Canadian country star Brett Kissel says he is humbled to be receiving the Allan Slaight Honour at this year’s Canada’s Walk of Fame gala.
The prize, which recognizes “a young Canadian who is making a positive impact in the field of music,” will be awarded during the Oct. 6 taping in Toronto.
Recipients since 2010 include Nikki Yanofsky, Drake, Melanie Fiona, Carly Rae Jepsen, The Weeknd and Shawn Mendes.
“I would never have predicted that I’d be in the same conversation as Drake or The Weeknd or Shawn Mendes,” Kissel told iHeartRadio.ca.
“And to be the first country singer to get the Allan Slaight Honour is so special because it really goes to show that the songs that I’m singing and the person that I am is getting a little bit of traction in Canada and around the world.”
It’s been a good year for Kissel, a 26-year-old Alberta native whose breakthrough album was 2013’s Started With a Song.
In September, he won Canadian Country Music Association (CCMA) awards for Male Artist of the Year and Fans’ Choice. And, he and wife Cecilia welcomed their first child, daughter Mila, in January.
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Kissel said despite many years of hard work, he’s stunned by his success.
“You dream of these things but you never know what it’s going to be like if you’re able to accomplish these goals or if you’re able to live this dream,” he explained.
Kissel, a diehard Oilers fan, compares the experience to a child who plays hockey.
“You always dream of winning the Stanley Cup but you never know what it’s actually going to be like when you hold the trophy over your head,” he said. “For me, that moment was Male Artist of the Year. For me, that moment was winning the Fans’ Choice.”
Kissel recalled how the location of his seat at the CCMA Awards has improved over the years.
“Each year my seat got better and better — from the nosebleeds as a fan to sitting in the crowd with the delegates to sitting in the front row like I did this year,” he said, “and then to have my name be called. You can’t describe those feelings.”
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Kissel is also generating a lot of feelings with a song that appears on his 2015 album Pick Me Up. “I Didn’t Fall in Love With Your Hair” features Carolyn Dawn Johnson and was written by Rachel Bradshaw, Kyle Jacobs and Billy Montana about a married couple dealing with the woman’s cancer diagnosis.
“It talks about a lot more than just cancer,” said Kissel, whose mother Brenda has fought cancer. “It talks so much about the beauty within and the strength of women going through the toughest time in their life.
“We wanted to make sure it was doing a lot of good for the people who listen to it because I believe that music can heal. If you listen to this song and share it with others, I think it has that ability.”
With the support of his record label, Kissel took it a step further. Proceeds from downloads of the single are being donated to the Canadian Cancer Society.
He admitted it’s not easy to perform the song live. “In fact, it is so difficult for me that I have to one, get in the zone and two, pick the right places to play it,” said Kissel.
“If I’m playing a club where people can’t really listen, I feel that I’ll tell the story of the song and ask them to go hear it, but I won’t perform it unless I think that people can really sit and be captured by the lyrics and the message.”
Kissel kicks off his Ice, Snow & 30 Below cross-Canada tour on Jan. 12 in Sault St. Marie, Ont. It wraps up Feb. 4 in Georgetown, Prince Edward Island.
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