Kalan Porter
Encyclopedia
Richard Kalan Porter is a singer-songwriter
from Medicine Hat
, Alberta
, and the winner of the reality television
series
Canadian Idol
in season 2
. He started to sing at an early age and is classically trained, playing several instruments, most notably, the violin and viola. He writes and arranges violin solos for many of his songs.
Kalan's first single "Awake in a Dream
" is the best selling debut single for a Canadian artist to date and has been certified 8x Platinum by the Canadian Recording Industry Association. He is also the highest selling solo Canadian Idol singer. He resides in Toronto
, Ontario
, Canada
.
to study viola performance at the Schulich School of Music
in McGill University
, when he decided to audition for Canadian Idol.
" was released on October 5, 2004 and debuted at number 1. It spent a total of 8 weeks at the top of the charts and has become the best-selling debut single for a Canadian artist to date as it was certified 8x Platinum by the Canadian Recording Industry Association in November 2004.
His debut album 219 Days
, released November 23, 2004, debuted at number four on the Canadian albums chart. The album title, 219 Days, refers to the number of days from his first audition to the release of his debut CD. Since its release it reached double platinum status in Canada.
Porter completed a cross-Canada, 65-date tour in 2005. Most of these shows were sold out.
In 2006, Kalan Porter received three Juno Award
nominations: Artist of the Year, Album of the Year for 219 Days, and Pop Album of the Year. He was a presenter at the 2006 Juno Awards in Halifax. He won MuchMusic's People's Choice Award for the Favourite Canadian Artist in 2005.
Later in 2006, BMG
gave Porter time off before recording his second album. He returned home to his family's buffalo and cattle ranch to be with his mother, who was undergoing chemotherapy
for breast cancer
, and his grandmother, who was awaiting surgery.
, was released on 28 August 2007 and debuted at number 7 on the Canadian albums chart. The first single, "Down in Heaven" (which Porter wrote as a tribute to his mother) was available to radio stations from 4 June, and reached number 25 on the Canadian Hot 100.
The music video for the second single from the album, "Destination (Where I Belong)" premiered in November 2007. The track "Walk On Home" was used as the contestant elimination song for Canadian Idols fifth season
.
SOCAN was pleased to honour singer-songwriter Kalan Porter and his co-writer Gregory Johnston with a No. 1 Award for their song “Hurray” which reached the top spot on the MuchMusic Countdown chart on May 29, 2008.
Porter is recording a third studio album.
Singer-songwriter
Singer-songwriters are musicians who write, compose and sing their own musical material including lyrics and melodies. As opposed to contemporary popular music singers who write their own songs, the term singer-songwriter describes a distinct form of artistry, closely associated with the...
from Medicine Hat
Medicine Hat, Alberta
Medicine Hat, known to locals as "The Hat", is a city of 61,097 people located in the southeastern part of the province of Alberta, Canada. It is enclaved within Cypress County along with the nearby Town of Redcliff, although neither is part of the county....
, Alberta
Alberta
Alberta is a province of Canada. It had an estimated population of 3.7 million in 2010 making it the most populous of Canada's three prairie provinces...
, and the winner of the reality television
Reality television
Reality television is a genre of television programming that presents purportedly unscripted dramatic or humorous situations, documents actual events, and usually features ordinary people instead of professional actors, sometimes in a contest or other situation where a prize is awarded...
series
Television program
A television program , also called television show, is a segment of content which is intended to be broadcast on television. It may be a one-time production or part of a periodically recurring series...
Canadian Idol
Canadian Idol
Canadian Idol is a Canadian reality television competition show which aired on CTV, based on the British show Pop Idol. The show was a competition to find the most talented young singer in Canada, and was hosted by Ben Mulroney. Jon Dore was the "roving reporter" for the first three seasons...
in season 2
Canadian Idol (season 2)
The second season of Canadian Idol debuted on June 1, 2004, and became the most watched show in Canada, drawing in over 3 million viewers each week.Auditions were held in Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver, Ottawa, Edmonton, Winnipeg, Halifax, Regina, and St. John's...
. He started to sing at an early age and is classically trained, playing several instruments, most notably, the violin and viola. He writes and arranges violin solos for many of his songs.
Kalan's first single "Awake in a Dream
Awake in a Dream
"Awake in a Dream" was the debut single by Canadian Idol winner Kalan Porter. It later also appeared on his 2004 album, 219 Days. The song was written for Canadian Idol by Rupert Gayle, Adam Alexander, and Chris Perry, with the intention of it being the first single for whoever became the second...
" is the best selling debut single for a Canadian artist to date and has been certified 8x Platinum by the Canadian Recording Industry Association. He is also the highest selling solo Canadian Idol singer. He resides in Toronto
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
, Ontario
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
.
Early years
Porter grew up on a buffalo ranch outside of Medicine Hat, Alberta. He is a classically trained musician. His mother used to take him to music lessons saying that one day he'll thank her, and he has said that he now thanks her. He played in a family band that played a variety of music, including covers of popular rock, country and pop songs, as well as their own compositions. In 2004, he was preparing to leave home for MontrealMontreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
to study viola performance at the Schulich School of Music
Schulich School of Music
The Schulich School of Music is one of the constituent faculties of McGill University in Montréal, Canada. The faculty was named after benefactor Seymour Schulich.-History:Music at McGill – The Beginning...
in McGill University
McGill University
Mohammed Fathy is a public research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The university bears the name of James McGill, a prominent Montreal merchant from Glasgow, Scotland, whose bequest formed the beginning of the university...
, when he decided to audition for Canadian Idol.
Canadian Idol
Beating out 8,977 other contestants, Porter was crowned "Idol" on September 16, 2004 in front of a live TV audience. For three seasons he was the only contestant in Canadian Idol who had never been in the bottom three or two until Season 5 when Jaydee Bixby made it to the finale without ever being placed in the bottom group.2004–2005: 219 Days
Porter's first single "Awake in a DreamAwake in a Dream
"Awake in a Dream" was the debut single by Canadian Idol winner Kalan Porter. It later also appeared on his 2004 album, 219 Days. The song was written for Canadian Idol by Rupert Gayle, Adam Alexander, and Chris Perry, with the intention of it being the first single for whoever became the second...
" was released on October 5, 2004 and debuted at number 1. It spent a total of 8 weeks at the top of the charts and has become the best-selling debut single for a Canadian artist to date as it was certified 8x Platinum by the Canadian Recording Industry Association in November 2004.
His debut album 219 Days
219 Days
219 Days is the debut album of Canadian Idol winner Kalan Porter. The album was released on November 23, 2004 through Sony Music Canada. The album title refers to the number of days from his first audition to the release of his debut CD...
, released November 23, 2004, debuted at number four on the Canadian albums chart. The album title, 219 Days, refers to the number of days from his first audition to the release of his debut CD. Since its release it reached double platinum status in Canada.
Porter completed a cross-Canada, 65-date tour in 2005. Most of these shows were sold out.
In 2006, Kalan Porter received three Juno Award
Juno Award
The Juno Awards are presented annually to Canadian musical artists and bands to acknowledge their artistic and technical achievements in all aspects of music...
nominations: Artist of the Year, Album of the Year for 219 Days, and Pop Album of the Year. He was a presenter at the 2006 Juno Awards in Halifax. He won MuchMusic's People's Choice Award for the Favourite Canadian Artist in 2005.
Later in 2006, BMG
BMG
Bertelsmann Music Group, , was a division of Bertelsmann before its completion of sale of the majority of its assets to Japan's Sony Corporation of America on October 1, 2008. It was established in 1987 to combine the music label activities of Bertelsmann...
gave Porter time off before recording his second album. He returned home to his family's buffalo and cattle ranch to be with his mother, who was undergoing chemotherapy
Chemotherapy
Chemotherapy is the treatment of cancer with an antineoplastic drug or with a combination of such drugs into a standardized treatment regimen....
for breast cancer
Breast cancer
Breast cancer is cancer originating from breast tissue, most commonly from the inner lining of milk ducts or the lobules that supply the ducts with milk. Cancers originating from ducts are known as ductal carcinomas; those originating from lobules are known as lobular carcinomas...
, and his grandmother, who was awaiting surgery.
2007–2008: Wake Up Living
Porter's second album, Wake Up LivingWake Up Living
Wake Up Living is the second album by Canadian singer Kalan Porter, the 2004 winner of Canadian Idol. The album was produced and mixed by Brian Malouf...
, was released on 28 August 2007 and debuted at number 7 on the Canadian albums chart. The first single, "Down in Heaven" (which Porter wrote as a tribute to his mother) was available to radio stations from 4 June, and reached number 25 on the Canadian Hot 100.
The music video for the second single from the album, "Destination (Where I Belong)" premiered in November 2007. The track "Walk On Home" was used as the contestant elimination song for Canadian Idols fifth season
Canadian Idol (season 5)
The fifth season of Canadian Idol is the fifth installation of the Idol series in Canada. It was again hosted by Ben Mulroney, with Farley Flex, Jake Gold, Sass Jordan and Zack Werner all returning as judges. The show premiered on June 5, 2007 with a 90-minute episode. Voting began during the...
.
SOCAN was pleased to honour singer-songwriter Kalan Porter and his co-writer Gregory Johnston with a No. 1 Award for their song “Hurray” which reached the top spot on the MuchMusic Countdown chart on May 29, 2008.
Porter is recording a third studio album.
Discography
Main article: Kalan Porter discographyKalan Porter discography
This page shows the discography of multi-platinum award winning pop artist and Canadian Idol second season winner Kalan Porter. Kalan had released two albums, which hit the Top 10 on the Canadian Albums Chart.- Studio albums :- Singles :- Music videos :...
- 219 Days219 Days219 Days is the debut album of Canadian Idol winner Kalan Porter. The album was released on November 23, 2004 through Sony Music Canada. The album title refers to the number of days from his first audition to the release of his debut CD...
(2004) - Wake Up LivingWake Up LivingWake Up Living is the second album by Canadian singer Kalan Porter, the 2004 winner of Canadian Idol. The album was produced and mixed by Brian Malouf...
(2007) - TBA (2012)