Emanuel (musician)
Emanuel Assefa, credited as Emanuel, is a Canadian R&B singer,[1] whose debut EP Alt Therapy Session 1: Disillusion was a Juno Award nominee for Traditional R&B/Soul Recording of the Year at the Juno Awards of 2021.[2]
Assefa was born and raised in London, Ontario, the son of parents from Ethiopia who came to Canada as refugees in the 1970s.[3]
His first single, "Need You", was released in April 2020, and was promoted in part with a music video compiled from the responses to actor Idris Elba's social media request for pictorial and video collages of the things that were helping people to cope with the COVID-19 pandemic.[4]
Alt Therapy Session 1: Disillusion was released in June 2020,[5] and was followed by Alt Therapy Session 2: Transformation in December[6] His full-length debut album Alt Therapy, including songs from both of the prior EPs, was released in 2021 on Motown Records,[7] and was a Juno Award nominee for Traditional R&B/Soul Recording at the Juno Awards of 2022.
His song "Black Woman", cowritten with Ryan Bakalarczyk, John Fellner and Kardinal Offishall, was a nominee for the 2021 SOCAN Songwriting Prize.[8]
References[edit]
- ^ Holly Gordon, "Idris Elba helps make new video for up-and-coming Ontario artist". CBC Music, April 16, 2020.
- ^ Holly Gordon, "The Weeknd, JP Saxe, Jessie Reyez and Justin Bieber lead 2021 Juno Award nominations". CBC Music, March 9, 2021.
- ^ Jason Schneider, "Meet the 2021 Juno Nominees: Emanuel". FYI Music News, May 12, 2021.
- ^ Karen Bliss, "Meet Emanuel, the Idris Elba-Approved Singer Who Can Heal Us All". Complex, December 4, 2020.
- ^ Mitch Mosk, "Review: Emanuel’s Debut ‘Alt Therapy Session 1: Disillusion’ Is a Breathtaking R&B Experience". Atwood Magazine, June 19, 2020.
- ^ Mitch Mosk, "Songs About Healing: Toronto’s Emanuel Dives into His ‘ALT THERAPY’ Project & ‘Session 2: Transformation’". Atwood Magazine, December 4, 2020.
- ^ Jeff Terich, "Rising R&B Star Emanuel Drops A Cappella Video For ‘Thought It’d Be Easy’". UDiscoverMusic, February 17, 2021.
- ^ Megan LaPierre, "SOCAN Songwriting Prize Announces 2021 Finalists". Exclaim!, June 17, 2021.