Serena Ryder | |
|---|---|
 Ryder at Bowery Ballroom, May 2013 | |
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Serena Lauren Ryder |
| Born | (1982-12-08)December 8, 1982 (age 42) Toronto, Ontario, Canada[1] |
| Origin | Peterborough, Ontario, Canada |
| Genres | folk rock,indie rock,jazz,pop rock |
| Occupation(s) | Singer-songwriter, music producer |
| Instrument(s) | Vocals, guitar, drums |
| Years active | 1999–present |
| Labels | |
| Website | www |
Serena Lauren Ryder (born December 8, 1982) is a Canadian singer-songwriter. Born inToronto, she grew up inMillbrook,Ontario. Ryder first gained national recognition with her ballad "Weak in the Knees" in 2007 and has released eight studio albums.
Serena Lauren Ryder is the daughter of Barbara Ryder and Glen Sorzano and was born into a musical family.[6] Her biological father was a Trinidadian musician who immigrated to Canada in the early sixties.[7][8] Her uncle, part-Ojibwe (Temagami First Nation) singer-songwriter Bob Carpenter,[9] worked with producerBrian Ahern and singerEmmylou Harris and recorded the unreleasedSilent Passage (1974), which has since become a folk- rock cult classic.[10][11][12][13] Ryder, youngest of three children, was raised by Barbara and her second husband, Andrew McKibbon, just outside Peterborough, in Millbrook, Ontario, and grew up listening to old records by theBeatles andLeonard Cohen from her parents' collection. At age eight,[14] Ryder sang atRoyal Canadian Legion halls and motor hotels. Having received a guitar from her stepfather, she began playing the instrument at the age of thirteen. Songwriting efforts followed. At fifteen, she was playing classic and folk tunes with her piano teacher in coffeehouses and legion halls.[citation needed]
At age 17, Ryder left her home forPeterborough, Ontario, where she settled into a community of artists while attending the Integrated Arts Program at thePeterborough Collegiate and Vocational Institute.
In early 1998, Damon de Szegheo, record producer and owner of the Peterborough based independent record label Mime Radio, approached her about recording. de Szegheo had noticed her when she sang during a set change for a local stage production ofGone with the Wind. The product of their sessions was a self-titled promotional cassette,Serena (limited to a run of 100 copies) and her first full-length CD,Falling Out, released in December 1999.
During that time, de Szegheo also managed Ryder and organized many live concert appearances for her with local and touring acts including bandsThousand Foot Krutch,Three Days Grace (Then named Groundswell) andCraig Cardiff.
Ryder was later managed by Kellie Bonnici.[15][16] Bonnici approached Ryder with an offer to help her after being moved by her performance at the 2001 Peterborough Folk Festival, where Ryder was awarded the Festival's first “Emerging Artist” award.[17] This award enabled Ryder and Bonnici to attend a regional music festival conference and make some initial connections. Bonnici worked with Ryder to releaseLive at the Market Hall andA Day in the Studio in 2002.
While Ryder was playing her first show at the Black Sheep Inn inWakefield, Quebec, owner Paul Symes called Bill Stunt, the producer of the CBC Radio programBandwidth, and left a voice mail of the live show. This led Stunt and Symes to invite Ryder for a performance recorded by CBC Bandwidth at the Black Sheep Inn. The recording was later released as a live EP,Serena Ryder Live.[citation needed]
Ryder was invited by Erin Benjamin (then the president of the Ontario Council of Folk Festivals) to perform in Winnipeg at a regional music conference. There her manager, Bonnici, met the CBC radio hostAvril Benoit during one of Ryder's showcases. They later arranged an interview for Ryder on CBC'sHere and Now, which caught the attention of the musicianHawksley Workman and Sandy Pandya, who was then his manager.[18] After initial meetings with Workman and Pandya, Ryder was invited to record on Workman'sIsadora label. Shortly thereafter, Ryder and Bonnici amicably parted ways, and Ryder began working with Pandya in 2004.
In 2005, Isadora Records releasedLive in Oz, a recording from Ryder's tour of Australia, in limited numbers available only at live performances.[19]
In 2005, backed by Workman and two other players, Ryder recorded her debut album with a major label,Unlikely Emergency. The album did well enough to earn Ryder a performance at the 2005Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame press conference, after which it was suggested she cover songs written by other Canadian musicians. Meanwhile, the poignant song "Just Another Day" got considerable airplay on various Canadian radio stations. In November 2006, Ryder released her second album,If Your Memory Serves You Well, a collection of 12 covers of notable Canadian songs and three original songs. The tracks includeSylvia Tyson's “You Were On My Mind”,Leonard Cohen's "Sisters of Mercy",Galt MacDermot's "Good Morning Starshine" the Bob Dylan–Rick Danko collaboration "This Wheel's on Fire", andPaul Anka's "It Doesn't Matter Any More."
The EPTold You in a Whispered Song, released on June 19, 2007, is an acoustic studio collection of several live tracks and new songs by Ryder. Touring in Canada, Ryder was part of Blast From The Beach inPrince Edward Island on July 21, 2007 headlined byAerosmith and featuring other notable bands, including54-40 andCheap Trick. Touring in Australia that same year, Ryder appeared as a guest onSBS'sRocKwiz in March, where she displayed an authoritative knowledge of rock music, singing song segments in answer to questions presented to her; she also performed in the closing guest spot, withLior.
In April 2008, Ryder found herself receiving the2008 Juno Award for "Best New Artist of the Year" while on the label EMI. On November 11, 2008,Is It O.K., was released in Canada on EMI Canada and on Atlantic Records in the United States on February 11, 2009. The single "Little Bit of Red", which won aJuno Award in 2010 for Best Video of the Year, was released on that album. As well, "All for Love", which appears onIs It O.K. and the EPSweeping the Ashes, was featured in an episode of ABC television'sPrivate Practice. In Canada,Is It O.K. won the Juno Award for Adult Alternative Album of the Year in 2009. In the United States, the album got a warm reaction and Ryder furthered her foray into the U.S. by recording the duet "You Can Always Come Home" withAmerican IdolJason Castro on his debut album.[20] In May 2009, Ryder appeared onBruce Springsteen's official website, covering his song "Racing in the Street". The video was part of the "Hangin' on E Street" feature of his website. That year, her song "Sing, Sing" was selected for Music Monday, a special event to highlight music education in Canada, for which nearly two million Canadian schoolchildren sang the song in class on May 5.[21]
In July 2010, Ryder joined the lineup ofLilith Fair along withSara Bareilles,Jill Hennessy,Emily Robinson, andMartie Maguire.[22][23][24][25][26] On February 19, 2011, Ryder toured withMelissa Etheridge across Canada. Ryder's song "Broken Heart Sun" was performed as a duet with Etheridge, and a recording was released on her EPLive. Ryder performed "Broken Heart Sun" with Etheridge at the Juno Awards that same year. In 2011, Ryder fell in love, and it inspired her for her fifth studio album,Harmony. Over 65 songs were written for the album; “[i]t feels like it's the first time I've written ...in love”, she said.[27][28]
After writing more songs while in Los Angeles withJerrod Bettis andJon Levine, Ryder releasedHarmony on November 27, 2012. The first single "Stompa", co-written with Bettis, was used in an episode of ABC television'sGrey's Anatomy, quickly climbed the charts, and became certified platinum in January 2013. In the United States, less than two months after its release, it was at number 14 on the charts. In Canada, Ryder became the first Canadian artist to be number one on the CBC'sRadio 2 Top 20 chart, days after the release ofHarmony. “Stompa” was played in four radio station formats: Modern Rock, Hot AC, Top 40 and Adult Contemporary.[27] Ryder's song "What I Wouldn't Do" is used in the promotional video for theSaskatchewan Roughriders.[29]
Ryder performed at the opening night ofLuminato Festival on June 14, 2013 in Toronto, Ontario. She also performed in Calgary, Alberta on July 6, 2013 as part of theCalgary Stampede. On July 17, 2013, Ryder made her late night show debut, performing "Stompa" onThe Tonight Show with Jay Leno. In 2014, Ryder performedO Canada for the2014 NBA All-Star Game. She also provided vocals for the song "In The Morning" on the fifth studio album by Canadian rock band,The Trews. In March 2014, Ryder co-hosted theJuno Awards of 2014, and wonArtist of the Year andSongwriter of the Year. In May 2015, Ryder recorded "Together We Are One", the official theme song for the2015 Pan American Games.[30] The song reached #1 on theRadio 2 Top 20 the week of July 17, 2015.[31] She performed at thePan Am Games Closing Ceremony.
In August 2015, Ryder performed on CBC TV's "Quietest Concert Ever on the Ocean Floor",[32] which took place on the ocean floor during low tide at Fundy National Park in New Brunswick, Canada. During this pre-recorded concert documentary (also available to stream on YouTube[33]), she performed songs from her upcoming album titled Utopia. The televised broadcast of this concert was on September 25, 2015. On June 24, 2016, Ryder released the single "Got Your Number" and dropped her sixth studio albumUtopia on May 26, 2017, containing 17 songs. The EPElectric Love was released the same day for the U.S. and European markets but not in Canada.[34][35][36]Utopia's first single was "Electric Love."
On March 9, 2018, Ryder's song "Be the Ones" was chosen to be the official theme song for 2018Arctic Winter Games.[37] On April 6, 2018, Ryder released her single "Famous" featuringSimon Ward ofThe Strumbellas for the US market. Co-written withSimon Wilcox and Simon Ward, "Famous" is a song about society being obsessed with social media and people trying to achieve fame solely for the sake of being famous.[38] On September 9, Ryder was invited for a duet withBrett Kissel at theCanadian Country Music Association (CCMA) Awards in Hamilton. The CCMA Awards was hosted byShania Twain.[39] On September 23, Ryder started hosting her own radio program, The Serena Ryder Radio Show onCHFI-FM, which aired across Canada for eight weeks.[40] On September 12, 2019, Ryder and her longtime manager Sandy Pandya co-launched ArtHaus, a collaborative space and recording studio aiming to promote emerging talent.[41][42][43][44][45]
At theJuno Awards of 2021, Ryder performed withWilliam Prince as a duet vocalist on Prince's song "The Spark", in a performance recorded at Toronto'sChurch of the Holy Trinity.[46] In 2022, Prince and Ryder also released the standalone single "Sing Me a Song".[47]
In 2022, Ryder won her seventhJuno Award for Adult Contemporary Album of the Year for her albumThe Art of Falling Apart.[48]
On May 11, 2022 Ryder received the first Songwriting and Music Publishing award for her hit song "Weak In the Knees" by Music Publishers Canada (MPC) andMusic Canada ahead of her participation to the 2022 Juno Songwriters’ Circle at Massey Hall.[49]
In 2023, Ryder's 2013 hit "What I Wouldn't Do" was covered as asupergroup charity single, to benefitKids Help Phone's Feel Out Loud campaign for youth mental health.[50] The cover, which included Ryder's direct participation, also interpolated parts ofLeela Gilday's song "North Star Calling".[51]
Praised for her arsenal of technical skills, she "delivers in a commanding, often melismatic style that enchants."[52] Reviews have compared her to "the teenaged Aretha Franklin" (Elle), noting her "impressive fearlessness" (Boston Globe), lauding her "pipes, presence [and] potential" (No Depression), and observing that "Ryder brings a range and vocal maturity of someone twice her age" (American Songwriter).[53]
On August 11, 2018, Ryder was one of the artists invited to joinBilly Talent for the #TorontoStrong benefit concert following theDanforth shooting on July 22, 2018.[54][55] On April 4, 2018 Ryder received the Margaret Trudeau Mental Health Advocacy Award for her work with mental health.[56] On October 19, 2019 Ryder joined the roster of artists who performed for the benefit concertSecret Path atRoy Thompson Hall.Secret Path is a recreation of the 2016 multimedia performance by theTragically Hip's lead singerGord Downie on the story ofChanie Wenjack, a 12-year-oldOjibwe boy who died while escaping a residential school in 1966. The proceeds go to promotereconciliation.[57][58][59]
On September 29, 2021, Ryder joined theCanada's Walk of Fame as the recipient of the 2021 Allan Slaight Music Impact Honour for her benevolence in the music industry and mental wellness.[60][61]
| Title | Details | Peak chart positions | Sales | Certifications | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CAN | US | US Heat | US Rock | ||||
| Falling Out |
| — | — | — | — | ||
| Unlikely Emergency |
| — | — | — | — | ||
| If Your Memory Serves You Well |
| — | — | — | — | ||
| Is It O.K. |
| — | 101 | 1 | 39 |
| |
| Harmony |
| 11 [64] | — | 12 | — |
|
|
| Utopia |
| 10[64] | — | — | — |
|
|
| Christmas Kisses[67] |
| — | — | — | — | ||
| The Art of Falling Apart[68] |
| — | — | — | — | ||
| Title | Year | Peak chart positions | Certifications | Album | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CAN [69] | CAN CHR [70] | US Adult Pop [71] | ||||
| "Good Morning Starshine" | 2006 | 84 | — | — | If Your Memory Serves You Well | |
| "Weak in the Knees" | 44 | — | — |
| ||
| "Calling to Say" | 2007 | 40 | — | — | Non-album single | |
| "Little Bit of Red" | 2008 | 82 | — | — | Is It O.K. | |
| "All for Love" | — | — | 29 | |||
| "What I Wanna Know" | 2009 | — | — | — | ||
| "Broken Heart Sun"(withMelissa Etheridge) | 2011 | — | — | — | Live | |
| "Stompa" | 2012 | 8 | 9 | 34 |
| Harmony |
| "What I Wouldn't Do" | 2013 | 8 | 8 | — |
| |
| "Mary Go Round" | — | — | — | |||
| "Fall" | 27 | 21 | — | |||
| "Heavy Love" | 2014 | 56 | 39 | — | ||
| "Together We Are One" | 2015 | — | — | — | Non-album single | |
| "Got Your Number" | 2016 | 62 | 19 | — |
| Utopia |
| "Electric Love" | 2017 | — | 26 | — | ||
| "Utopia" | — | — | — | |||
| "Ice Age" | — | — | — | |||
| "Be the Ones" | 2018 | — | — | — | Non-album singles | |
| "Famous"(featuringSimon Ward)[citation needed] | — | — | — | |||
| "Christmas Kisses"[76] | — | — | — | Christmas Kisses | ||
| "Candy"[77] | 2020 | — | — | — | The Art of Falling Apart | |
| "Waterfall" | — | — | — | |||
| "Kid Gloves" | — | — | — | |||
| "Better Now" | 2021 | — | — | — | ||
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Producer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Bodies and Minds" (withGreat Lake Swimmers), (Lost Channels, 2005) | 3:48 | ||
| 2. | "Your Rocky Spine" (withGreat Lake Swimmers), (Ongiara, 2007) | 3:36 | ||
| 3. | "That's No Way To Say Goodbye" (withAdam Cohen), 2008) | 4:06 | ||
| 4. | "Heart of Gold" (withLior), 2008) | 3:17 | ||
| 5. | "Everything is Moving So Fast" (withGreat Lake Swimmers), (The Legion Sessions, 2009) | 4:09 | ||
| 6. | "So Ready" (withMilosh Pfisterer), 2009) | 4:33 | ||
| 7. | "You Can Always Come Home" (withJason Castro), (Love Uncompromised, 2009) |
| 3:19 | |
| 8. | "Stones Under Rushing Water" (withNEEDTOBREATHE), (The Outsiders, 2009) |
| 3:19 | |
| 9. | "Lonely In Columbus" (withStephen Kellogg and the Sixers), (The Bear, 2010) | 4:23 | ||
| 10. | "Walk That Way" (withJimmy Rankin), (Forget About The World, 2011) |
| 3:38 | |
| 11. | "Broken Heart Sun" (withMelissa Etheridge, 2011) |
| 3:33 | |
| 12. | "My Heart Has Wings" (withAengus Finnan) (North Wind, 2011) | 4:25 | ||
| 13. | "Black Sheep" (withBlackie and the Rodeo Kings) (Kings and Queens, 2011) | 3:05 | ||
| 14. | "If I Can't Have You" (withBlackie and the Rodeo Kings) (Kings and Queens, 2011) | 5:28 | ||
| 15. | "Walking On Water" (withJohnny Reid) (Fire It Up, 2012) | 3:45 | ||
| 16. | "All Over Again" (withJerry Leger) (Some Folks Know, 2012) |
|
| 3:04 |
| 17. | "Beat This Heart" (withTim Chaisson) (The Other Side, 2012) | 3:01 | ||
| 18. | "When You Know" (withMatt Epp) (Learning to Lose Control, 2013) |
| 4:20 | |
| 19. | "Heart of Gold" (withGord Downie), 2013) | 3:17 | ||
| 20. | "I'm Alive" (withMichael Franti & Spearhead), 2013) | 3:43 | ||
| 21. | "Uh-Oh" (withJeremy Fisher) (The Lemon Squeeze, 2014) | 3:24 | ||
| 22. | "In The Morning" (withThe Trews) (The Trews, 2014) |
| 4:33 | |
| 23. | "To Love Somebody" (withBobby Bazini) (Where I Belong, 2014) | 5:01 | ||
| 24. | "Counting Stars" (withOneRepublic), 2014) | 5:01 | ||
| 25. | "Hard Love" (withNEEDTOBREATHE) (Hard Love, 2016) |
| 3:24 | |
| 26. | "Happy Xmas (War is Over)" (withShawn Hook) 2017) | 3:05 | ||
| 27. | "Famous" (withSimon Ward), 2018) |
| 4:18 | |
| 28. | "Walk In The Park" (withColin Macdonald), 2018) |
| 3:05 | |
| 29. | "What I Wouldn't Do" (withBrett Kissel), 2018) |
| 3:39 | |
| 30. | "Mary Go Round" (withMelissa Etheridge), 2019) |
| 3:39 | |
| 31. | "The Spark" (with William Prince), 2021) |
| 3:56 | |
| 32. | "River of Tears" (with William Prince, 2021) |
| 3:39 | |
| 33. | "The Swimmer (To Be An Old Man)" (with Rose Cousins, 2022) | 4:08 | ||
| 34. | "Better Now" (with Steve Earle, 2022) | 3:24 |
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Artists | |
