Lisa LeBlanc

LeBlanc composed her first pieces around the age of fourteen. She was playing at local events and Miramichi's O'Donaghues bar, with her mother watching her because she was underage. LeBlanc was recognized as an outstanding guitarist and a promising singer-songwriter when she won the Festival international de la chanson de Granby in September 2010. This juried award brought her to the attention of the country's francophone media. She has also played at the 2011 Coup de cœur francophone, at the FrancoFolies of Montreal and at the Festival d'été de Québec.

LeBlanc's self-titled debut album Lisa LeBlanc was released in 2012. The majority of LeBlanc's first album was written in Rosaireville, in Granby during her studies at l'École nationale de la chanson as well as in Montreal, where she was living. Released on Bonsound Records, the album was recorded by Louis-Jean Cormier of Karkwa at Studio Piccolo. Lisa LeBlanc charted in both Canada and France, and has been certified platinum by Music Canada.[4][5]

The album became best known for the single "Aujourd'hui ma vie c'est d'la marde" ("Today My Life Is Shit").[6] The album earned LeBlanc a nomination for the Francophone Album of the Year at the 2013 Juno Awards,[7] as well as nominations for three Félix Awards including Critics Choice Album of the Year,[8] two Canadian Folk Music Awards,[9] and an East Coast Music Award.[10]

A song from the album, "Lignes d'hydro", was also nominated for the SOCAN Songwriting Prize."CBC Edwards wins" /> Along with the nominations for Lisa LeBlanc Leblanc was also nominated for Female Performer of the Year at the 2012 and 2013 Félix Awards,"ADISQ 2013" /> she also won Revelation de l'année at the 2012 awards.[8]

In 2014, LeBlanc released Highways, Heartaches and Time Well Wasted, an English EP, which debuted at number seven on the Canadian Albums Chart, selling 3,400 copies.[11][12] She was also nominated for two Félix Awards that year as well as the SOCAN Songwriting Prize the following year.[13][14]

She released her second studio album, Why You Wanna Leave, Runaway Queen?, on September 30, 2016.[15] The album included both French and English titles including a thrash-folk cover of Motörhead's classic heavy metal song "Ace of Spades".[16] It peaked at eight on the Canadian Albums Chart, becoming her third top 10 record in a row. The album was shortlisted for the 2017 Polaris Music Prize.[17] It also earned LeBlanc her second Juno Award nomination for Contemporary Roots Album of the Year.[7] The album also earned LeBlanc four nominations at the Félix Awards and a nomination for Contemporary Singer at the Canadian Folk Music Awards.[18][19]

In 2020, under the pseudonym Belinda, LeBlanc released It's Not a Game, It's a Lifestyle, a five-song EP of disco songs about bingo.[20]

In March 2022 LeBlanc released her third studio album Chiac Disco.[21] The album's name and lyrics taking inspiration from Chiac, a "fringlish" dialect common within Acadian communities of New Brunswick. It also followed the disco influence of It's Not a Game, It's a Lifestyle. The album became her fourth to chart on the Canadian Albums Chart, peaking at twenty four.

Chiac Disco was a Juno Award nominee for Francophone Album of the Year at the Juno Awards of 2023, becoming her second nomination in the category and third Juno nomination.[22] Chiac Disco earned LeBlanc her second Félix Award, winning Pop Album of the Year. It was also nominated for Critics Choice Album of the Year. At the 43rd Félix Awards she was also nominated for Songwriter of the Year and Female Performer of the Year, along with "Pourquoi faire aujourd'hui" being nominated for Song of the Year. Chiac Disco was shortlisted for the Polaris Music Prize in 2022, becoming her second shortlisted album after Why You Wanna Leave, Runaway Queen?[23]

In 2023 LeBlanc received nominations at the East Coast Music Awards for the first time since 2013. They included three nominations for Chiac Disco, Song of the Year for "Pourquoi faire aujourd'hui", and for TD's Fan Choice Entertainer of the Year.[24] She won for Francophone Recording of the Year.[25]