Briannah Donolo, known professionally as Rêve, is a Canadian singer and songwriter, signed with 31 East /
Universal Music Canada.
Her single "Ctrl + Alt + Del" was certified gold in
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...
on 15 February 2022.
Early life
Donolo grew up in
Montreal
Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...
and has enjoyed music since a young age. When she was three years old, she tried matching the notes from a real piano on her
Fisher-Price
Fisher-Price, Inc. is an American company that produces educational toys for infants, toddlers and preschoolers, headquartered in East Aurora, New York, East Aurora, New York (state), New York. It was founded in 1930 during the Great Depression ...
toy piano. Her father is Italian.
She first gained attention for singing both the American and Canadian national anthems before a
Boston Bruins
The Boston Bruins are a professional ice hockey team based in Boston. The Bruins compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NHL), Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), Eastern Conference. The t ...
-
Montreal Canadiens
The Montreal Canadiens (), officially ' ( Canadian Hockey Club) and colloquially known as the Habs, are a professional ice hockey team based in Montreal. The Canadiens compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic D ...
hockey game on 13 November 2014.
[ Her performance caused a "buzz" on social media, as it gave the American anthem a "pop sound". She was contacted by ]TMZ
''TMZ'' is an American entertainment-focused tabloid news organization owned by Fox Corporation. It made its debut on November 8, 2005, as a collaboration between AOL and Telepictures, a division of Warner Bros., until Time Warner divested ...
after the video of her performance earned 100,000 views on YouTube
YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...
.
She later sang both national anthems at a Toronto Blue Jays
The Toronto Blue Jays are a Canadian professional baseball team based in Toronto. The Blue Jays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East Division. Since 1989, the team has p ...
exhibition baseball game at Montreal Olympic Stadium
Olympic Stadium (, ) is a multi-purpose stadium in Montreal, Canada, located at Olympic Park in the Hochelaga-Maisonneuve district of the city. Built in the mid-1970s as the main venue for the 1976 Summer Olympics, it is nicknamed "The Big O ...
in 2016, causing a similar buzz in the media.
Donolo later moved to Toronto to try and gain a foothold in the music industry.[ She speaks both English and French.
]
Career
Signed with 31 East / Universal Music Canada, Rêve first gained a following performing on mashups with original lyrics on TikTok
TikTok, known in mainland China and Hong Kong as Douyin (), is a social media and Short-form content, short-form online video platform owned by Chinese Internet company ByteDance. It hosts user-submitted videos, which may range in duration f ...
. In July 2021, her major-label debut single, "Still Dancing", was released on Astralwerks
Astralwerks (or Astralwerks Records) is an American record label primarily focused on electronic music that is now owned by Universal Music Group. Its material is distributed via Capitol Music Group in the United States. The label was founded in ...
. She wrote it with Sara Diamond and Banx & Ranx. Her second single "Skin 2 Skin" was released in August 2021. It uses a sample from the band Chicago
Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...
that is also featured in the 1995 dance song " The Bomb! (These Sounds Fall into My Mind)" by The Bucketheads.
Her single "Ctrl + Alt + Del" was released on 19 September 2021, and was produced by Banx & Ranx, who also co-wrote the song with her. "Ctrl + Alt + Del" charted 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. It was launched on the issue dated March 31, 2007 as the standard record chart in Canada; a new chart ...
for 29 weeks, peaking at number 38. It is also featured in the video game '' FIFA 22'', and was later certified platinum in Canada.
Her breakout into the mainstream would only continue into the following year, featuring on the Banx & Ranx song "Headphones". The song was a hit, peaking at number 49 on the Canadian Hot 100, and following "Ctrl + Alt + Del" as Reve's second platinum certification in Canada. As a solo artist, she continued to prepare for her debut album, releasing several promotional singles, including "Whitney", a nod to the pop sensation Whitney Houston
Whitney Elizabeth Houston (August 9, 1963 – February 11, 2012) was an American singer, actress, film producer, model, and philanthropist. Commonly referred to as "Honorific nicknames in popular music, the Voice", she is List of awards and no ...
and her 1993 cover version of " I'm Every Woman", which the song also samples. The track reached a personal chart high for Donolo, peaking at number 29 on the Canadian Hot 100. She received a Juno Award
The Juno Awards (stylized as JUNOS), or simply known as the Junos, are awards presented by Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences, the Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences to recognize outstanding achievements in Canada's mu ...
nomination for Breakthrough Artist of the Year at the Juno Awards of 2023.["Here are all the 2023 Juno nominees"](_blank)
CBC Music
CBC Music (formerly known as CBC FM, CBC Stereo and CBC Radio 2) is a Canadian FM radio network operated by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. It used to concentrate on classical and jazz. In 2007 and 2008, the network transitioned towards a ...
, 31 January 2023.
She released her third and fourth singles, "Big Boom" and "Contemporary Love" the following year, and on 21 July 2023, she announced that her album, "Saturn Return", would be released. It is currently slated for an 13 October 2023 release date. Elsewhere, she participated in an all-star recording of Serena Ryder's single "What I Wouldn't Do
"What I Wouldn't Do" is a song performed by Canadian singer-songwriter Serena Ryder, which was released as a single in November 2012. The song was written by Ryder and Jerrod Bettis for Ryder's fifth studio album, ''Harmony (Serena Ryder album), ...
", which was released as a charity single to benefit Kids Help Phone's Feel Out Loud campaign for youth mental health.
In 2023, Rêve appeared as herself in the second season of Crave comedy series '' Shoresy''. She also appeared as a guest judge on the fourth season of '' Canada's Drag Race.''
Influences
In an interview with MTV UK
MTV is a British pay television channel focusing on reality TV and music programming operated by Paramount Networks UK & Australia.
The channel launched as part of MTV Networks Europe localisation strategy in 1997. MTV UK (previously MTV UK & I ...
, Rêve said: "They are ever-changing, but my 'staple' musical influences are Kaytranada, Robyn
Robin Miriam Carlsson (; born 12 June 1979), known professionally as Robyn (), is a Swedish singer, songwriter, record producer, and DJ. Her 1995 debut album ''Robyn Is Here'' produced two Billboard Hot 100, ''Billboard'' Hot 100 top 10 single ...
, Rufus du Sol, Madonna
Madonna Louise Ciccone ( ; born August 16, 1958) is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and actress. Referred to as the "Queen of Pop", she has been recognized for her continual reinvention and versatility in music production, ...
and SG Lewis
Samuel George Lewis (born 9 July 1994) is an English singer-songwriter, musician and record producer. He is mostly known for collaborating with many artists from Tove Lo, Robyn, Dua Lipa, Nelly Furtado, Mabel, Victoria Monét, Lucky Daye, J ...
."
Awards and nominations
Discography
Studio albums
Extended plays
Singles
Appears on
* "Mornin'" ( Rainer + Grimm with Rêve)
* "Lying Awake" ( Rainer + Grimm with Rêve)
* "U&U" ( Merk & Kremont feat. Rêve & Tim North)
* "Through The Night" (Robin M with Rêve)
* "Let Me Down" (Arigato Massaï feat. Rêve)
References
{{Portal bar, Music, Canada, Biography
Living people
1990s births
Canadian women pop singers
Canadian women singer-songwriters
Singers from Montreal
21st-century Canadian women singers
Canadian people of Italian descent
Juno Award for Dance Recording of the Year winners
21st-century Canadian singer-songwriters