Junos 365 session: Ria Mae covers Avril Lavigne

We're looking ahead to the 2019 Juno Awards in London, Ont., while also thinking about the past Juno Award winners and nominees. CBC Music wants to celebrate these fantastic Canadian artists and their incredible songs, while also honouring the next generation of nominees and their remarkable talents. We're proud to present the Junos 365 sessions, Present, Past and Future. 

To kick things off, Ria Mae, whose record My Love was nominated for pop album of the year this past year, joined CBC Music in London, Ont., at Call the Office to pay tribute to Avril Lavigne, who won in the same category in 2005 for Under My Skin. 

Mae spoke with CBC Music about being a lifelong "Avril-head," the singer-songwriter's influence on her, and how Mae decided to choose which Lavigne track to cover. 

Why did you choose to cover Avril Lavigne?  

I chose to cover "Fall to Pieces" by Avril Lavigne because it's a jam. It's just such a jam. And you know, that whole album, I just have all these really good memories of growing up in Halifax and just driving and cranking that album and singing at the top of our lungs, me and my friends. So it was an easy choice for me to make.

I'm a pretty big Avril-head. I followed Avril Lavigne's career just like everyone else, I guess.  I don't think there was any Avril song that came out that I didn't like. I just think she was really cool. Just even looking at my Chucks that I'm wearing, I remember when she first came out and was rocking Converse and no one else was. It's a cool grungy-meets-pop style and I'm glad — I think she changed what a lot of girls dressed like around then.

What was your approach in covering the song?

So with this song I was thinking I could've went acoustic, like just solo, or I could've brought in full band, the complete opposite. And the more I thought about it, I play pop music, and there's guitars but there's not that big guitar sound, and I used to play in bands growing up like that, so it was kind of my excuse to be in a grunge band again.

How does it feel to be nominated in the Pop Album of the Year category?

It's funny because I started in the singer-songwriter, folk world in Nova Scotia, and my music just slowly became more pop. And it's one of those things where I didn't realize it until we got that nomination in that category. And it is funny to look back and see who else was in that category. It's pretty mind-blowing to me. It's like, how did I get here?

Check out these other covers from previous Juno 365 sessions:

• The Good Lovelies cover k-os' "Crabbuckit"
• Scott Helman covers the Tragically Hip's "Bobcaygeon"
• Donovan Woods covers Alanis Morissette's "Ironic"
• The Beaches cover Loverboy's "Turn me Loose"
• Chloe Charles covers the Weeknd's "Can't Feel my Face"
• Ralph covers Alannah Myles' "Black Velvet"
• William Prince covers Michael Bublé's "Home"
• Mappe Of covers Terry Jacks' "Seasons in the Sun"
• ​James Barker Band covers Avril Lavigne's "Complicated"
• Rose Cousins covers Corey Hart's "Never Surrender"