First artist ever to sing the American and Canadian National Anthems from CN Tower Edgewalk
Grammy-nominated Toronto singer-songwriter Jessie Reyez made history Monday night (Aug 17th) as the first artist ever to perform both the American and Canadian National Anthems from the top of Toronto’s CN Tower EdgeWalk,116 stories above the ground, ahead of Round 1 Game 1 of the Toronto Raptors’ NBA Playoff Series. The larger than life event is groundbreaking for television and solidifies another incredible moment in the early career of one of the most talked-about artists of 2020. The internationally-televised performance aired during the late afternoon game between the reigning NBA champions and the Brooklyn Nets.
The momentous news comes after a busy summer for Jessie Reyez. Last week, the Toronto native performed “Before Love Came To Kill Us” on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, UPROXX called it “an intimate and aesthetically lovely few minutes.” Just prior, Reyez turned heads with an impressive and menacing cameo during the song “SCAR” in Beyoncé’s Black is King visual album.
Earlier this year, Reyez released her debut studio album, Before Love Came To Kill Us, on FMLY/Island Records. With both peer accolades and critical acclaim, Reyez’s debut album was praised by The New York Times, Variety, Pitchfork, Vibe and Time. With over 350 million global streams upon release, the debut resulted in a nomination for the 2020 Polaris Music Prize for Best Canadian Album, earning the title of Top Female Debut Album and No. 2 R&B album of 2020 on release week. The debut was followed with a support run on global superstar Billie Eilish’s U.S., UK and European stadium tour, which was abruptly stopped due to the COVID-19 pandemic and is slated to be rescheduled at a later date. Friends from years prior, Eilish introduced Reyez before she performed her modern take on the classic Patsy Cline single “Crazy” on Jimmy Kimmel Live!. Reyez also recently visited The Late Show with Stephen Colbert and gave a duet performance of her RIAA certified-platinum reimagined hit “Imported” with 6LACK.
