in 1986, and moved with his family to Peguis First Nation as a boy.[2][4] Prince's father Edward was also a musician and preacher, who recorded a number of albums, and Prince travelled with his father playing gigs in northern Manitoba.[5]

Prince released his solo debut album, Earthly Days, on December 11, 2015. The song "Breathless" reached No. 22 on the Billboard Adult Contemporary charts in 2018.[6] Prince's second album, Reliever, was released on February 7, 2020.[7] In October 2020, Prince released his third studio album, an album of country gospel songs called Gospel First Nation.[8] The album included a mixture of new original songs, songs written by his father, and traditional gospel songs.[5]

Prince also performed alongside Vince Fontaine and Don Amero in the band Indian City.[9]

In 2022, he appeared at the Buffy Sainte-Marie tribute concert Buffy Sainte-Marie: Starwalker, performing both "Up Where We Belong" as a duet with Marie-Mai and "Now That the Buffalo's Gone" with the surviving members of The Tragically Hip.[10] On February 18, 2023, he played at the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville, Tennessee, to great acclaim.[11]

His fourth album, Stand in the Joy, was released on April 14, 2023, on Six Shooter Records.[12] It was preceded in February by the preview tracks "When You Miss Someone" and "Tanqueray".

Awards and accolades

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Prince won the Western Canadian Music Award for Aboriginal Artist of the Year in 2016.[13] He received a Canadian Folk Music Award nomination for Aboriginal Songwriter of the Year at the 12th Canadian Folk Music Awards.[14] Prince won the Juno Award for Contemporary Roots Album of the Year at the Juno Awards of 2017 for his debut album, Earthly Days,[15] and was a finalist for Indigenous Music Album of the Year.[16][17]

His song "The Spark" won the 2020 SOCAN Songwriting Prize.[18]

His 2020 album Reliever received a nomination for Contemporary Roots Album of the Year at the Juno Awards of 2021.[19] He won two Canadian Folk Music Awards at the 16th Canadian Folk Music Awards in 2021, for Contemporary Album of the Year and English Songwriter of the Year.[20]

At the 2021 Juno ceremony, Prince and Serena Ryder performed "The Spark" at Toronto's Church of the Holy Trinity.[21] In 2022, Prince and Ryder also released the standalone singles "Sing Me a Song" and "River of Tears".[22]

Stand in the Joy won the Juno Award for Contemporary Roots Album of the Year at the Juno Awards of 2024, and Prince was nominated for Songwriter of the Year for the songs "Broken Heart of Mine", "Easier and Harder" and "When You Miss Someone".[23] At the 19th Canadian Folk Music Awards, he won Contemporary Album of the Year for Stand in the Joy, Solo Artist of the Year, and Single of the Year for "When You Miss Someone".[24] Prince's album Stand in the Joy was nominated for Alternative Country Album of the Year at the 2024 Canadian Country Music Awards.[25]

Discography

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Studio albums

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Singles

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  • "7" (2016)
  • "You Can't Judge a Book by the Cover" (2018)
  • "Breathless (Acoustic)" (2018)
  • "The Spark" (2019)
  • "Always Have What We Had" (2020)
  • "Sing Me a Song" (2022, with Serena Ryder)
  • "River of Tears" (2022, with Serena Ryder)
  • "When You Miss Someone" (2023)
  • "Tanqueray" (2023)

References

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  1. ^ "'An unreal feeling': Peguis musician William Prince nominated for 2 Juno Awards". CBC Indigenous, February 7, 2017.
  2. ^ a b Druckman, Howard (April 2, 2018). "William Prince: In Line For The Throne". Words and Music. Retrieved August 14, 2018.
  3. ^ "William Prince". Mission Folk Music Festival. Archived from the original on 2022-11-17. Retrieved 2022-11-17.
  4. ^ "William Prince grew up sleeping under the DJ table in community halls". Unreserved, July 3, 2016.
  5. ^ a b Holly Gordon (December 18, 2020). "Why William Prince turned to his gospel roots during the pandemic". CBC Music.
  6. ^ "William Prince". Billboard. Retrieved February 26, 2020.
  7. ^ "William Prince – Album Discography". AllMusic. Retrieved January 8, 2020.
  8. ^ "William Prince Puts Indigenous Communities Front and Center on 'Gospel First Nation'". American Songwriter. 23 October 2020. Retrieved October 23, 2020.
  9. ^ "Winnipeg band Indian City to play Ottawa on Canada Day". CBC News, May 27, 2016.
  10. ^ Garret K. Woodward, "The Tragically Hip’s Surviving Members Reunite to Pay Tribute to a Canadian Icon, Tease New Projects". Rolling Stone, September 30, 2022.
  11. ^ Abimbola Oduniyi, "Peguis First Nation's William Prince to take centre stage at storied Grand Ole Opry". CBC News Manitoba, February 11, 2023.
  12. ^ Alex Hudson, "William Prince Announces New Album 'Stand in the Joy'". Exclaim!, February 1, 2023.
  13. ^ "Western Canadian Music Awards Announce 2016 Winners". Exclaim!, October 15, 2016.
  14. ^ "Canadian Folk Music Awards Announce 2016 Winners". Exclaim!, December 4, 2016.
  15. ^ "Winners List: First 34 Juno Awards handed out at Saturday gala". Toronto Star, April 1, 2017.
  16. ^ "Juno nominations 'incredible,' local singer-songwriter says". Winnipeg Free Press, February 7, 2017.
  17. ^ Lynn Saxberg and Peter Hum, "Gord Downie wins three Junos at music awards gala dinner Saturday night". London Free Press, April 1, 2017.
  18. ^ Calum Slingerland, "William Prince Wins 2020 SOCAN Songwriting Prize". Exclaim!, August 5, 2020.
  19. ^ Holly Gordon, "The Weeknd, JP Saxe, Jessie Reyez and Justin Bieber lead 2021 Juno Award nominations". CBC Music, March 9, 2021.
  20. ^ "Pharis & Jason Romero Head CFMA Winners List". FYI Music News, April 11, 2021.
  21. ^ Corey Atad, "Watch William Prince And Serena Ryder’s Performance At The 2021 Junos". Entertainment Tonight Canada, June 7, 2021.
  22. ^ Fish Griwkowsky, "William Prince opens up the first Folk Fest in years with his resonant country folksinging". Edmonton Journal, August 4, 2022.
  23. ^ "Junos 2024: full list of winners". CBC Music, March 23, 2024.
  24. ^ Calum Slingerland, "Here are the 2024 Canadian Folk Music Awards Winners". Exclaim!, April 10, 2024.
  25. ^ "2024 CCMA AWARDS NOMINEES". Canadian Country Music Association. Archived from the original on July 19, 2024. Retrieved July 26, 2024.
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