Daniel Bélanger (born 26 December 1961) is a Canadian singer-songwriter. His music is eclectic, inspired by alternative rock, folk, and electronic music, sometimes humorous, sometimes wistful.
Biography In 1983, Bélanger founded the band Humphrey Salade with Norman Lachance, Eric Maier, and Jean Gauvin. Unfortunately, the timing was not right and the band never recorded.
His first solo album released in 1992, Les Insomniaques s'amusent has sold 175,000 copies and won the Félix for best pop-rock album in 1993. The first single released Opium was number one in Quebec for seven weeks and won the Félix for Videoclip of the Year. This first album also earned him the ADISQ awards for Bestselling Album of the Year, Male Performer of the Year, and Show of the Year in 1994.
In 1996, Quatre saisons dans le désordre was released. The album was a critical and popular success, winning the (Félix for the Pop-Rock Album, Singer-Songwriter, and Show of the Year, in the singer-songwriter category). The album was certified Platinum and titles like Les deux printemps, Sortez-moi de moi, and Les Temps fous (Félix for Videoclip of the Year) topped the charts.
1998: Daniel Bélanger toured as a solo artist honing his skills as a musical performer who enhanced his act with amusing stories and anecdotes; this led to the recording of an unusual album, Tricycle (1999), featuring excerpts from performances recorded at different points in his career.
2000: Daniel Bélanger released Erreur d'impression, a collection of 150 whimsical stories and reflections. He founded the publishing house Coronet liv. He continued to take part in major shows, including the opening concert of the 12th FrancoFolies de Montréal.
In October 2001, Bélanger released Rêver mieux. The album was an immediate success, winning (seven ADISQ awards in 2002, including Pop-Rock Album of the Year, and the following year, the ADISQ award for Videoclip of the Year for Dans un Spoutnik, the Juno Award for Francophone Album of the Year and was certified platinum.
Bélanger has also achieved critical acclaim for the music he has written for films. He was nominated for a Genie Award for Best Original Song for the movie theme Le Dernier souffle in 2000, and Jutra for Best Music for L'Audition in 2006).
L'Échec du matériel, released in April 2007, is an album just as poetic and melodious as Rêver mieux, but more rooted in the concerns and aspirations of his contemporaries.
Belanger won the 2008 Juno Award for Francophone Album of the Year for L'Échec du matériel. In November 2009, he released his album Nous and, once again, won the Félix for the Pop-Rock Album in 2010.
In 2010 he wrote the music for the French musical Les Belles-Soeurs and its 2014 English adaptation, Belles Soeurs: The musical.
In 2018 his album Paloma was named Francophone Album of the Year at the Juno Awards."Junos 2018: the complete list of winners" . CBC News, · 25 March 2018
In 2020, he appeared as a guest vocalist on "Signal", a track on electronic musician CRi's album Juvenile."CRi lance Juvenile, un premier album 100 % québécois" . Ici Radio-Canada, 17 October 2020. In the same year he released Travelling, an album of instrumental music inspired by film soundtracks.André Péloquin, "Daniel Bélanger fait son cinéma" . Le Journal de Montréal, 3 October 2020. This release gave him the prize of best instrumental album of the year at the ADISQ GalaADISQ Gala, . Palmares ADISQl.
His 2022 album, Mercure en mai, was a Juno nominee for Francophone Album of the Year at the Juno Awards of 2023."Here are all the 2023 Juno nominees" . CBC Music, 31 January 2023.
In 2025 he was inducted into the Ordre des arts et des lettres du Québec."Daniel Bélanger bientôt membre de l'Ordre des arts et des lettres du Québec". Ici Radio-Canada, 14 May 2025.
Discography Title Details Peak chart positions CANCanadian peaks Paloma: Travelling: "Bon Jovi Trails Daniel Belanger On This Week's Albums Chart" . FYI Music News, 12 October 2020. Mercure en mai: Les Insomniaques s'amusent Release date: June 1992 Formats: CD — Quatre saisons dans le désordre Release date: 12 May 1996 Formats: CD 86 Tricycle Release date: June 1999 Formats: CD — Rêver mieux Release date: 16 October 2001 Formats: CD — Déflaboxe Release date: 19 November 2003 Formats: CD — L'Échec du matériel Release date: 4 April 2007 Formats: CD, digital download 2 Joli chaos Release date: 25 November 2008 Formats: CD, digital download 20 Nous Release date: 10 November 2009 Formats: CD 5 Chic de ville Release date: 5 March 2013 Formats: CD 2 Paloma Release date: 25 November 2016 Formats: CD, digital download 8 Travelling Release date: 2 October 2020 Formats: CD, digital download 17 Mercure en mai Release date: 14 October 2022 Formats: CD, digital download 4 "—" denotes releases that did not chart
Videography Ensorcelée (1992) Les temps fous (1992) Le parapluie (1996) Chante encore (2002) Spoutnik (2002) Reste (2009)
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