Voting in the SiriusXM Top of the Country contest is in full swing, and we're here to give you a little more insight into the 2018 semi-finalists with a brand new Q&A!
We caught up with all nine of the grand prize hopefuls to learn a little more about their backgrounds, influences, the songs they've submitted in the contest and more. Check out all of their answers, and click on the semi-finalists names below to check out each of their songs and submit your votes.
Remember, you can vote for one semi-finalist in each of the three regions, daily until June 6! So, don't miss your chance to help your favourite up and coming Canadian country star earn their way to the finals.
Western Canada
Kristin Carter // Leaving Thomas // Shawn AustinCentral Canada
Andrew Hyatt // Cory James Mitchell // The Redhill ValleysEastern Canada
Chris Ryan // Ian Janes // Jason BenoitSiriusXM Top of the Country Semi-Finalists Q&A
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Q) What is your favourite thing about Country music?
Kristin Carter) The storytelling. At its heart, I think Country music is meant to make you feel something. From broken hearts, to body like a back road, I love how broad, deep, and fun the songs can be. Also, the hats.
Leaving Thomas) The stories. Country is a genre that is built upon the stories that are woven within the music. It's something that we find very important when we are creating our music and we always love hearing the stories in the songs of the artists we love as well!
Shawn Austin) I think it's the values instilled within country music. All songs within country hinge on stories and situations that many people can relate with. Can't beat some of the party songs either!
Andrew Hyatt) I like the storytelling vibe. I think the way the lyrics walk you through the moment is something pretty special.
Cory James Mitchell) The people. Country music has always been the voice of the working men and women. That blue-collar everyday grind is where our music comes from and it speaks to a lot of people. Country music fans are loyal, respectful, full of energy and know how to have fun, and that's what the music is all about.
The Redhill Valleys) Playing music under the "Country" label offers quite a lot of freedom in terms of what you can write about and what you can play. There's a pretty significant gap stylistically between a Hank Williams and a Chris Stapleton, and it's a good feeling knowing that we have all of that range to work within.
Chris Ryan) I love how broad the term "Country" is today. It's always been about blatantly honest honest songs and stories, these days it's fun to hear those new stories in so many different variations.
Ian Janes) The honesty. I love how real it is. I also love the high level of musicianship heard on country records.
Jason Benoit) My favourite thing about country music is the stories. Country music has always been known for telling emotionally driven stories through song and that's what initially drew me to country music.
Q) Who is the Canadian country artist you loved most when you were younger?
Kristin Carter) Shania Twain, hands down! The Come On Over album was the soundtrack to all my childhood road trips. Those songs and those fashion moments... I mean... she's just incredible. I would love to meet her and show her some real awkward childhood pics of me trying to be like her. Oooh boy...
Leaving Thomas) Paul Brandt and Shania Twain! For both of us, Paul and Shania have been the soundtracks to our lives. To this day we will crank up Leavin' (Paul Brandt) and No One Needs to Know (Shania Twain) on our road trips!
Shawn Austin) It has to be Shania Twain. Being one of the first Canadians to start to blur the border and reach such a level of success, she's been someone that all country fans and new artists have been able to study and try to emulate.
Andrew Hyatt) If I'm being honest, I didn't really grow up listening to much Canadian country. As a 90s kid, nothing was quite as bad ass to me as listening to the Ramones or Nirvana.
Cory James Mitchell) Stompin' Tom has to be right up there for me. We had his Christmas record at home growing up and the Hockey Song is ingrained in every decent Canadian. Not to mention that my uncle Mont has been singing convoluted versions of Tillsonburg ever since I can remember. I also grew up in the 90's listening to my mother's radio stations which often played the likes of Michelle Wright (who was from right over in Merlin she had to always point out). To this day, I am still in awe of her powerhouse vocals. As a long time fan of Fleetwood Mac and Heart, I've always place Michelle Wright in the same small circle as Stevie Nicks and the Wilson sisters.
The Redhill Valleys) We have a tie within our band on this subject. Shania Twain was a huge influence on a whole nation of music lovers - our band included - when she exploded onto the scene, and Chelsea in particular has been a HUGE, lifelong fan. Our other favourite Canadian country artist is Neil Young. Although he was never strictly a country artist, he has put out a few traditional country albums and has had country songs peppered throughout his entire catalogue and career. One of the most significant examples of his take on country that impacted us is his tremendous reworking of the Don Gibson classic Oh Lonesome Me.
Chris Ryan) I think for me it was actually Terri Clark to be honest. I still have Better Things To Do stuck in my head every other day. Haha, doesn't hurt that she had a monster Newfoundland guitar player in Craig Young to boot!
Ian Janes) I remember being blown away by The Woman In Me record by Shania Twain. Literally every song is gold.
Jason Benoit) That Canadian Artist would definitely be George Fox. I always thought he had a great country voice and songs. My favourite song of his is Spice of Life ... I used to sing that one a lot when I just got started playing.
Q) What has been the coolest moment in your career so far?
Kristin Carter) Recording at the Warehouse Studio! It was an absolute dream to step into such a legendary space.
Leaving Thomas) Being able to sing our song out to people and then hearing them sing it back to us has to be one of the best feelings we have ever felt! It really is a highlight for us!
Another highlight has been performing at the Bluebird Cafe in Nashville. It's such an iconic venue with so much country music history and it's a moment that we will never forget!
Shawn Austin) Definitely when I had the chance to perform Paradise Found in Abbotsford at the end of Dallas Smith's Side Effects tour. It was a pretty surreal moment to be able to play that track in front of such a high-energy crowd so close to my hometown.
Andrew Hyatt) There have been a few but I'd say hearing the crowd last year at Boots and Hearts singing the deep album cuts from the record was pretty great.
Cory James Mitchell) A while back, I was in my hometown at a pub that had live music playing. The gentleman on stage asked me to come up and do a few songs and I agreed. I opened with a Marshall Tucker cover, and then was met with a request from the crowd for one of my own tunes. I played If I Could Fly Away (I'd Be Gone) and was floored when people in the crowd began singing along. It is definitely a feeling I will never forget. I think that's just it though, no matter how big the crowds might get, it is all about making that individual connection with a person through your music. Having someone approach you and say they can relate to that one line in that one song or that they know exactly what you must of been going through when you wrote it, that's something I don't think will ever get old.
The Redhill Valleys) We've been really fortunate and have had the opportunity to play some huge festivals and shows at iconic venues with bands and artists that are doing some really special things. We've been lucky enough to start friendships with some very talented and like-minded people from all over North America.
Chris Ryan) I think the chance to open for Toby Keith was probably biggest for me. Playing solo in front of a sold-out hockey arena was pretty surreal. Certainly didn't hurt that he was an incredible guy as well.
Ian Janes) Undoubtedly having my song Can't Remember Never Loving You (co-written with Byron Hill) used in the mid-season finale of the TV show Nashville.
Jason Benoit) The coolest moment in my career is definitely hearing the crowd sing along to my song Gone Long Gone. What an incredible feeling to hear the crowd sing along word for word for a song that I wrote.. that's what it's all about.
Q) Can you tell us a little about your song in the Top of the Country semi-finals?
Kristin Carter) I wrote Leaving Side of Loving You with Jeff Johnson and our friends Carli and Julie Kennedy in Nashville. It was one of those writes where it came together really quickly in the room, all of them are incredible musicians. On a more personal note, this song is about my real life long distance relationship and the challenges that go along with that. Even though it was difficult to share the song with my boyfriend initially, he has always fully supported me and really loves the song. At least he tells me he does haha!
Leaving Thomas) Kiss About It is a fun, energetic song about how a simple kiss from the one you love can make it easy to letting every little worry drift away.
Shawn Austin) Get Me There is a bit of a classic love song about having that one person in your life that makes everything else unnecessary. I love the imagery that the lyrics create in some parts too. It's definitely a favourite of mine that we've been able to record so far and I'm glad we chose to do it for this competition.
Andrew Hyatt) The song is called Habit and it really resonated with me when I first heard it. It's written by Jaren Johnston and Jimmy Robbins, and being a huge fan of Johnston's band The Cadillac Three it was pretty mind-blowing to me to have a track like this come my way. The melodies and topic about new love that consumes you were a nice contrast to the heartbreak of my last record Iron and Ashes.
Cory James Mitchell) The track we chose to record for the Top of the Country semi-finals is called Drove. It was one of the first songs I put a serious pen behind and wanted to see come to fruition. I wrote it at a time when I was switching gears in life. I wanted to take my music in a serious direction, as well as be seen as genuine artist, with a pride in honest, original music. The song itself is a bit of a "coming of age" story I guess, but not the ones they make movies about... Rather the real ones that most of us lived. Asking out the girl of your dreams, talking a big game to all your buddies, borrowing the old man's wheels, and in the end, being too chicken shit to even lean in for a kiss... Or for that matter, barely being able to muster up more than a few words without tripping over yourself.
The Redhill Valleys) Our song, Either Or was written by Chelsea and Danielle with a friend they had met during their travels, and was one of the first songs that we played together as a band, the very first time we got together. It was the song where we first heard our voices in three-part harmony, and that was sort of a defining moment for us. It felt like a moment of self-discovery. Either Or has stayed near and dear to our hearts ever since.
Chris Ryan) Lucky Heart is a stripped down ballad that I wrote with Andrew James O'Brien (Fortunate Ones) & Rob Cook (Young Saints). Its message is to play on the idea of someone searching for a Lucky Heart. Both in a companion and at the card table.
Ian Janes) Somebody's Gonna Love You is the first song I ever wrote with Gary Burr. Gary is an amazing writer with 154 country #1's to his credit! We had an instant creative chemistry together and wrote this in about 2 hours. Usually the best tunes come quickly like that.
Jason Benoit) The song I'm doing in the Semi-Finals is a 1982 Conway Twitty song called Slow Hand. I wrote a new bridge for it, as the original did not have one, and I also did some minor changes to the arrangement to make it sound more current. I'm also releasing a full production of this song through Vicktory Music Group on June 22nd
Q) To wrap things up, can you tell everyone that might not know you yet a little bit about you and your music?
Kristin Carter) Sure, my name is Kristin Carter, I grew up in White Rock, BC singing in the choir. When I'm not performing you can find me laughing at memes, hunting down old records or writing songs. I would describe my music as soulful, with an exciting edge and I can't wait to share more of it, so stay tuned!
Leaving Thomas) We are truly two best friends and love spreading joy in everything we do! Whether it be through our podcast "The Funny Thing is...", our YouTube show "The LT Show" or through our music, we just love to make people smile!
The inspiration for our music stretches from Garth Brooks and Stevie Wonder to Shania Twain and Whitney Houston. Country, Soul and Pop have really helped us shape the sound of Leaving Thomas, when it comes to production. Our songwriting stems from the stories of our personal lives and the lives of the ones that we love. So when you combine our influences with our lives, you get Leaving Thomas!
Shawn Austin) I've been incredibly lucky to have such a great team around me. We've developed a style and sound that I think is unique to Canadian Country right now and I'm looking forward to seeing where we can take it. We've had a great start so far and that's simply thanks to Canadian Country radio and all the fans for being so welcoming to this rookie.
Andrew Hyatt) I'm singer/songwriter from Sudbury, Ontario. I'm an ironworker by trade but I left that because I couldn't shake my love for playing, singing and writing. The music speaks louder than any description I could attempt so check it out at www.andrewhyattmusic.com or whatever your preferred streaming platform is.
Cory James Mitchell) Cory James Mitchell Band's music is who we are, it's gritty, genuine, and full of emotion... it's who our fans are as well. We take a great pride in writing blue-collar country music and being a voice for the working class stiff. As musicians we work our asses off to put on the best live show we possibly can for everyone we play in front of. There are no computers or backing tracks. It's just raw energy and emotion coming through the instruments and making that connection with our listeners. It's important that people believe what you sing and who you are. I grew up working for my old man on cable tool oil rigs and learned how to drive in a 10 speed Ford Louisville, that's who I am. I have a loving wife and two boys that are my reason for everything in life, including my music, that's who I am.
The Redhill Valleys) We're a four piece band from Hamilton, Ontario, and the four of us have been our entire operation since day one. We've booked all of our own shows and tours, we've managed ourselves, we've written all of our own songs, we've designed our own website, and we've been our own PR people. It's been an incredible amount of work, but it's been worth every hour spent because playing together and making music is an absolute joy and thrill, and there's nothing else we could ever imagine ourselves doing. We try to stay true to ourselves with the music that we write and perform, and strive for honesty and integrity. Stylistically, we fit somewhere between Classic Country and swampy Rock and Roll, rather than what could be considered as more mainstream and modern Country with Pop influences. We're just doing our thing, happy as can be, and hope people enjoy our music.
Chris Ryan) I like to write deep rooted lyrics, that very much try to tell a story by painting a picture. I'm heavily influenced by, what I consider to be some of today's greatest writers. Donovan Woods, Jason Isbell, Foy Vance... those guys set the bar incredibly high for us "Up and Comers".
Ian Janes) My music is a combination of country and soul. Drawing from years of playing all styles of music I've come to a style of my own that combines the years of playing country with my father and uncle and playing in soul and R&B bands. Eddie Rabbit, Conway Twitty, Vince Gill, Glen Campbell and more recently Chris Stapleton, Brett Eldredge and Thomas Rhett come from a similar place.
Jason Benoit) - I'm from a small town of 200 people on the west coast of Newfoundland (and still living there)
- My oldest brother Myles taught me to play guitar when I was 14
- Some huge influences for me were Garth Brooks, Dwight Yoakam, and George Strait
- I try to make my music sound like a mix of traditional and contemporary country music
