Junos Features

Junos 365 session: Watch Virginia to Vegas cover Brett Kissel

The Junos Present, Past, and Future sessions continue — where past nominees and winners cover winning artists from their categories.

Juno stars cover fellow winners in London, Ont. — the future home of the Junos

Virginia To Vegas I 3-2-1 (Brett Kissel cover) | Juno 365 Session

6 years ago
Duration 2:21
Virginia To Vegas performs a cover of Brett Kissel's "3-2-1".

With only five months until the 2019 Juno Awards in London, Ont., CBC Music continues to celebrate nominees and winners from years past — while shining a spotlight on the next generation of Juno stars. 

As part of CBC Music's Junos 365 London sessions — where past Juno winners and nominees cover a Juno winner from within their same category in the future host city — pop act Virginia to Vegas has taken on covering Brett Kissel, the 2014 winner of breakthrough artist of the year, which Virginia to Vegas was also nominated for in 2018.

While covering a country hit might seem like an unlikely choice for the electro-pop artist (real name Derik John Baker), the result is infectious.

Read more about why Virginia to Vegas chose to cover Kissel's "3-2-1" in London's Aeolian Hall.

Tell us about the song you covered today and why you chose it.

Today, we did a cover of Brett Kissel's "3-2-1." I had a really tough time trying to figure out what song I was going to do, and I changed it last minute. I've known Brett for a few years and I messaged him and I was like, 'Hey man, I hope you're cool with me doing a different take on your song.' And he was stoked, so... Yeah, I'm excited for him to hear it. I hope he likes it.

What was it like for you as a pop artist to cover a country song, and try to make it your own?

It was kind of tricky. But I've actually had these discussions with Brett about songwriting. And, I think at the end of the day a good song is a good song. Brett's such a good songwriter, and I think the way that he writes his country songs — I think anyone could take that song and make it any genre.

Take me through your thought process in actually putting the cover together.

I wanted the cover to sound a bit like how I would produce a record. But I also wanted it to have a different take on the movement of the song. So, when I was in the studio, I was kind of going between, like, a Lionel Richie-meets-M83, but with a pop vocal on top. And I think we ended up somewhere maybe in that world.

Check out these previous Juno 365 sessions:

Ria Mae covers Avril Lavigne's "Fall to Pieces"
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"