Springing into action

The Bounce 91.7 FM’s past and present Showdown champions are springing into action with a fresh set of tunes.

Justin Blais, the latest winner of the talent search, recorded two more songs with the team behind Vancouver’s Hipjoint Productions. He’ll perform the first, 7 Days, and sign autographs on Saturday, Dec. 5 at the HMV stage in West Edmonton Mall. (The second tune is still under wraps.)

“Most of my family says (7 Days) sounds like Jason Mraz and Jack Johnson,” he says.
“It has that relaxed summer vibe but it’s more uptempo.”

Perfect! Just what we need to get through our frigid days.

Blais, 19, previously recorded two dance-pop numbers, One Night and Some Kind of Beautiful, with Hipjoint. The latter is now charting on radio stations across Canada. “It’s amazing,” he says of his post-Showdown life. “It’s so weird to know people care. I’ve been singing and performing all my life and now people want to talk to me.”

Saturday’s gig starts at 2:30 p.m.

* Kreesha Turner, the very first Showdown winner, is the voice of Delerium’s swirling new electronic single, Dust In Gravity. “Bill (Leeb) and Rhys (Fulber), the masterminds of Delerium, actually kinda sought me out and asked for my vocals,” she says on one of her YouTube vlogs.

The tune will be featured on the Vancouver duo’s next album, due in the spring.

* Quanteisha Benjamin, last year’s champ, is sportin’ a new club-pop ditty, D & G, written by Hipjoint. She also teamed with the rockers from Radio For Help to record a tune, Breathing, for the local band’s forthcoming album, You Don’t Wanna Miss This. Both singles will be available Dec. 15 on iTunes.

Radio For Help will perform Saturday, Dec. 5 at Avenue Theatre, 9030 118th Ave,, with Define The Line, Seventh Rain, Chasing Jones and The Red Threat. Doors are at 6:30 p.m. Tickets are $10.