Career
Origin
The group was the creation of Jill Ann Siemens, originally as a trio (Philip Grant, Paul Ouellette, and Ken Lavigne) and debuted in 2004 in Victoria. In 2005, a new re-envisoned group consisting of Craig Ashton, Joey Niceforo and Leon Leontaridis released their self-titled debut The Canadian Tenors (Warner). Siemens then did a cross-Canada search to find four new voices and chose Micallef, Remigio Pereira, Walters, and Jamie McKnight. They released their second self-titled album The Canadian Tenors in 2009.[16]
Walters, Micallef, and Pereira sang a repertoire of popular and classical music together for seven years. In January 2009 Clifton Murray replaced Jamie McKnight.[3]
2009–2011: The Perfect Gift
The band released their first holiday album The Perfect Gift on November 3, 2009,[17] which was later certified platinum by Music Canada.
In September of that year, the group toured with David Foster as the opening act. They performed O Canada at the 2009 Grey Cup game.
On February 10, 2010, the Tenors appeared on The Oprah Winfrey Show. Unbeknownst to them, Oprah Winfrey had arranged for a surprise; midway through their rendition of "Hallelujah", Celine Dion came onstage and sang the rest of the song with the group.[6]
The Perfect Gift was released in the US on October 12, 2010, and has since peaked at #7 on the Top Holiday Albums Chart.
On December 13, 2010, The group performed during a holiday special called Canadian Tenors and Friends, which drew 957,000 viewers.[18] The performance included the Tenors, Justin Bieber, and Jackie Evancho.
The Canadian Tenors appeared at the 2011 Emmy Awards, performing a version of Leonard Cohen's song "Hallelujah".
Another special called Season of Song featuring the Tenors aired December 14, 2011, attracting 743,000 viewers.[19]
2012–2014: Lead with Your Heart
The band announced on July 25, 2012, that they were signed by David Foster to Verve Records.[20]
The group's third album Lead with Your Heart was released in Canada on October 9, 2012, through Universal Music Canada. Lead with Your Heart is a 12- track classical crossover album. It includes covers of Forever Young, Amazing Grace and Nessun Dorma. The album also includes new compositions written by The Tenors. Walter Afanasieff, Bob Ezrin, and Marco Marinangeli have production and co-writing credits on the album.
The album's first single "I Believe" was released on iTunes on July 24, 2012 and was sampled on CTV during the 2012 Summer Olympics.[21]
The album was released in the United States on January 15, 2013, and debuted at No. 1 on the Classical Crossover Albums chart and No. 21 on Billboard 200, selling 16,000 copies in its first week.[22]
The group was awarded the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal on January 24, 2013.[23]
On August 2, 2013, Lead with Your Heart was released in the United Kingdom. Later that year The Tenors appeared on the BBC's Strictly Come Dancing.
In October 2013, The Tenors released the single "I Thank You" with Big Brothers Big Sisters of America spokesperson and Miss America 2012 Laura Kaeppeler to benefit Big Brothers Big Sisters of Canada.
Conceived by Kenny Munshaw and co-written with The Tenors and Marc Jordan, "I Thank You" was recorded in London and produced by Grammy nominated producer and songwriter Sacha Skarbek.
2015–2016: Under One Sky
.jpg)
The Tenors recorded their second PBS Special on March 12, 2015, at Caesars Windsor in Windsor, Ontario, featuring their new album, Under One Sky. The CD was released in Canada on May 4, 2015 and hit number one on iTunes within days. In the US, the release date was held back a month, to coincide with the June 2015 release of the PBS special to public television stations. Under One Sky features both original and re-recorded songs, and was well received at the PBS taping by a live, international audience. The PBS Special DVD was pre-released on May 13, 2015, for June 6 shipping.
An 18-date Under One Sky tour of Canada was announced in April 2015 to promote the new album.[24][25]
MLB 2016 All-Star Game controversy
In July 2016, Remigio Pereira was removed from the group after he altered the lyrics to the Canadian national anthem at the 2016 Major League Baseball All-Star Game in San Diego—from "With glowing hearts we see thee rise, the True North strong and free," to "We're all brothers and sisters, all lives matter to the great", and held up a sign with the phrase.[26][27]
2019 NBA Finals
The Tenors became the first act to perform "O Canada" at an NBA Finals game, on May 30, 2019 at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto.[28]
2022
Mark Masri and Italian singer Alberto Urso joined the group after Fraser Walters' departure.
