Pincourt teen singer aims high

BY BENJAMIN SHINGLER

Marie-Soleil McPhee started singing when she was seven and hasn’t stopped since. The 18-year-old starlet from Pincourt is starting to make a name for herself around Quebec after a string of successful appearances at singing competitions this summer.

On Aug. 12, she performed at the Festival de la Relève in Shawinigan and won first prize in the competition and $1,000 — even though she was suffering from tonsillitis.

Three weeks earlier she won $250 and time in a record studio at a competition in Cowansville.

“I do my own beats on computer and write my own lyrics and everything,” she said. She has already composed three songs — “party songs,” she calls them — and hopes to write more soon, if she can find the time.

McPhee still has one year left of high school. She makes the 90-minute drive to Repentigny every day to attend a school that offers a special program in music.

“It’s a long drive but it’s worth it to do music,” she said.

She also hopes to organize music shows closer to home. She says there are a lot of great singers and dancers on the West Island and she would like to collaborate with them.

At the end of September, McPhee will sing at the major Quebec competition for young performers called Révélations at the end of next month. She is one of 29 young adults between 18 and 26 years old competing for the prize of top singer. Training has already begun for the two-day gala. The winner of the competition will receive $1,000 and 15 hours in a recording studio. There are also competitions for best dancer and best MC.

It’s an important competition for young Quebec entertainers. Former competitors have gone on to star on television, feature films and promote albums.

McPhee hopes to do the same.

“I want to be a big star,” she said. “It’s my dream.”

Révélations will be at Théâtre St. Denis in Montreal Sept. 29 and 30. For more information, check www.galarevelations.com.

To purchase tickets, call 514-790-1111 or

1-800-848-1594. If you are a West Island artist interested in collaborating with McPhee, you can reach her at 514-425-1527.