Tag: Naomi Tout à nous

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: JOVM Mainstay Naomi Shares Sultry Revenge Fantasy “Hot Ex”

Over the past 18 months or so, give or take, I’ve managed to spill a bit of virtual ink covering rising Montréal-based multi-disciplinary artist, singer/songwriter and pop artist Naomi. After studying theater, Naomi first made a name for herself, when she began to land roles on both the small and big screen by the time she turned 14. She went on to study dance at École de danse contemporaine de Montréal. 

As a dancer, Naomi has appeared in and/or choreographed music videos for Rihanna, Marie-Mai, Cœur de Pirate and others, as well as for local dance performances. While she was establishing herself as an actor and dancer, the Montréal-based artist quietly developed a passion for singing — without giving herself permission to explore it fully. However, Cœur de Pirate, a.k.a. Beátrice Martin saw potential and took Naomi under her wing. 

Encouraged by Martin’s mentorship, the rising Canadian artist began to realize that she was never far off from making her own music. All she needed was a bit of a push. 

She signed with Martin’s Bravo Musique, the label home of JOVM mainstay Thaïs, Cœur de Pirate, Chocolat and lengthy list of local Francophone acts, and began writing her own original material. Since then, the rising Montréal-based artist has taken a bold leap into a career as a singer/songwriter and pop artist. Her first two singles “Tout à nous” and “Zéro stress” received airplay on WKND, Rouge FM, Arsenal, POP, CVKM and several other regional radio stations across Quebec.

Naomi went on to release four more singles over the next handful of months, which I managed to write about on this site: 

  • The club friendly, Rowan Mercille and Naomi co-written “Semblant,” which featured glistening synth arpeggios, skittering trap-meets-Carribbean beats paired with her sultry delivery and an infectious hook in a remarkably self-assured summertime banger, that simultaneously serves as the coming out party of a bonafide superstar in the making.

  • “Pas le temps de jouer,” a slickly produced and self-assured banger centered around shuffling reggaeton-meets-trap beats, glistening synth bursts paired with the rising Canadian artist’s sultry delivery and her seemingly unerring knack for crafting a big, razor sharp hook. Much like its immediate predecessor, “Pas le temps de jouer” is an accessible, summertime bop that will help launch a bonafide superstar into the stratosphere. 

  • “Okay Alright,” a sultry bop that continued a remarkable run of slickly produced, genre-defying, accessible pop bangers. But with an English language hook, the song seems to show an artist reading for an audience outside of the Francophone world – but while retaining the elements of her sound and approach that have won her fans at home and abroad. 

  • A new version of “Okay Alright” that featured a guest spot from Mike Clay, the frontman of Clay and Friends. Retaining the slick production and fun air of the original, the new version adds a bit more swagger and fun to the proceedings, and a reminder that Naomi is a star in the making.

The Montréal-based JOVM mainstay’s latest single “Hot Ex” pairs Naomi’s sultry delivery with a soulful house music-inspired production featuring twinkling keys, bursts of sexy Quiet Storm-like horn, skittering beats paired with a remarkably catchy hook. But despite the sultry exterior, the song is part break-up song, part tell-off, part revenge fantasy — full of the bitterness, disappointment over the relationship ending, the sadness over what could have been, the desire for revenge, the stupidly desperate and dim hope for reconciliation and more that can only come about from randomly running into an ex-lover.

“I started writing “Hot Ex” while chatting with Willy (Willy Wonder, who wrote the music) about an anecdote that had happened to me recently. I talked about it laughing, for once running into one of my exes wasn’t an atrocious story (!),” Naomi says about the song.

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: Montreal’s Naomi Shares an Accessible and Infectious Banger

Naomi is a Montréal-based multi-disciplinary artist, who after studying theater, first made a name for herself when she began to land roles on both the small and big screen by the time she turned 14. She also went on to study dance at École de danse contemporaine de Montréal. 

As a dancer, the Montreal-based multidisciplinary artist has appeared in and/or choreographed music videos for Rihanna, Marie-Mai, Coeur de Pirate and others, as well as for local dance performances. While she was establishing herself as an actor and dancer, the Montreal-based artist quietly developed a passion for singing — without fully giving herself permission to explore it fully. Interestingly, Coeur de Pirate’s Beátrice Martin saw star potential in the Montreal based multi-disciplinary artist and took her under her wing. 

Encouraged by Martin’s mentorship and encourage, Naomi began to realize that she was never far off from making her own music. All that she needed was a bit of a push.

She signed with Bravo Musique, an acclaimed, local tastemaker label, and then began writing her own original material. Since then, she has taken a bold leap into a career as a pop singer and artist. Her first two singles “Tout à nous” and “Zéro stress” have received airplay on WKND, Rouge FM, Arsenal, POP, CVKMand several other regional radio stations across Quebec.

Now, as you might recall, the rising French Canadian artist has also released two more singles this year:

  • The club friendly, Rowan Mercille and Naomi co-written “Semblant,” which I wrote about earlier this year. Centered around glistening synth arpeggios, skittering trap-meets-Carribbean beats paired with her sultry delivery and an infectious hook, “Semblant” is a remarkably self-assured summertime banger, that also reveals a bonafide superstar in the making. 

  • “Pas le temps de jouer,” a slickly produced and self-assured banger centered around shuffling reggaeton-meets-trap beats, glistening synth bursts paired with the rising Canadian artist’s sultry delivery and her seemingly unerring knack for crafting a big, razor sharp hook. Much like its immediate predecessor, “Pas le temps de jouer” is an accessible, summertime bop that will help launch a bonafide superstar into the stratosphere.

Naomi’s latest single “Okay Alright” is a sultry, genre-defying, bop centered around skittering, tweeter and woofer rattling boom bap, bursts of strummed guitar and rumbling low end paired with the rising French Canadian’s sultry vocal delivery singing the song’s verses primarily in French and the song’s infectious hook in English. “Okay Alright” continues remarkable run of slickly produced, accessible club bangers, with the English hook seems to have the rising Montreal-based artist reaching for a bigger, global audience outside of the Francophone world. And she does so while retaining the elements of her sound and approach that have won her audiences at home.

Directed by Élise Lussier, the accompanying video for “Okay Alight” stars Naomi and a collection of friends at an abandoned summer camp site, have water gun and water balloon fights, dancing the day and night away, and goofing off. The fun that they have is infectious. And it should remind you of easier, warmer, carefree days.

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: Rising Montreal Artist Naomi Shares a Sultry, Club Friendly Bop

Naomi is a Montréal-based multi-disciplinary artist, who first after studying theater made a name for herself when she started landing roles on both the small and big screen when she was 14. Because she has long seen art as a continuous means of expression, she went on to study dance at the École de danse contemporaine de Montréal.

As a dancer, the Montreal-based multi-disciplinary artist has appeared in and/or choreographed music videos for Rihanna, Marie-Mai, Coeur de Pirate and others, as well as for local dance performances.

While she was establishing herself as an actor and dancer, the Montreal-based artist quietly developed a passion for singing — without fully giving herself permission to explore it fully. Interestingly, Coeur de Pirate’s Beátrice Martin saw star potential in the Montreal based multi-disciplinary artist and took her under her wing.

Encouraged by Couer de Pirate’s mentorship and encouragement, naomi began to realize that she was never far off from making her own music. All that she needed was a little push.

Signed to Bravo Music, the Montreal-based artist began to write her own material and has taken a bold leap into a career as a pop singer. Naomi’s first two singles “Tout à nous” and “Zéro stress” have received airplay on WKND, Rouge FM, Arsenal, POP, CVKM and several other regional radio stations across Quebec.

Naomi’s third and latest single is the club friendly, Rowan Mercille and Naomi co-written “Semblant.” Centered around glistening synth arpeggios, skittering trap-meets-Caribbean beats paired with the Montreal-based artist’s sultry delivery and an infectious hook, “Semblant” is a self-assured summertime banger that reveals a bonafide superstar in the making.

The song’s narrator details a sensual encounter in which both parties have developed an inescapable and primal magnetism that draws them into a vicious yet irresistible cycle of sexual need and desire.

Directed by Élise Lussier, the accompanying visual for “Semblant” features a solitary Naomi sultrily dancing by herself — both for herself and for a possibly unseen viewer — while seemingly attempting to resist the irresistible.