Quebec musician Karim Ouellet, Juno award winner, dies at 37
CBC
Quebec City artist Karim Ouellet, a Juno award winner and Félix award nominee who broke through with his heartfelt 2012 hit song L'Amour, was found dead Monday in Quebec City.
Born in Dakar, Senegal, Ouellet was adopted at three months old by Quebec parents and grew up moving back and forth between Quebec City and France, Rwanda, Tunisia and Senegal, before returning to Quebec to study in his teens.
The brother of fellow Quebec singer-songwriter Sarahmée, Ouellet first became known locally in 2007 for his collaborations with artists such as CEA, Webster & Limoilou Starz.
It was Ouellet's second album Fox that launched him to new heights, selling more than 33,000 copies and earning him five nominations at Quebec's ADISQ awards in 2013 and the 2014 Juno for Francophone album of the year.
He was also named best new artist by Radio-Canada in 2013.
Ouellet had recently celebrated his 37th birthday and was working on his fourth album, before his death, according to his profile on Spotify.
Quebec political figures expressed their condolences to Ouellet's family. Premier François Legault called Ouellet "a young artist who brought a new style to Quebec music."
Quebec Liberal leader Dominique Anglade said she was "shocked" at Ouellet's passing and quoted lyrics from his biggest hit, L'Amour.
"May these words continue to resonate in our hearts," Anglade wrote, in a tweet.
Quebec City mayor Bruno Marchard tweeted that Ouellet's gentle nature and his lyrics "would live on in the music landscape of Quebecers forever."
With songs like L'Amour & 2016's Karim et le Loup, Ouellet is known for his style of upbeat music with more introspective or melancholic lyrics.
"Because I don't want it to be all that sad," Ouellet said, in a 2016 interview with CBC radio's All in a Weekend. "When I listen to music, I like deep lyrics and sometimes really sad music, but when the music is happier, I like the result."
Ouellet said he drew inspiration from artists like Belgian singer-songwriter and musician, Stromae, who Ouellet toured with in Europe and North America.
"When you listen to Stromae… it's a beat, but when you read the text, no music, like a poem, it's sad and you don't want to smile," he said. "But with the disco beat you want to move and smile, even though it's sad."