Ruth B. — from online sensation to Junos
Ruth B. makes the jump from Internet to Juno Awards. Lynn Saxberg explains.
I had pretty much zero experience. I think I sang once or twice at a talent show growing up. It wasn’t something I did, but it’s something I’ve definitely learned to love. I’m not going to lie, in the beginning it was very scary. I love music, but doing it in front of people is so different.
It’s a week of firsts for Ruth B., the Edmonton singer-songwriter who’s transforming six seconds of social media glory into a career in music.
The 21-year-old Ruth Berhe is not only up for her first Juno Awards, nominated in the categories of fan choice, best songwriter and breakthrough artist of the year, but is also making her first trip to Ottawa to give her first live performance on a televised awards ceremony. Co-hosted by Russell Peters and Bryan Adams, the show will be broadcast from Ottawa’s Canadian Tire Centre on Sunday.
It’s all happening because of a clip Berhe uploaded to Vine, the now-defunct video-sharing app, a little more than two years ago.
“I am a lost boy from Neverland, usually hanging out with Peter Pan,” she sings in the unadorned clip, all of six seconds long. Her voice conveys a sense of bittersweet innocence as she accompanies herself with a few chords on her Yamaha keyboard.
She’d spent the day bingewatching the fantasy-adventure television show Once Upon a Time. “My headspace was all fairy tales,” she said in a recent interview. “I posted a line I just made up.”
Well, the Internet went bonkers over the lilting snippet, and it occurred to Berhe that she might be onto something.
“That was the start of the madness,” she says. “It wasn’t a song yet. I posted it thinking absolutely nothing of it, and within a week it had 85,000 likes and shares. I was like, ‘Oh, that’s different. Maybe I should do something about that.’ ”
She fleshed out the tune with more Vines, eventually putting it all together and posting it on YouTube. That’s when the music industry came calling. She signed a management deal with Red Light Management, and then a major-label recording deal with Columbia Records, home of superstars including Adele and Beyoncé. A four-song EP, including Lost Boy, came out in late 2015.
Now she’s planning to release her full-length debut album, Safe Haven, on May 5. It’s produced by New Zealand’s Joel Little, best known for producing Lorde.
Here’s more from the interview:
Q How long have you been writing songs?
A Lost Boy was the first real song I’d ever written, so I guess almost two years now. But I’ve always been writing poems and short stories and I love reading. Writing, not songs, has always been my outlet.
Q What kind of music did you grow up with?
A In my house, we listen to a lot of Ethiopian music because that’s where my parents are from. It’s really rich in melodies and lyrics, so I think that influenced me in a way, but my own tastes lean more toward Michael Jackson, The Beatles, Stevie Wonder. A lot of old-school stuff.
Q How’s the songwriting going now?
A Really good. I was already writing a lot of songs before making the album. Once I wrote Lost Boy, it became this thing that I’d write anything I was feeling. So when the time came and my label was going, ‘OK, you should probably think about making an album,’ I already had a lot of the songs, like 90 per cent. I only had to write two. Ever since then, I’ve been expanding my writing and keeping it up.
Q You’ve been working with Lorde’s producer. Is she an example of an artist you admire?
A Yeah. I really admire her music and her storytelling, and the fact that she’s remained really true to herself. That’s kind of the whole point of this for me. If I’m not doing that, then I don’t even know what I’m doing. The important part is keeping my lyrics really authentic and honest to me and my life.
Q You toured with Alessia Cara last year. Did you have much performing experience before that?
A I had pretty much zero experience. I think I sang once or twice at a talent show growing up. It wasn’t something I did, but it’s something I’ve definitely learned to love. I’m not going to lie, in the beginning it was very scary. I love music, but doing it in front of people is so different. It was always my secret thing. But it’s been really fun and I’ve definitely grown to appreciate the art of sharing your feelings in front of people and having them react back.
Q And now you’re going to be performing on the live Juno broadcast. How nerve-racking is that?
A Very nerve-racking, but I really want to try to enjoy the moment and not get too caught up. I’m really good at getting too caught up in things, and getting too nervous and letting the moment pass. I just want to get up there and enjoy it and let it sink in and have fun.
Q What else are you looking forward to this year?
A I’m mostly looking forward to getting the album out. I’ve been living with it for quite some time, so I’m ready to get that going and then potentially maybe a tour. It’s been crazy. I still haven’t got the full grasp of it, but it’s so exciting to be a part of. It’s been really fun.