Quebec's ADISQ Awards is Adding Its First Award for French R&B and Soul

Quebec's ADISQ awards are making a rare major change this year: adding a new prize for Best R&B/Soul album.

The provincial Association of the Record, Show and Video Industry (ADISQ) awards its coveted Félix trophies every year at a series of galas. ADISQ already presents 18 album of the year awards, in categories such as Rock, Folk, Country, Rap, and World Music. This year, the association will present a new award for R&B/Soul album of the year.

The addition of the award is a major win for R&B, soul, and gospel artists in Quebec, Black-led genres that have gone under-recognized in ADISQ's 45-year awards history.

The R&B/Soul award was promoted by ADVANCE, Canada's Black Music Business Collective, and Maison Kanda, a soul and R&B label. ADVANCE's Francophone Board Chair, Widney Bonfils — also Director of A&R at Universal Music Canada — has worked with ADISQ for two years on developing the category. The proposal for the category was also supported by nine other labels.

"This new category encourages soul/R&B and gospel artists to dream in French," said singer-songwriter Corneille in French, one of the founders of Maison Kanda. "I truly believe this is the beginning of something major, and I thank the enormous work of ADVANCE, which made this possible."

This might be ADISQ's first time awarding the genres, but Quebec's R&B talent runs deep, with rising artists like Papi Jay and Naïma Frank currently making names for themselves. To be eligible for the award, an album has to have 70% French lyrics and a runtime of at least 20 minutes or six songs.

Find out more about the ADISQ awards here.