Judges at Oshawa Music Week’s ‘Songs Revealed’ contest described this year’s winning artist’s songwriting as memorable and beautiful.
“We’ll definitely be hearing from you in the future,” said Michael Paglia of the duo Candace & Michael.
Paige Ouellette of Whitby, who goes by the stage name Paige O, performed “I Punched an Angel” and “Calamity” that showcased her songwriting, guitar talent and angelic vocal range.
She described “I Punched an Angel” as a “grief or jealousy” song open to the listener’s interpretation with lyrics such as “I peeled an angel, I put on her skin and I went around town to see if I could fit in.”
However, “Calamity” is meant as a storytelling song.
When it comes to songwriting, Ouellette said she often writes on her bed and finds the most challenging aspect of songwriting is overthinking lyrics.
“I feel like I write quite fast, I just let it all out there, and then overthink like, ugh, could that have been perfect? I already wrote it, I’ve already been performing it,” she said.
Ouellette was inspired by her grandfather who taught her the guitar. She remembers him playfully arguing with her about a song.
“I remember the first time he taught me guitar, he was like ‘we’re going to learn a Beatles song’ and I was seven and I was like ‘no, I want to do a Hannah Montana song,’” she said.
“So I did one Hannah Montana song and one Beatles song, and I’ll never know which was the first song I learned.”
The panel of four judges Candace & Michael, Brett Baxter and Kayle Goguen said they appreciated Ouellette’s “memorable lyrics.”
Local artists including Paige O, Evyn Berridge, SOLACE, Lauren Carson, Daniel Kuku and 7 Days Away performed, each with unique sound, song writing and genre.
Berridge performed “Plant Song” and what he called an “infatuation song” alongside his band members, each with a dreamy, indie acoustic touch.
“This is about a plant in my room, from the perspective of the watering can,” Berridge said to laughter from the crowd.
He described “Plant Song” as an ongoing story each time he performs it, referring to the plant’s progress as it lives on.
SOLACE, a Courtice rapper and beat mixer, performed “Rebirth” and another untitled track that’s still in the progress.
“Rebirth” was written in memory of his grandmother who recently passed, and explores topics of joining the afterlife.
“Currently, she’s right here by my feet, in the form of an elephant stuffy,” he said.
SOLACE also goes by “Soul the Digger” which he associates with digging for sampling for songs, especially common in rap.
Judges complimented his lyrics.
“They’re fast paced and you really keep up,” Leca said.
Next, Lauren Carson performed “Earle St.,” a personal song about her sadness through the pandemic while in a collapsing student housing situation.
Then she played a “radio -friendly” song called “Shut up Liver.” Both songs presented her range as a country musician.
“The lyrics in the first song are great: ‘It’s all a language that I never learned to speak, on Earl St.‘ Awesome line, great line to anchor on,” Goguen said.
Daniel Kuku, an Afro R&B singer performed “A Song for You” written for his girlfriend as a delivery of a lot of the things he wishes he could say.
“I’m very much a reserved individual. A lot of the times I feel like I should say more, especially convey more emotions,” Kuku said.
He described the song as being a way to say how he felt without having to actually say it.
Secondly, he performed “A Special Place in Her Heart” and involved the audience by having them sing echoing vocals.
Although Kuku said he had learned guitar just eight months ago, the judges complimented his abilities.
“You mentioned that it’s hard to play and sing at the same time. You did great on that. You’re in that echelon of people who make it seem easy so you don’t need to worry about that,” Baxter said.
The final group, 7 Days Away, played “Conditionals” which is about liking someone you’re not really supposed to like and wondering if they reciprocate the same feelings, according to the band.
The second song performed “same night” was an upbeat pop rock melody about a “situationship.”