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Juno Awards 2015: 9 things you should know about Lights plus a Junos sneak peek

Juno Awards 2015: 9 things you should know about Lights plus a Junos sneak peek

Singer-songwriter Lights will be rocking out at the Juno Awards on March – but the “Up We Go” artist will also be giving her fans an exclusive look at what it’s like to be part of it all.

https://screen.yahoo.com/lights-210022094.html

Beginning Friday, March 13 and running through Junos weekend, Lights will be joining us for a takeover on our Instagram account! And she tells us there’s a lot we don’t see when we watch the awards show athome on television.

“There’s so much more that goes on in the days leading upto it, in the Gala night before,” she says. “I’m planning some nice outfitsand some adventures along the way. I think it will be cool to give people a look at all that backstage stuff that you don’t get to see that much. I’ll try to avoid too many selfies and show some of the chaos that goes on behind the scenes. Also, probably making some weird faces.”

This year, the musician is nominated for Pop Album of the Year for Little Machines – and she’ll also be performing. “I don’t want to give too much away because I want it to be exciting,” she says, “but we’re medleying our songs with another artist and I’ll be featuring with them as well.”

We’re intrigued!

She also said, “It’s definitely an opportunity to do something a little bit different with people that wouldn’t normally be at your shows … We have some wicked graphics [and] we’re trying to make it as natural and unique as possible from the other live shows.”

As we gear up for this weekend’s Juno Awards celebrations, let’s take a walk down memory lane with Lights and learn things we didn’t know.

Yahoo Canada: What songs remind you of your parents?

Lights: My dad played a lot of old school rock when I was young and one song that I was introduced to at an early age that I became very familiar with was “Mr. Blue Sky” by ELO … The first time I remember listening to an album front to back was Even In The Quietest Moments by Supertramp. That’s what I love about music: Endless hours in the car with my dad talking about those records.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DhFy4qZ0ah8

Yahoo Canada. How did you record your first demo?

Lights: It was my 13th birthday and I’d been writing songs for a couple of years, I was writing since I was 11, and my parents noticed how interested I was in recording so for my birthday they bought me a recording session in Huntsville, Ont. It was for a song called “Love You Still” and I went in there and recorded my first demo and it was the best feeling, ever. I was summoning inspiration from a mix of Celine Dion, Joni Mitchell and Alanis Morissette with an acoustic guitar.

Yahoo Canada: How do you feel about Alanis Morissette getting inducted to the Canadian Music Hall of Fame?

Lights: I was so excited when I heard that she was performing, too! If I get lucky, it’d be amazing to [congratulate her in person on March 15.]

Yahoo Canada: What was your favourite song what you were a child?

Lights: The first CD that I ever bought was this electro dance band called Rave and their one song “Always and Forever” was my favourite song mostly because the beginning of it, and this was genius, sounded like when you start up a Mac. The song starts off like that and so every time I turn on a computer, I start singing that song and it became one of my favourite songs.

Yahoo Canada: Were you ever bullied in high school? How did you get though it?

Lights: Yes, definitely. There was always different groups of people that gave me a hard time that wanted to push me around or fight me. I was a happy kid who tried to mind their business and I think that a lot of people are looking for someone who they think is weak and I think that even thought I felt strong I may have come across weak and that was why people picked on me… but, I guess success is the greatest revenge. You find out what you love about yourself and no one can tell you otherwise.

Yahoo Canada: Who was the first person you can remember calling when you were nominated for your first Juno Award?

Lights: I was on tour in our old reclaimed Meals on Wheels van touring around the northeast of the United States playing to 30 people a night, just starting off on our path. On one of those long drives to one of those cities, I got a text that said, “You’re nominated for Best New Artist,” and I only had an EP out and it was shocking to me that I was even nominated. After that, I definitely called my parents.

Yahoo Canada: How did the collaboration between you, MC Flipside and deadmau5 happen at the Juno Awards in 2012?

Lights: Joel [Zimmerman] (also known by his stage name deadmau5) asked if I would do it. We had been in touch for a while talking about doing some kind of collaboration and then he just said, ‘Hey, learn this song and sing it with me,’ and it was two weeks in advance and we did it. It was a great song, he’s a great talent and it was really nice to be up there. Everyone was given these neon mau5 ears so it had this really interesting cohesive vibe that made it really unique and special and I hadn’t experienced anything on that scale at that point.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WK6PvqNkjYw

Yahoo Canada: Are there any bands or singers that you hope your child discovers growing up?

Lights: Joni Mitchell; I think that she is a beautiful representation of a female artist. Mitchell is well-worded, so melodic and such a beautiful person. Powerful females, I want to introduce [her] to a lot of those. Another one would be Björk for ingenuity, creativity and beauty. Third: the Beatles.

Yahoo Canada: Who would you say is your biggest fan?

Lights: I think my husband (Beau Bokan) is my biggest fan. He’s on his Europe tour right now [with his band, blessthefall] and he wears one of my shirts every night on stage that has my face on it. He’s a total super fan. He has my name tattooed behind his ear.

Watch Lights perform during the 44th annual Juno Awards on CTV Sunday March 15 at 7 p.m. ET and stick with Yahoo Canada Music for more Juno Awards news!

Follow Grace Stanisci on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram @GraceS35