Kardinal Offishall, Torquil Campbell and Sarah Slean to help judge the competition
CBCMusic.ca and CBC Radio One are on the hunt again for Canada’s best new artist in the listeners’ choice contest, SEARCHLIGHT. Beginning today, musicians of all types - including solo artists, duos, and groups from all genres with original songs - are encouraged to enter the competition. In an interesting twist this year, Kardinal Offishall, Torquil Campbell, and Sarah Slean have been called on by CBC Music and CBC Radio One to help determine the next best act.
SEARCHLIGHT is a listeners’ choice competition that engages both musicians and listeners. From Monday, March 3 to Sunday, March 23, artists can go to cbcmusic.ca/Searchlight and enter the contests by creating an artist profile on CBCMusic.ca and submitting one original song to represent them in the contest. From Monday, March 24 to Monday, April 21, musicians who enter will compete for votes for their song against other artists from their region, which will be determined by the closest participating CBC Radio One regional afternoon show. Voting will happen in three rounds. On Tuesday, April 22 the top 24 regional finalists will be announced, and from there they will move on to the national round.
At that point, SEARCHLIGHT judges Kardinal Offishall, Torquil Campbell and Sarah Slean will help narrow the top 24 regional submissions down to the top 10—five acts chosen by them and five acts chosen by listeners. After the judges narrow the top 10 down to the final four on Tuesday, May 6, the winner of the national round will be announced first on CBC Radio One’s Q with Jian Ghomeshi on Friday, May 9, followed by CBCMusic.ca and CBC Radio 2.
The winner of the national vote will receive $20,000 in music equipment from Yamaha, and a slot on the soon to be announced CBC Music Festival - date and location to be confirmed soon, as well as flight and accommodations. CBCMusic.ca will also record an audio/video session with the winning act, to be featured on CBCMusic.ca.
Regional Vote Important Dates:
Submission period: Monday, March 10 to Sunday, March 23 at midnight ET
Round 1 voting - Top 25: Monday, March 24 at 12:01 a.m. ET to Sunday, April 6 at midnight ET
Round 2 voting - Top 25 to Top 10: Monday, April 7 at 6 p.m. local to Sunday, April 13 at midnight ET
Round 3 voting - Top 10 to finalists: Monday, April 14 at 6 p.m. local to Monday, April 21 at midnight ET
Top 24 finalists - Tuesday, April 22
National Vote Important Dates:
Round 1 - Long list to Top 10 * (*5 of 10 selected by celebrity judges, 5 of 10 selected by voters): Tuesday, April 22 to Monday, April 28
Round 2 - Top 10 to Final 4: Tuesday, April 29 to Monday, May 5
Judges Reveal Final 4: Tuesday, May 6 on CBC Radio One’s Q
Round 3 - Final 4 to Winner: Tuesday, May 6 to Friday, May 9
Winner Announcement: Friday May 9 on CBC Radio One’s Q first, followed by CBC Music and CBC Radio 2
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About CBC/Radio-Canada
CBC/Radio-Canada is Canada’s national public broadcaster and one of its largest cultural institutions. The Corporation is a leader in reaching Canadians on new platforms and delivers a comprehensive range of radio, television, internet, and satellite-based services. Deeply rooted in the regions, CBC/Radio-Canada is the only domestic broadcaster to offer diverse regional and cultural perspectives in English, French and eight Aboriginal languages.
About CBC Music.ca
CBCMusic.ca is Canada’s free digital music service. For the casual listener to the hardcore fan, connect with the very best Canadian and international music, concerts and features. Simple and easy to navigate, CBCMusic.ca gives Canadians access to 50 Web radio stations, 12 distinct genre-based music communities, CBC Radio 2 and CBC Radio 3, plus content from the most knowledgeable music personalities and programmers from across the country, hundreds of concerts, playlists and more.
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For more information please contact:
Dayna Shiskos, publicist, CBC
O: (416) 205-7973
