Billy Talent
2012 TMA149 Musician of the Year Award Recipient
Just find a style, so you can mimic / The tortured artist, the jaded cynic / The latest gadget, is just a gimmick / Another sucker, born every minute
“Surprise, Surprise” from Dead Silence – Billy Talent
Billy Talent is a Canadian melodic punk rock, alt rock, post-hardcore band from Mississauga, formed in 1993 by lead vocalist Ben Kowalewicz, lead guitarist Ian D’Sa, bassist Jon Gallant, and drummer Aaron Solowoniuk.
TMA members since 2004, the band existed for almost a decade before starting to find mainstream attention. Billy Talent’s major label debut album, Billy Talent I found much commercial success and went three times platinum in Canada. Billy Talent II hit the shelves in 2006. It fared very well in Canada, landing at number 1 in its debut week on the Canadian charts eventually going two times platinum, selling over 200,000 copies. The album also enjoyed significant success in Germany, where it also debuted at number 1 in the album charts, and was one of the ten top selling albums that year, going platinum there as well. The band’s fourth album, Billy Talent III, was also released in the United States through Roadrunner Records.
During their career, the band has toured extensively across Canada, the US, Europe, and Australia, and are currently wrapping up 22 headlining arena tour dates before heading to Europe for additional dates in support of their current release, Dead Silence.
Billy Talent has racked up an impressive list of achievements and accolades, winning 2 CASBY Awards for favourite new single and new album in 2004. The band has won two ECHO awards in Germany, for Best International Newcomer and Best International Rock/ Alternative Album in 2007. Billy Talent has received a significant amount of recognition in Canada, winning 9 awards from 29 nominations at the MuchMusic Video Awards, and 7 awards from 20 nominations at the JUNO Awards. Overall, Billy Talent has received 16 awards from 49 nominations in Canada. At this year’s JUNO Awards, they were nominated for Single of the Year, Group of the Year, and Rock Album of the Year.
If you’ve seen the video on YouTube, you can’t help but marvel at the sight of over 100,000 fans singing along to “Viking Death March,” the first track released to the public from Billy Talent’s latest album, Dead Silence. Watching the mass celebration of this song is powerful enough, but the fact that the track had only been released days before the band hit the stage at the Rock am Ring festival in Germany is testament to the loyalty of the band’s fans around the world.
The TMA is proud to name Billy Talent our 2012 Musicians of the Year.
