How does a Timmins, Ont.-born, Christian-raised daughter of sometime missionaries, who likes her tattoos, video games, and graphic novels and used to play guitar in a metal band called Shovelface, wind up winning best new artist at the Junos earlier this year for her 2008 indie electro-pop debut EP?
If you're Lights, formerly Valerie Poxleitner who legally changed her name to her longtime nickname a couple of years ago, anything is possible it seems.
"I got a nomination off only having a six-song EP out there for the world to hear and that was awesome enough for me," said Lights, 22, relaxing in a restaurant near her Toronto home earlier this week .
"(To win), it was probably the most people I've been in front of at one point at one time. It's really cool that our country can recognize people for doing things in an independent way. The way they want to see it because they're passionate about it. Not because they want to sell a lot of records. And people ask me if there's been more pressure since the Junos. It's like the opposite. I feel encouraged."
Lights -- who is managed by CBC Radio host and Canadian musician Jian Ghomeshi after they met at a folk festival in Owen Sound, Ont., eight years ago -- has since released her debut album, The Listening, on major label Universal, back in late September. Lights, whose influences range from Bjork to Genesis, is currently on the road in the U.S., but she is particularly excited about her first major headlining tour in Canada. So what of Shovelface?
"It was ridiculous," said Lights with a giggle. "We got all our inner teenage angst out and sang about the worst things we could think about.
"At the time it was what we wanted to do. And Jian, one day he came up to me and said, 'You know if you want to be Cradel of Filth I will stand by you. But just know that you have so much potential and keep writing and keep just working on your craft' -- so I did."
Thank goodness.
"Something really special hit me about the song, something really nice and honest about it. One of the hardest things as a songwriter is to actually learn how to sing your feelings and not just sing words."
"That's harder than you think."
