The Tenors move past national anthem incident
Nearly a year and half has passed since the Canadian vocal trio The Tenors was blindsided by their ousted fourth member in front of millions of baseball fans, and in some ways they’re still healing.
It wasn’t until a recent trip to Cape Spear, N.L., for their new album “Christmas Together” that some of the pain turned into progress. They were filming a music video for the traditional “Auld Lang Syne,” a song that frequently ushers in the new year.
Standing in Cape Spear, the most easterly point in Canada, the group began to sense the symbolism behind their trip.
Exploring the picturesque region offered the Tenors a moment to pause after a whirlwind period of instability.
Former member Remigio Pereira shocked the group when he unexpectedly changed the lyrics to O Canada during the 2016 Major League Baseball all-star game. He also held up a sign bearing the message “all lives matter” on one side and “united we stand” on the other, angering some who believed it dismissed the Black Lives Matter movement. Pereira has said that wasn’t his intention.
It put the rest of the Tenors — who Pereira has previously said didn’t know his plans — in a difficult place. They ultimately chose to dismiss him as they faced a barrage of questions about the incident.
The Tenors re-emerged as a trio playing events across the world. They appeared at the 30th anniversary of the David Foster Foundation earlier this month in Vancouver and will begin a North American tour running through November and December with numerous stops in Canada.
“Christmas Together” is their first album since the fallout and in some ways feels like a statement of perseverance. The festive project also plants the Tenors in a genre where they’ve had plenty of success before.
Their first holiday album “The Perfect Gift,” released in 2009, went triple platinum in Canada by selling more than 240,000 copies. It helped solidify their reputation as a vocal force on live stages around the world.
The opening track “O Come All Ye Faithful” is bursting at the seams with strength built on a crescendo of the trio’s vocals, a powerhouse choir and a stunning brass arrangement.
“When We Are Together,” originally released two years ago, was re-recorded to scrub Pereira’s contributions, and on the new track “Santa’s Wish (Teach the World)” they sing about unity while sampling a 1971 pop song that began as an infamous jingle to sell Coke.
The Tenors hope to carry that spirit through the holiday season with a number of appearances and seven music videos that will trickle out in the lead up to the new year.