The life of a local singer/songwriter forever changed after a recent and well-deserved JUNO Award nomination.
Elenee Young, known professionally as Elenee, was nominated for Contemporary Christian/Gospel Album of the Year for her recent album, titled elenee.
This was Young’s first-ever JUNO nomination and she’s still in shock by the news.
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“I found out at 9:01 a.m. on Feb. 11 and I was freaking out,” said Young. “I didn’t expect to get this nomination at all, so when it was time for the announcement, I thought I’d set up my camera and film myself not getting nominated.”
Young explained she wanted to use this opportunity to film a video depicting what disappointment looked like.
“The plan was to film a reel about not getting a JUNO nomination … and then I saw my name at the top of the list, and quite literally passed away, I stopped breathing” explained Young. “My heart was racing 100,000 miles a minute, it was wild and crazy.”
What made the nomination even more special was the fact the CARAS (Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences) threatened to pull the Contemporary Christian/Gospel Artist category from the awards in early September.
“Our little niche genre felt threatened by this, it was our one shot at the big stage,” said Young, explaining she reconfigured her entire album release strategy to be able to submit to the JUNOs.
“You must submit an album, it can’t be singles, over 50 per cent of that album had to be unreleased material. I had to strategically work back over a year and a half to be able to, at some point, submit for a JUNO.”
Young explained that CARAS’ reasoning behind potentially pulling the category was due to a lack of excitement.
“A whole bunch of artists, including myself, put stuff together to submit to show CARAS this category is still very much alive and thriving.”
Young also explained winning a JUNO would be amazing, but the nomination alone comes with a lot of meaning.
“The nomination means I’m on the roster,” she said, explaining she also learned it’s possible to get your foot in the door when the odds are stacked against you.
“I’m the only exclusive female of the nominees. I’m also the only person, as far as I know, who’s Métis and has an Indigenous background. I’m also the only person who is fully independent.”
Throughout her music career, the 31-year-old wife and mother of two has fused Greek and Métis cultural influences into her work to tell her story and the story of others.
“There’s always been pride about being Métis, but at the end of the day, my dad’s side of the family has a ton of generational trauma,” said Young. “My dad passed away in 2020 from alcoholism, and that came from his childhood.”
“The trauma just got passed on, and for me, making music and putting it out there, no matter where it sits in the spectrum of genres, I feel like it’s my audible and present tangible healing journey. People can watch and be a part of it in some roundabout way.”
As an independent artist, Young is chasing her dreams, her way, and not letting anything get in the way.
“Being independent is so much work. I’m my booking agent, my manager, my agency, and a lot of the time, I’m just my advocate,” she said.
“Advocating for yourself is the name of the game these days. Having a label would be amazing because someone advocates for you, but what you lose is owning your stuff. You lose your creative freedom and liberty.”
When she’s not at Spiro’s, the family restaurant, Young splits her studio time between South Florida and Lloydminster.
“I have a studio in south Florida, but I’ve been self-producing and do a lot of work on 49 Ave. here in Lloydminster,” said Young. “I want to branch out and work with Canadian producers and artists.”
Young is also grateful for Lloydminster’s Community Futures and the work they’ve done to help her.
“I have this super clear vision of what’s taking place in 2025 and I have the support of a community entity,” said Young, noting the album she submitted for the JUNOs was funded by a Kickstarter campaign.
“People in this community funded my Kickstarter, which funded the album, which got a JUNO nomination,” she said. “I feel Lloydminster as a whole should be recognized for this nomination.”
Young will be in Vancouver for the 54th annual awards on March 30.
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