Juno 365 session: Scott Helman covers the Tragically Hip's 'Bobcaygeon'

As part of our coverage of the 2018 Juno Awards, we're inviting some of today's hottest Canadian acts to cover a past winner in the single of the year category. So far Ralph, William Prince, Mappe Of, James Barker Band and Donovan Woods have chosen their favourite winning song for a session in our studio.

For his Juno 365 session, Scott Helman picked the Tragically Hip's "Bobcaygeon," the winning single of the year at the 2000 Juno Awards.

"I've been listening to that song since, I don't even know, like, 11," says Helman. "It's hard not to sing it like [Gord Downie]. So that was an adjustment, to be like, OK, this is me singing his song."

Helman says the song's melody was a challenge for him — "I think it's catered to Gord's voice" — and he felt it was important to respect the song's structure. "I just added a little bit of me, maybe put some synths on it, then we just changed the arrangement a bit."

But when it came to playing the song, Helman stepped it up. "I wanted to get in the zone and sing it the way that I wanted to. Because I've seen Gord live and that's what he does, he really gets to that place. And then I ended up shouting a bunch of stuff at the end that I felt like shouting because that's what Gord does and I think that's what music's all about."

Enjoy Helman's cover of "Bobcaygeon," and wherever you are in the world on March 25, you can watch the Juno Awards live from the Rogers Arena in Vancouver at cbcmusic.ca/junos.