CBC’s Round 1 Standouts for Searchlight, Voting Ends Today!

CBC’s Round 1 of their Searchlight competition ends at 3:00 PM ET, so if you’re getting any last minute votes in, you better do it now! The contest, which is a hunt for some of Canada’s best undiscovered musical talent, saw over 2,000 Canadian artists enter. 100 artists will be selected for round 2 by popular vote, then 50 will be selected from their by CBC music producers.

From there the top 10 finalists will be selected on March 8th and the Winner of CBC’s Searchlight will be announced on Monday, March 19th, kicking off Juno Week in Vancouver.

“During this first round, the votes have been coming in fast and furious. At the same time, our CBC Music producers have been listening to each and every song with discerning ears. Which artists should make the top 100 (announced March 1)? Which songs would be a great fit for airplay on CBC Music, Radio One or Radio 3? Which artists have the complete package? Which artists would be a great fit for the Allan Slaight Juno Master Class? Which artist could we picture onstage at our CBC Music Festival in May?

Of the thousands of songs, here are 10 great standout artists whose songs caught the ears of our producers. Only time will tell if they make it through to the next round.”

Band: Fallbrigade
Location: Vancouver Island
Song: “Sweet Hope”

Beautiful and confident, this is radio-ready indie-pop. 

Band: the Trade-Offs
Location: Nunavut
Song: “Dancing with the Wind”

Unique “Arctic soul” that echoes the depths of the tundra that surrounds the Trade-Offs. 

Band: FM Berlin
Location: New Brunswick
Song: “At Least You’re Having Fun”

Searing and catchy alt-rock from Moncton with more hooks than a Timber River tackle box. 

Band: Global Party Starters
Location: Vancouver
Song: “Bad Boy”

If you like A Tribe Called Red or Delhi 2 Dublin, you’ll love the electro-hip hop-world beat of this band. 

Artist: Ainsley Elisa
Location: Edmonton
Song: “3am”

At just 16 years old, this artist is one of the youngest in Searchlight 2018, but her pitch-perfect pop sounds far more mature than her age. 

Artist: Joey O’Neil
Location: Yukon
Song: “When I Forget”

An excellent singer-songwriter with a voice as haunting as a Klondike winter. 

Artist: Super Duty Tough Work
Location: Manitoba
Song: “Hypnotic”

Smooth, old school-style hip-hop with fantastic flourishes of jazz.

Artist: Killjoy
Location: Saskatchewan
Song: “Ex Oh”

Very solid pop-punk that sounds ready for the arena. Fist in the air for this one! 

Artist: Danny Drouin
Location: P.E.I.
Song: “Lost”

A dirt-road intersection between new and old-school country from this Islander. 

Artist: Sinzere
Location: Calgary
Song: “On Time”

Flow. Sinzere has it, effortlessly mixing hip-hop, funk, R&B and soul in a rapid-fire delivery. Vote for Sinzere here.