The Radio Star National Talent Search is excited to announce the winners of this year’s cross-Canada talent competition. From the hundreds of songs entered and the thousands of votes cast, Winnipeg’s Ross Roteliuk and Tori Doell have emerged as the Grand Prize winner with their song “Still Love You”, followed by first runner-up Ria Mae from Halifax with her song “Under Your Skin”.
Presented by Astral Media in association with Canadian Music Week, the contest pitted musicians from across the country with a mission of discovering potential future stars at a regional, grassroots level and showcasing them to the music industry and general public alike. Artists from all genres submitted their songs online at radiostar.ca, entries were posted and voting powered by Supernova.com, and music fans gathered to listen and select their favourites. Among the Top 50 longlisted, the following regional finalists were selected:
STATION WINNER SONG TITLE
Vancouver – Virgin 95.3 Joey Clarkson Get Out
Calgary – CJAY 92 Angie Coombes Feel Me
Edmonton – The Bear 100.3 Se7en Sided Who We Were
Regina – Big Dog 92.7 Steve Fitzpatrick Out of the Grey
Winnipeg – Hot 103 Ross Roteliuk/Tori Doell Still Love You
Toronto – 99.9 Virgin Radio Jennifer Joyce Interruptions
Ottawa – The Bear 106.9 Adrienne Taylor Dreaming of Tennessee
Montreal – Virgin 96 Lucas Teague Let You Go
Saint John – Big John 98.9 John Boswell Blink
Halifax – Q104 Ria Mae Under Your Skin
St. John’s – Hits 99.1 Man The Animal We Fall Down
A panel of industry judges comprised of seasoned songwriters, publishers, producers, and more evaluated all finalists with top scores determining the grand prize winner and runner-up.
As part of their Grand Prize winnings, Ross Roteliuk and Tori Doell receive: $10,000.00 in cash; 30 hours of mixing and mastering time from Metalworks, Canada’s #1 recording studio; $5,000.00 national radio promotion package from dB Promotions & Publicity Inc; Ephiphone Les Paul Ultra III and case; Ephiphone Jack Casady bass in ebony; Yamaha MO8 Music Production Synthesizer; Cubase6 Audio Workstation Software Package; Custom 4 Piece Drum Kit provided by UDRUM with hardware and cases; Neumann U87 Professional Studio Microphone; Tascam 2488 NEO PortaStudio – 24-track self-contained audio work station; a Songwriters’ Resource Library Package featuring some of the bestselling songwriting titles carried by Music Books Plus; an all-expense paid weekend at the Fairmont Royal York Hotel, Toronto – March 21 – 25, 2024; delegate passes to attend the 2024 Canadian Music Week Conference & Canadian Music Fest; access to some of Canada’s most successful songwriters and music industry professionals through the Songwriters’ Summit; and an opportunity to perform at Canadian Music Fest in Toronto during Canadian Music Week.
First runner-up Ria Mae receives $2,500.00 cash. Both winners each receive one free digital radio station upload to any format of choice by RDR Music Group in conjunction with DMDS.
Each regional winner receives a prize package consisting of: an Epiphone AJ-500R Acoustic Guitar; Sennheiser Studio/Live Package including: E865 condenser vocal microphone, stand, cable and HD280 professional headphones; Yamaha Pocketrak W24 with 3 hours Pcm Recording and tilt-up stereo microphone; 2 ½” Carving Leather Guitar Strap w/ foam padding and garment leather backing from Levy’s Leathers Limited; Planet Waves Custom Pro Series Instrument Cable & Headstock Tuner and D’Addario EXP 16 Coated 80/20 Light Gauge Strings.
Canadian Radio Star would not be possible without the following sponsors: Astral Radio; Canadian Music Week; Canadian Musician; Canadian Music Publishers Association; D’Addario; dB Promotions & Publicity Inc.; DMDS; Epiphone Guitars, Fairmont Royal York; Levy’s Leathers Limited; Metalworks; Music NL; Music Nova Scotia; Neumann; Planet Waves; RDR Music Group; SOCAN; Songwriters Association of Canada; Sennheiser; The SOCAN Foundation; Tascam; UDRUM, Yamaha.