Nicole Rachel "Nikki" Yanofsky (born February 8, 1994) is a Canadian jazz-pop singer from Montreal, Quebec. She sang the CTV Olympic broadcast theme song, " I Believe", which was also the theme song of the 2010 Winter Olympic Games. She also performed at the opening and closing ceremonies for the Olympics and at the opening ceremony of the 2010 Winter Paralympic Games. She has released three studio albums to date, including ''Nikki'' in 2010, '' Little Secret'' in 2014, and '' Turn Down the Sound'' in 2020.

Early life

Yanofsky was born and raised in a "close-knit

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

family" in

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple- ...

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirte ...

, Canada. Her parents are Elyssa (née Rosenthal) and Richard Yanofsky. She has two older brothers, Michael and Andrew. Yanofsky graduated from St. George's School of Montreal.

Recordings

Yanofsky recorded the

Ella Fitzgerald Ella Jane Fitzgerald (April 25, 1917June 15, 1996) was an American jazz singer, sometimes referred to as the "First Lady of Song", "Queen of Jazz", and "Lady Ella". She was noted for her purity of tone, impeccable diction, phrasing, timing, in ...

song "Air Mail Special" for

Verve Records Verve Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group (UMG). Founded in 1956 by Norman Granz, the label is home to the world's largest jazz catalogue, which includes recordings by artists such as Ella Fitzgerald, Nina Simon ...

and it was released in June 2007 on the album '' We All Love Ella: Celebrating the First Lady of Song''. Produced by Tommy LiPuma, this track made Yanofsky the youngest singer to record for Verve. She then recorded " Gotta Go My Own Way" in English and French for the movie '' High School Musical 2''. She collaborated with

Herbie Hancock Herbert Jeffrey Hancock (born April 12, 1940) is an American jazz pianist, keyboardist, bandleader, and composer. Hancock started his career with trumpeter Donald Byrd's group. He shortly thereafter joined the Miles Davis Quintet, where he hel ...

and will.i.am on a crossover version of the swing era hit " Stompin' at the Savoy". It was released on Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's audio book, '' On the Shoulders of Giants''. In September 2008, Yanofsky released her first full-length album, a live CD/DVD concert package entitled '' Ella...Of Thee I Swing''. She earned two

Juno Award The Juno Awards, more popularly known as the JUNOS, are awards presented annually to Canadian musical artists and bands to acknowledge their artistic and technical achievements in all aspects of music. New members of the Canadian Music Hall o ...

nominations in 2009: New Artist of the Year and Vocal Jazz Album of the Year. She also won Favourite Jazz Artist at the 2009 Canadian Independent Music Awards. Songwriters

Stephan Moccio Stephan Moccio is a Canadian composer, producer, pianist, arranger, conductor and recording artist. He co-wrote and co-produced the two end credit songs for ''Fifty Shades of Grey'' and its soundtrack: "Earned It" (The Weeknd) and " I Know You ...

and

Alan Frew Alan Graham Frew (born November 8, 1956) is a Scottish-Canadian singer, songwriter, actor, and author, who is the lead singer of the Canadian rock band Glass Tiger. He has also released three solo albums. Early life Born 8 November 1956 in Coat ...

chose Yanofsky to sing CTV's broadcast theme for the

2010 Winter Olympics )'' , nations = 82 , athletes = 2,626 , events = 86 in 7 sports (15 disciplines) , opening = February 12, 2010 , closing = February 28, 2010 , opened_by = Governor General Michaëlle Jean , cauldron = Catriona Le May DoanNancy Greene Wayne G ...

, " I Believe", which reached number one on the

Canadian Hot 100 The Canadian Hot 100 is a music industry record chart in Canada for songs, published weekly by ''Billboard (magazine), Billboard'' magazine. The Canadian Hot 100 was launched on the issue dated March 31, 2007, and is currently the standard record ...

on the week of February 27, 2010. This made her the first Canadian artist to have a number one song on that chart. The song was certified "Quadruple

Platinum Platinum is a chemical element with the symbol Pt and atomic number 78. It is a dense, malleable, ductile, highly unreactive, precious, silverish-white transition metal. Its name originates from Spanish , a diminutive of "silver". Pla ...

" for digital downloads in April 2010. In 2010, Yanofsky recorded her first studio album, '' Nikki'', with

Phil Ramone Philip Ramone (né Rabinowitz, January 5, 1934March 30, 2013) was a South African-born American recording engineer, record producer, violinist and composer, who in 1958 co-founded A & R Recording, Inc., a recording studio with business ...

. Along with the album-release of "I Believe", it included some of Yanofsky's first original works, collaborating with Jesse Harris,

Ron Sexsmith Ronald Eldon Sexsmith (born January 8, 1964) is a Canadian singer-songwriter from St. Catharines, Ontario. He was the songwriter of the year at the 2005 Juno Awards. He began releasing recordings of his own material in 1985 at age 21, and has s ...

and Feist. ''Nikki'' was released in April 2010 by

Decca Records Decca Records is a British record label established in 1929 by Edward Lewis. Its U.S. label was established in late 1934 by Lewis, Jack Kapp, American Decca's first president, and Milton Rackmil, who later became American Decca's president. ...

and was supported by an international tour. It earned a Juno nomination for "Vocal Jazz Album of the Year" and won Yanofsky the WAVE Smooth Jazz Award for "Female Vocalist of the Year". For Ganz's October 2010

Webkinz Webkinz is a stuffed animal franchise by the Canadian toy company Ganz, consisting of stuffed animals that have online counterparts in the games "Webkinz Classic" and "Webkinz Next". It was originally released by Ganz on April 29, 2005. Each W ...

Pet of the Month song, Yanofsky recorded a version of the Webkinz World song "I Dream in Pink". A 2011 jazz recording of popular Disney songs entitled ''Everybody Wants to Be a Cat: Disney Jazz, Volume 1'' included a version of the song "

It's a Small World "It's a Small World" is a water-based boat ride located in the Fantasyland area at various Disney theme parks worldwide, including Disneyland Park in Anaheim, California; Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World Resort in Bay Lake, Florida; Tokyo D ...

" sung by Yanofsky. Other jazz artists on the album included Esperanza Spalding,

Roy Hargrove Roy Anthony Hargrove (October 16, 1969 – November 2, 2018) was an American jazz musician and composer whose principal instruments were the trumpet and flugelhorn. He achieved worldwide acclaim after winning two Grammy Awards for differing style ...

Dave Brubeck David Warren Brubeck (; December 6, 1920 – December 5, 2012) was an American jazz pianist and composer. Often regarded as a foremost exponent of cool jazz, Brubeck's work is characterized by unusual time signatures and superimposing contrasti ...

, Joshua Redman, and Alfredo Rodriguez. Yanofsky's second studio album, '' Little Secret'', was released in Canada in May 2014. The album was executive produced by

Quincy Jones Quincy Delight Jones Jr. (born March 14, 1933) is an American record producer, musician, songwriter, composer, arranger, and film and television producer. His career spans 70 years in the entertainment industry with a record of 80 Grammy Award n ...

. In 2015 Yanofsky began collaborating with

Wyclef Jean Nel Ust Wyclef Jean (; born October 17, 1969) is a Haitian rapper, musician, and actor. At the age of nine, Jean immigrated to the United States with his family. He first achieved fame as a member of the New Jersey hip hop group the Fugees, ...

on her new album and EP. Her '' Solid Gold EP'' was released in Canada on September 30, 2016. In August 2018, Nikki Yanofsky started teasing on her

Instagram Instagram is a photo and video sharing social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. The app allows users to upload media that can be edited with filters and organized by hashtags and geographical tagging. Posts can ...

for an upcoming music video. Nikki Yanofsky has worked with Herbie Hancock, Will.i.am, Elton John and now working with her favourite artist and mentor Quincy Jones. "Big Mouth" was released on September 14, 2018. On July 10, 2020, Yanofsky released her fourth studio album '' Turn Down the Sound''.

Stage

Yanofsky began her professional singing career by performing at the 2006 Montreal International Jazz Festival. Only 12 at the time, this performance made her the youngest performer ever to headline at the festival. She has returned each year since, including a special outdoor performance for the festival's 30th Anniversary in 2009 and a performance with l'

Orchestre Métropolitain The Orchestre Métropolitain (OM) is a symphony orchestra in Montréal, Québec, formed in 1981. It performs primarily in the Montreal Symphony House at Place des Arts but also at Salle Wilfrid-Pelletier and Théâtre Maisonneuve. Outside the c ...

in 2011. Her other Canadian festival performances include Toronto ( Luminato and

Downtown ''Downtown'' is a term primarily used in North America by English speakers to refer to a city's sometimes commercial, cultural and often the historical, political and geographic heart. It is often synonymous with its central business district ...

), Ottawa (

Jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a m ...

and

Blues Blues is a music genre and musical form which originated in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues incorporated spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts, chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads from the ...

Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the city, up from 631,486 in 2016. ...

, Victoria,

, Edmonton,

Saskatoon Saskatoon () is the largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Saskatchewan. It straddles a bend in the South Saskatchewan River in the central region of the province. It is located along the Trans-Canada Hig ...

, and

Fredericton Fredericton (; ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of New Brunswick. The city is situated in the west-central portion of the province along the Saint John River, which flows west to east as it bisects the city. The river is the do ...

. Her international festival appearances include two visits to The Jamaica Jazz and Blues Festival, several European festivals including the

North Sea Jazz Festival The North Sea Jazz Festival is an annual festival held each second weekend of July in the Netherlands at the Ahoy venue. It used to be in The Hague but since 2006 it has been held in Rotterdam. This is because the Statenhal where the festival w ...

and the

Montreux Jazz Festival The Montreux Jazz Festival (formerly Festival de Jazz Montreux and Festival International de Jazz Montreux) is a music festival in Switzerland, held annually in early July in Montreux on the Lake Geneva shoreline. It is the second-largest annual ...

as well as the Ginza International Jazz Festival in

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the n ...

at Kabuki-za. On February 8, 2008, Yanofsky's 14th birthday, she kicked off a multi-city tour with

Marvin Hamlisch Marvin Frederick Hamlisch (June 2, 1944 – August 6, 2012) was an American composer and conductor. Hamlisch was one of only seventeen people to win Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony awards. This collection of all four is referred to as an " E ...

Carnegie Hall Carnegie Hall ( ) is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan in New York City. It is at 881 Seventh Avenue, occupying the east side of Seventh Avenue between West 56th and 57th Streets. Designed by architect William Burnet Tuthill and built ...

. In November 2008, she made her Canadian orchestral debut with the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra, and has gone on to sing with the Vancouver Symphony, the Edmonton Symphony and the Calgary Philharmonic. With

on piano, Yanofsky sang "On A Clear Day You Can See Forever" at the 2011 MusiCares Person of the Year awards honouring

Barbra Streisand Barbara Joan "Barbra" Streisand (; born April 24, 1942) is an American singer, actress and director. With a career spanning over six decades, she has achieved success in multiple fields of entertainment, and is among the few performers awar ...

. On April 13, 2013, Yanofsky and

Stevie Wonder Stevland Hardaway Morris ( Judkins; May 13, 1950), known professionally as Stevie Wonder, is an American singer-songwriter, who is credited as a pioneer and influence by musicians across a range of genres that include rhythm and blues, pop, s ...

sang " Let the Good Times Roll" at the

MGM Grand Garden Arena The MGM Grand Garden Arena (originally known as the MGM Grand Garden Special Events Center) is a 17,000-seat multi-purpose arena located within the MGM Grand Las Vegas on the Las Vegas Strip. Sporting events From its opening on December 18, 1993 ...

Las Vegas Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Veg ...

. The event honoured the joint 80th birthday celebration of

and Sir Michael Caine. The Little Secret Tour began on June 21, 2013, promoting Yanofsky's album, '' Little Secret''.

Charitable works

In 2008, Yanofsky received the Outstanding Youth in Philanthropy award from the Quebec Chapter of The Association of Fundraising Professionals. In the course of her career, she has helped raise over $10 million for local, national and international charities. She is currently associated with The Montreal Children's Hospital, The Children's Wish Foundation, and MusiCounts. She has also lent her voice to oneXone, Leave Out Violence Everywhere (L.O.V.E.), and ORT. Yanofsky sang a solo part in the remake of

K'naan Keinan Abdi Warsame (born 1 February 1978) ( so, Keynaan Cabdi Warsame, ar, كَينَان عَبدِ وَرسَمَ ''Kaynān ʿAbdi Warsama''), better known by his stage name K'naan (), is a Somali-Canadian musician. He rose to prominenc ...

's song " Wavin' Flag" performed by

Young Artists for Haiti Young Artists for Haiti was a movement to engage Canada's young musicians to continue to inspire an ongoing effort and contribution to Canadian charities for their work to help the people of Haiti overcome the devastation from the 7.1 magnitude ea ...

. This song was certified platinum for digital downloads in April 2010, and all of the proceeds from the single went to charities. In October 2010, Yanofsky was awarded the first ever Allan Slaight Award by Canada's Walk of Fame. This award is presented annually to a young Canadian who is making a positive impact in the fields of music, film, literature, visual or performing arts, sports, innovation or philanthropy.

Discography

Albums

EPs

* '' Solid Gold EP'' (September 2016)

Singles

Videography

DVDs

Awards and nominations

Notes

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Yanofsky, Nikki 1994 births Living people Anglophone Quebec people Canadian child singers Canadian women jazz singers People from Hampstead, Quebec Singers from Montreal Canadian women pop singers 21st-century Canadian women singers Jewish Canadian musicians Jazz-pop singers