Jann Arden Interview
Jann Arden is an award-winning Canadian singer, songwriter, broadcaster, and author. She grew up near Calgary in the rural community of Springbank, and spent her twenties fronting various bands, singing torch songs in piano bars, and busking on the streets of Vancouver, Calgary, and Edmonton. She signed with A&M/Island/Motown Records of Canada in 1991, and has been with the label ever since¬, distinguishing herself as a unique and introspective voice in adult contemporary music. After a memorable appearance hosting the JUNO Awards ceremony in 1997, Arden parlayed her outgoing personality and excellent comedic timing into a successful second career as a host and broadcaster.
Career Highlights
Arden has released twelve albums since her debut in 1993: Time for Mercy (1993), Living Under June (1994), Happy? (1997), Blood Red Cherry (2000), Greatest Hurts (2001), Love Is the Only Soldier (2003), Jann Arden (2005), Uncover Me (2007), Free (2009), Uncover Me 2 (2011) Everything Almost (2014), and A Jann Arden Christmas (2015).
She has had nineteen Top 10 singles in Canada, and several of her albums have been certified gold and platinum in Canada.
Arden has received eight JUNO Awards, ten SOCAN Awards, four Western Canadian Music Awards, three Prairie Music Awards, a Much Music Video Award, and an Alberta Recording Industry Association Award.
In 2006 Arden received a star on Canada’s Walk of Fame. She was inducted into the Canadian Association of Broadcasters Hall of Fame in 2007 and the Western Canadian Music Alliance Hall of Fame in 2013.
Arden has produced two documentaries, Jann Takes Manhattan (2004) and Free (2011), and hosted an hour-long talk show on CBC Radio called Being Jann in 2010.
She has made several guest appearances in television sitcoms such as Ellen, This Hour Has 22 Minutes, Royal Canadian Air Farce, Corner Gas, and the Ricker Mercer Report, and has acted as a judge for the TV shows Canada Sings and Top Chef Canada.
Arden is a published author, releasing two collections of entries from her personal journals, If I Knew, Don’t You Think I’d Tell You (2002), and I’ll Tell You One Damn Thing, That’s All I Know (2004); her memoir, Falling Backwards (2012); and Feeding My Mother (2017) which details her experience caring for her mother who has Alzheimer’s disease.
In 2017, Arden was appointed as a member of the Order of Canada and received the Queens Diamond Jubilee Medal for her “achievements as a singer-songwriter and broadcaster, and for her extensive charitable work”.
Source: http://www.jannarden.com/biography/
