2012 in Canadian music

Events

• February 13 – The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation launches CBC Music, a digital music service which offers streaming audio broadcasts of 40 different music genre channels, in addition to the existing CBC Radio 2 and CBC Radio 3 services, on both the Internet and iOS devices.^[1]
• April 1 – Juno Awards of 2012
• June 14 - Prelimimary longlist for the 2012 Polaris Music Prize is announced.^[2]
• July 17 - Shortlist for the 2012 Polaris Music Prize is announced.^[2]
• September 24 - Feist's album Metals is announced as the winner of the Polaris Music Prize.^[2]

Bands on hiatus

• Karkwa^[3]

Albums released

A

• Amos the Transparent, Goodnight My Dear, I'm Falling Apart (February 14)
• Apollo Ghosts, Landmark
• Marie-Pierre Arthur, Aux alentours
• Azari & III, Azari & III

B

• Baby Eagle and the Proud Mothers, Bone Soldier (March 6)
• Bahamas, Barchords (February 7)^[4]
• Del Barber, Headwaters
• Bidiniband, In the Rock Hall (January 24)^[5]
• Justin Bieber, Believe
• Billy Talent, Dead Silence, September 9, 2012
• Boxer the Horse, French Residency
• Brasstronaut, Mean Sun (May 15)

C

• Cadence Weapon, Hope in Dirt City (May 29)
• Cancer Bats, Dead Set on Living^[4]
• Caracol, Shiver
• Paul Cargnello, Papa Paul
• Change of Heart, There You Go '82 - '97 (September 18, 2012)^[6]
• Tim Chaisson, The Other Side (September 25)
• The City Streets, White Lightning (spring)
• The City Streets, Sawdust & Rum (spring)
• Leonard Cohen, Old Ideas (January 31)^[4]
• Cold Specks, I Predict a Graceful Expulsion (May 21)
• Cookie Duster, When Flying Was Easy (June)^[7]
• Rose Cousins, We Have Made a Spark
• Cuff the Duke, In Our Time (April 12)
• Cuff the Duke, Union (October 2)
• Amelia Curran, Spectators (October 2)

D

• Daphni, Jiaolong
• Diamond Rings, Free Dimensional
• Céline Dion, Sans attendre
• Julie Doiron, So Many Days (October 23)^[8]
• Dumas, L'Heure et l'endroit
• Dusted, Dusted

E

• Kathleen Edwards, Voyageur (January 17)^[4]
• The Elwins, And I Thank You (February 21)^[4]
• Quique Escamilla, Quique Escamilla
• Esthero, Everything Is Expensive (October 30)^[9]
• Evening Hymns, Spectral Dusk

F

• Jeremy Fisher, Mint Juleps
• Front Line Assembly, AirMech (November 13)
• Nelly Furtado, The Spirit Indestructible (September 18)

G

• Gentleman Reg, Leisure Life
• Hannah Georgas, Hannah Georgas^[10]
• Jenn Grant, The Beautiful Wild (September 25)
• Great Lake Swimmers, New Wild Everywhere (April 3)^[11]
• Grimes, Visions (February 21)^[4]
• Godspeed You! Black Emperor, 'Allelujah! Don't Bend! Ascend! (October 1)

H

• Hot Panda, Go Outside
• Joshua Hyslop, Where the Mountain Meets the Valley

I

• Islands, A Sleep & a Forgetting (February 14)^[4]

J

• JBM, Stray Ashes
• Japandroids, Celebration Rock^[4]
• Carly Rae Jepsen, Curiosity
• Carly Rae Jepsen, Kiss

K

• Karkwa, Karkwa Live^[3]
• Peter Katz, Still Mind Still
• Mo Kenney, Mo Kenney
• Kid Koala, 12 Bit Blues, (September 18)^[4]
• K'naan, Country, God or the Girl, (October 16) ^[12]
• K'naan, More Beautiful Than Silence (January 31)^[13]
• Kristina Maria, Tell the World

L

• Zachary Lucky, Saskatchewan

M

• Madison Violet, The Good in Goodbye
• Maestro Fresh Wes, Black Tuxedo EP (September 18)
• Carolyn Mark, The Queen of Vancouver Island
• Masia One, Bootleg Culture (June 19)
• Matt Mays, Coyote
• Eamon McGrath, Young Canadians
• Loreena McKennitt, Troubadours on the Rhine
• Memoryhouse, The Slideshow Effect (February 28)^[4]
• Metric, Synthetica (June 12)
• METZ, METZ
• Ariane Moffatt, MA
• Mother Mother, The Sticks

O

• Mike O'Neill, Wild Lines
• Octoberman, Waiting in the Well
• Ohbijou, Metal Meets
• Karim Ouellet, Fox

P

• Doug Paisley, Golden Embers
• Parlovr, Kook Soul
• Pascale Picard Band, Trauma: Chansons de la série télé Saison 3
• Plants and Animals, The End of That (February 28)^[14]
• Joel Plaskett, Scrappy Happiness (March 27)^[15]
• PS I Love You, Death Dreams
• Purity Ring, Shrines

R

• Radio Radio, Havre de Grace (April 17)
• Rah Rah, The Poet's Dead
• Johnny Reid, Fire It Up
• Rush, Clockwork Angels

S

• Said the Whale, Little Mountain (March 6)^[16]
• John K. Samson, Provincial (January 24)^[17]
• Saukrates, Season One (April 24)^[4]
• Shout Out Out Out Out, Spanish Moss and Total Loss (June 19)^[18]
• Skydiggers, Northern Shore (April 17)^[19]
• The Slakadeliqs, The Other Side of Tomorrow
• Rae Spoon, I Can't Keep All of Our Secrets (January 10)^[20]
• Stars, The North
• Jeffery Straker, Vagabond - October 2

T

• The Tragically Hip, Now for Plan A
• A Tribe Called Red, A Tribe Called Red

V

• Chad VanGaalen, The Green Corridor
• Various Artists, Have Not Been the Same - November 13^[21]

W

• Martha Wainwright, Come Home to Mama
• Rufus Wainwright, Out of the Game
• Patrick Watson, Adventures in Your Own Backyard (April 17)
• Wax Mannequin, No Safe Home
• Whitehorse, The Fate of the World Depends on This Kiss
• Wintersleep, Hello Hum
• Royal Wood, We Were Born to Glory
• The Wooden Sky, Every Child a Daughter, Every Moon a Sun (February 28)^[22]
• Woodpigeon, For Paolo
• Wool on Wolves, Measures of Progress

Y

• Neil Young, Americana
• Yukon Blonde, Tiger Talk - March 20^[4]

Z

• Zeus, Busting Visions

Top hits on record

The lists are updated weekly through Jam! and Nielsen Soundscan.^[23]

Top 10 Canadian albums

Rank	Artist	Album	Peak position	Sales	Certification
1	Celine Dion	Sans attendre	1	209,000[24]	3x Platinum[25]
2	Justin Bieber	Believe	1	179,000[24][26][27]	2x Platinum[28]
3	Various Artists	Star Académie 2012	1	156,000[24][29]	2x Platinum[30]
4	Leonard Cohen	Old Ideas	1	132,000[24][31][32]	Platinum[33]
5	Johnny Reid	Fire It Up	2	80,000	Platinum[34]
5	Marie-Mai	Miroir	2	80,000	Platinum[35]
5	Serena Ryder	Harmony	11	80,000	Platinum[36]
5	The Sheepdogs	The Sheepdogs	1	80,000	Platinum[37]
5	The Tenors	Lead With Your Heart	3	80,000	Platinum[38]
5	Various Artists	Star Académie Noel	TBA	80,000	Platinum[39]

Top 10 American albums

Rank	Artist	Album	Peak position	Sales	Certification
1	Taylor Swift	Red	1	320,000[40]	4x Platinum[41]
2	Bruno Mars	Unorthodox Jukebox	2	240,000	3x Platinum[42]
3	Imagine Dragons	Night Visions	4	240,000[43]	3x Platinum[44]
4	Pink	The Truth About Love	1	240,000	3x Platinum[45]
5	Lana Del Rey	Born to Die	3	160,000	2x Platinum[46]
6	The Lumineers	The Lumineers	5	160,000	2x Platinum[47]
7	Carrie Underwood	Blown Away	1	80,000[48][49][50]	Platinum[51]
8	Florida Georgia Line	Here's to the Good Times	8	80,000	Platinum[52]
9	Fun.	Some Nights	5	80,000	Platinum[53]
10	Jack White	Blunderbuss	1	80,000	Platinum[54]

Top 10 British albums

Rank	Artist	Album	Peak position	Sales	Certification
1	Mumford & Sons	Babel	1	400,000[24][55]	5x Platinum[56]
2	One Direction	Take Me Home	1	240,000[24]	3x Platinum[57]
3	Rod Stewart	Merry Christmas, Baby	1	240,000[24]	3x Platinum[58]
4	One Direction	Up All Night	1	234,000[24]	3x Platinum[59]
5	Ed Sheeran	+	5	160,000	2x Platinum[60]
6	Led Zeppelin	Celebration Day	4	160,000	2x Platinum[61]
7	Muse	The 2nd Law	2	80,000	Platinum[62]
8	One Direction	Up All Night: The Live Tour	1	60,000	5x Platinum[63]
9	Alt-J	An Awesome Wave	TBA	40,000	Gold[64]
9	Calvin Harris	18 Months	8	40,000	Gold[65]

Top 10 International albums

Rank	Artist	Album	Peak position	Sales	Certification
1	Of Monsters and Men	My Head Is an Animal	5	160,000	2x Platinum[66]
2	Rihanna	Unapologetic	1	80,000	Platinum[67]
2	Various Artists	2012 Grammy Nominees	TBA	80,000	Platinum[68]
4	Gotye	Making Mirrors	5	40,000	Gold[69]
4	Various Artists	The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey - Original Motion Picture Soundtrack	TBA	40,000	Gold[70]
4	Various Artists	Rock of Ages: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack	TBA	40,000	Gold[71]
7	Nicki Minaj	Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded	1	17,300[72]	TBA
8	The Cranberries	Roses	6	3,100[73]	TBA
9	Various Artists	Now! 20	2	TBA	TBA
10	Sigur Rós	Valtari	4	TBA	TBA

Top 10 Singles

Rank	Artist	Song	Album	Peak position	Sales	Certification
1	Carly Rae Jepsen	"Call Me Maybe"	Curiosity & Kiss	1	640,000	8x Platinum[74]
2	Imagine Dragons	"Radioactive"	Night Visions	5	560,000	7x Platinum[75]
3	Macklemore & Ryan Lewis	"Thrift Shop"	The Heist	1	560,000	7x Platinum[76]
4	Maroon 5	"One More Night"	Overexposed	2	480,000	6x Platinum[77]
5	Bruno Mars	"Locked Out of Heaven"	Unorthodox Jukebox	1	400,000	5x Platinum[78]
6	Flo Rida	"Whistle"	Wild Ones	1	400,000	5x Platinum[79]
7	Fun.	"Some Nights"	Some Nights	4	400,000	5x Platinum[80]
8	The Lumineers	"Ho Hey"	The Lumineers	2	400,000	5x Platinum[81]
9	Maroon 5 feat. Wiz Khalifa	"Payphone"	Overexposed	1	400,000	5x Platinum[82]
10	Mumford & Sons	"I Will Wait"	Babel	9	400,000	5x Platinum[83]

Deaths

• January 2 - Ian Bargh, jazz pianist
• January 25 - Andrew MacNaughtan, photographer and music video director
• February 21 - Christopher Reimer, rock guitarist (Women)
• April 23 - Billy Bryans, percussionist and record producer (Parachute Club)^[84]
• September 23 - Sam Sniderman, founder of the Sam the Record Man chain^[85]

References

1. "CBC digital music service launched". CBC News, February 13, 2012.
2. "Polaris Prize long list includes lots of Toronto bands". Toronto Star, June 14, 2012.
3. "Karkwa Plot Live Album, Announce Hiatus". Exclaim!, December 14, 2011.
4. "Exclaim!'s 20 Most Anticipated Canadian Albums of 2012". Exclaim!, January 3, 2012.
5. "Dave Bidini's Bidiniband Reveal 'In the Rock Hall'". Exclaim!, December 12, 2011.
6. "Change of Heart Reveal 'There You Go '82-'97' Retrospective". Exclaim!, August 8, 2012.
7. "Brendan Canning on Cookie Duster and Life After BSS: 'I Wanted a Fresh Perspective'". Spinner, June 26, 2012.
8. "Julie Doiron Announces 'So Many Days' Album". Exclaim!, September 17, 2012.
9. http://www.artistdirect.com/entertainment-news/article/esthero-to-release-everything-is-expensive-on-october-30/10254199
10. "Hannah Georgas Details Sophomore Album, Premieres New Track". Exclaim!, August 22, 2012.
11. Great Lake Swimmers: "Easy Come Easy Go". Exclaim!, January 9, 2012.
12. http://universalmusic.ca/knaan-country-god-or-the-girl-october-16/
13. "K'naan Recruits Nas, Nelly Furtado for 'More Beautiful Than Silence' EP". Exclaim!, January 18, 2012.
14. "Plants and Animals to release The End of That on February 28, 2012; first single Lightshow". Hour Community, November 30, 2011.
15. "Joel Plaskett's Announces 'Scrappy Happiness' LP, Canadian Tour with Frank Turner". Exclaim!, January 6, 2012.
16. "Canadian musicians to watch in 2012". Vancouver Sun, December 22, 2011.
17. "John K. Samson Reveals Canadian Tour, Premieres New Track". Exclaim!, December 12, 2011.
18. "Shout Out Out Out Out Announce 'Spanish Moss and Total Loss' Album, Share New Single". Exclaim!, March 7, 2012.
19. "Skydiggers 'Northern Shore' (album stream)". Exclaim!, April 9, 2012.
20. "Rae Spoon Talks 'I Can't Keep All of Our Secrets,' Reveals New Track and Canadian Tour". Exclaim!, November 23, 2011.
21. "'Have Not Been the Same' Gathers Rare and Unreleased Material from Sloan, Skydiggers, the Pursuit of Happiness for Charity Comp". Exclaim!, October 10, 2012.
22. "The Wooden Sky Unveil New LP, North American Tour". Exclaim!, December 13, 2011.
23. http://nielsen.com/content/dam/nielsen/en_ca/documents/pdf/newsletters/billboard_canadian-update/nielsen%20music%20canadian%20update.pdf
24. Bliss, Karen. "Adele, Gotye Top SoundScan Year-End Charts in Canada". Billboard.biz. Retrieved 10 January 2013.
25. "Canadian album certifications – Celine Dion – Sans attendre". Music Canada.
26. http://jam.canoe.ca/Music/Artists/Z/Zac_Brown_Band/2012/07/18/20000521.html
27. http://jam.canoe.ca/Music/Artists/F/FloRida/2012/07/25/20026051.html
28. "Canadian album certifications – Justin Bieber – Believe". Music Canada.
29. http://jam.canoe.ca/Music/Artists/O/One_Direction/2012/03/21/19531441.html
30. "Canadian album certifications – Various Artists – Star Académie 2012". Music Canada.
31. http://jam.canoe.ca/Music/Artists/C/Cohen_Leonard/2012/02/08/19354596.html
32. http://jam.canoe.ca/Music/Artists/H/Houston_Whitney/2012/03/01/19446791.html
33. "Canadian album certifications – Leonard Cohen – Old Ideas". Music Canada.
34. "Canadian album certifications – Johnny Reid – Fire It Up". Music Canada.
35. "Canadian album certifications – Marie-Mai – Miroir". Music Canada.
36. "Canadian album certifications – Serena Ryder – Harmony". Music Canada.
37. "Canadian album certifications – The Sheepdogs – The Sheepdogs". Music Canada.
38. "Canadian album certifications – The Canadian Tenors – Lead With Your Heart". Music Canada.
39. "Canadian album certifications – Various Artists – Star Académie Noel". Music Canada.
40. http://www.ourhometown.ca/news/NN0094.php
41. "Canadian album certifications – Taylor Swift – Red". Music Canada.
42. "Canadian album certifications – Bruno Mars – Unorthodox Jukebox". Music Canada.
43. "Canada's Digital Music Sales Rise in 2013 Unlike the U.S.; Eminem, Robin Thicke Among Top Selling Artists". January 10, 2014. Retrieved 2014-01-15.
44. "Canadian album certifications – Imagine Dragons – Night Visions". Music Canada.
45. "Canadian album certifications – Pink – The Truth About Love". Music Canada.
46. "Canadian album certifications – Lana Del Rey – Born to Die". Music Canada.
47. "Canadian album certifications – The Lumineers – The Lumineers". Music Canada.
48. http://jam.canoe.ca/Music/Artists/U/Underwood_Carrie/2012/05/09/19738141.html
49. http://jam.canoe.ca/Music/2012/05/17/19769551.html
50. http://jam.canoe.ca/Music/2012/05/23/19791121.html
51. "Canadian album certifications – Carrie Underwood – Blown Away". Music Canada.
52. "Canadian album certifications – Florida Georgia Line – Here's to the Good Times". Music Canada.
53. "Canadian album certifications – Fun. – Some Nights". Music Canada.
54. "Canadian album certifications – Jack White – Blunderbuss". Music Canada.
55. http://blogs.canoe.ca/turntable/music/mumford-sons-deadmau5-green-day-explode-onto-charts/
56. "Canadian album certifications – Mumford & Sons – Babel". Music Canada.
57. "Canadian album certifications – One Direction – Take Me Home". Music Canada.
58. "Canadian album certifications – Rod Stewart – Merry Christmas, Baby". Music Canada.
59. "Canadian album certifications – One Direction – Up All Night". Music Canada.
60. "Canadian album certifications – Ed Sheeran – +". Music Canada.
61. "Canadian album certifications – Led Zeppelin – Celebration Day". Music Canada.
62. "Canadian album certifications – Muse – The 2nd Law". Music Canada.
63. "Canadian video certifications – One Direction – Up All Night - The Live Tour". Music Canada.
64. "Canadian album certifications – Alt-J – An Awesome Wave". Music Canada.
65. "Canadian album certifications – Calvin Harris – 18 Months". Music Canada.
66. "Canadian album certifications – Of Monsters and Men – My Head Is an Animal". Music Canada.
67. "Canadian album certifications – Rihanna – Unapologetic". Music Canada.
68. "Canadian album certifications – Various Artists – 2012 Grammy Nominees". Music Canada.
69. "Canadian digital certifications – Gotye – Making Mirrors". Music Canada.
70. "Canadian album certifications – Original Motion Picture Soundtrack – The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey". Music Canada.
71. "Canadian album certifications – Original Motion Picture Soundtrack – Rock of Ages". Music Canada.
72. http://jam.canoe.ca/Music/Artists/A/adele/2012/04/18/19648376.html
73. http://jam.canoe.ca/Music/Artists/C/Cranberries/2012/03/07/19471896.html
74. "Canadian digital certifications – Carly Rae Jepsen – Call Me Maybe". Music Canada.
75. "Canadian digital download certifications – Imagine Dragons – Radioactive". Music Canada.
76. "Canadian digital download certifications – Macklemore & Ryan Lewis – Thrift Shop". Music Canada.
77. "Canadian digital download certifications – Maroon 5 – One More Night". Music Canada.
78. "Canadian digital download certifications – Bruno Mars – Locked Out of Heaven". Music Canada.
79. "Canadian digital download certifications – Flo Rida – Whistle". Music Canada.
80. "Canadian digital download certifications – Fun. – Some Nights". Music Canada.
81. "Canadian digital download certifications – The Lumineers – Ho Hey". Music Canada.
82. "Canadian digital download certifications – Maroon 5 – Payphone". Music Canada.
83. "Canadian digital download certifications – Mumford & Sons – I Will Wait". Music Canada.
84. "Parachute Club's Billy Bryans dies at 62". CBC News. Toronto. 2012-04-23. Retrieved 2012-04-23.
85. "Sam the Record Man funeral today". CBC News, September 25, 2012.