# Gregory Charles > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Gregory_Charles > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Gregory_Charles.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gregory_Charles > Source revision: 1350647984 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) {{Short description|Canadian writer}} {{Use Canadian English|date=December 2024}} {{Use mdy dates|date=December 2019}} {{Infobox person | name = Gregory Charles | honorific_suffix = {{post-nominals|country=CAN|OC|size=100%}} | image = Gregory Charles.jpg | alt = | caption = Charles in Bedford, 2010 | birth_name = Gregory Nigel Charles | birth_date = {{birth date and age|1968|02|12}} | birth_place = [Montreal](/source/Montreal), [Quebec](/source/Quebec), Canada | death_date = | death_place = | occupation = Radio host, television host, classic singer, pianist, dancer, actor | networth = | website = {{URL|www.gregorycharles.com}} }} '''Gregory Charles''' {{post-nominals|country=CAN|OC}} (born February 12, 1968) is a Canadian performing artist of Trinidadian origin. ==Biography== Charles' father Lennox was a black anglophone of Trinidadian origin; his mother was a white francophone Canadian.{{cite news |url=http://www.themontrealeronline.com/2009/10/gregory-charles-talented-musician-educator-and-philanthropist/ |title=Gregory Charles – talented musician, educator and philanthropist |date=October 1, 2009 |website=The Montrealer Online|accessdate=May 17, 2019}} Charles was born in Montreal, [Quebec](/source/Quebec), was raised in [Saint-Germain-de-Grantham](/source/Saint-Germain-de-Grantham) and studied at École de musique Wilfrid-Pelletier in Montreal. At the age of 7, he won a category of the Canadian Music Competition, after which he performed with most of the country's [symphonic orchestra](/source/symphonic_orchestra)s. In 1979, he represented [Canada](/source/Canada) at an international piano contest in Paris and at [Carnegie Hall](/source/Carnegie_Hall) in [New York](/source/New_York_City). Charles was also a part of [Petits-Chanteurs du Mont-Royal](/source/Petits-Chanteurs_du_Mont-Royal) choir, which performs at the [Saint Joseph's Oratory](/source/Saint_Joseph's_Oratory) in Montreal and graduated from College Notre-Dame high school in Montreal as well. Shortly after entering law school in 1989, Charles obtained a television role which brought him to the attention of a wider public: that of Julien, a young student who comes to study in Montreal, in a TV show called ''[Chambres en ville](/source/Chambres_en_ville)'' (''Rooms in Town'').He also co-hosted the show The Débrouillards alongside [Marie-Soleil Tougas](/source/Marie-Soleil_Tougas) from 1990 to 1997. Charles then became host of a daily radio show at the Montreal station [CKOI-FM](/source/CKOI-FM) in 1991. The following year, he began hosting a television game show ''Que le meilleur gagne'' (''May the Best Man Win'') on [Radio-Canada](/source/T%C3%A9l%C3%A9vision_de_Radio-Canada), for five years. In 1995, he began hosting a late night talk-show ''Cha-ba-da''. From 1998 to 2000, Charles worked on [Céline Dion](/source/C%C3%A9line_Dion)'s world tour, mostly in the chorus but also as a pianist. The same year, as a singer Charles made the first of nine appearances at the [Just for Laughs](/source/Just_for_Laughs) Festival in [Montreal](/source/Montreal). From 2000 to 2002, Charles was cast in the Canadian off Broadway hit two pianos four hands and toured in Canada and in the United States. From 2001 to 2009, Charles has hosted a weekly radio show on the national [Canadian Broadcasting Corporation](/source/Canadian_Broadcasting_Corporation)/Radio-Canada network, and a series of television shows, such as ''Culture Choc'' and "Les Debrouillards", in French and English, and a variety show on TV5. Charles was a conductor of the ''chœurs du nouveau monde'' (''New World Choirs'') which included notably ''Les Petits Chanteurs de Laval'' and ''Les Voix Boréales'', he went on as conductor of the College Vocal, a youth choir that won international competitions in [Indonesia](/source/Indonesia), [Malaysia](/source/Malaysia), [China](/source/China), [Italy](/source/Italy) and [Germany](/source/Germany). Charles presented his first variety show, ''Noir et Blanc'' (''Black and White'') to more than 400,000 spectators across Quebec and the rest of Canada. He also performed at New York City's [Beacon Theatre](/source/Beacon_Theatre_(New_York_City)) in 2004 and again in 2015. A unique feature of his show is the second half, in which he offers to sing and play on the piano and with his band any known song submitted randomly by the spectators. At the end of 2004, Charles released his first album called ''Gospel Live Noir et Blanc''. On October 16, 2006, he launched his album ''I Think of You'', which sold 109,000 copies in its first week, making Charles the highest selling Canadian artist in a one-week period for the year 2006. It debuted at number 1 on the [Nielsen SoundScan](/source/Nielsen_SoundScan) album chart.{{cite news | url=http://jam.canoe.com/Music/Artists/C/Charles_Gregory/2006/10/25/2124778-ca.html | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151208203647/http://jam.canoe.com/Music/Artists/C/Charles_Gregory/2006/10/25/2124778-ca.html | url-status=dead | archive-date=December 8, 2015 | title=Charles beats The Hip, Sarah to No. 1 | first=John | last=Williams | access-date=July 1, 2007 | date=October 25, 2006 | publisher=[Jam!](/source/Jam!)}} Charles sold more albums in 2006 than all other Canadian musicians except [Nelly Furtado](/source/Nelly_Furtado).{{cite news | url=http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20070226/gregory_charles_junos_070226/20070226?s_name=junos2007&no_ads= | publisher=[CTV](/source/CTV_Television_Network) | first=Tyrone | last=Warner | date=February 26, 2007 | title=Gregory Charles thinks of conquering Canada | accessdate=July 1, 2007 | url-status=dead | archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20110604174346/http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20070226/gregory_charles_junos_070226/20070226?s_name=junos2007&no_ads= | archivedate=June 4, 2011 }} Charles was one of the headliners on [Parliament Hill](/source/Parliament_Hill) at the 2007 [Canada Day](/source/Canada_Day) celebration there, playing the evening's longest set, to an audience of thousands. He performed in English and French. However, one of his next scheduled appearances in Ottawa, where audiences were required to pay, did not fare so well. According to reports in the ''[Ottawa Sun](/source/Ottawa_Sun)'', Doug Moore, the city's manager of Venture Properties, said that Grégory Charles' scheduled concert at the Ottawa SuperEx was cancelled due to poor ticket sales.{{cite news | url=http://ottawasun.com/News/OttawaAndRegion/2007/09/01/4462725-sun.html | archive-url=https://archive.today/20070929083515/http://ottawasun.com/News/OttawaAndRegion/2007/09/01/4462725-sun.html | url-status=dead | archive-date=September 29, 2007 | publisher=[Ottawa Sun](/source/Ottawa_Sun) | first=Denis | last=Armstrong | date=September 1, 2007 | title=Cancellations leave city singing the blues | accessdate=September 1, 2007}} In the fall of 2007, Charles began hosting a CBC radio program, ''[In the Key of Charles](/source/In_the_Key_of_Charles)'' until September 6, 2009.{{cite news | url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/entertainment/gregory-charles-to-host-new-sunday-show-on-cbc-radio-two-1.682061 | publisher=[Canadian Broadcasting Corporation](/source/CBC_News) | date=September 20, 2007 | title=Gregory Charles to host new Sunday show on CBC Radio Two | access-date=October 14, 2007}} In April 2012, Charles did a one-year stint at the Cafe Carlyle in the famous [Carlyle Hotel](/source/Carlyle_Hotel) in [New York City](/source/New_York_City).{{cite web|url=http://broadwayworld.com/article/Gregory-Charles-to-Play-Caf-Carlyle-Beginning-43-20120319# |title=Gregory Charles to Play Café Carlyle Beginning 4/3 |url-status=live |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304122339/http://www.broadwayworld.com/article/Gregory-Charles-to-Play-Caf-Carlyle-Beginning-43-20120319 |archivedate=March 4, 2016 }} In December 2015, Charles acquired the two Radio-Classique radio stations, [CJPX-FM](/source/CJPX-FM) in Montreal and [CJSQ-FM](/source/CJSQ-FM) in Quebec City, under the banner Groupe Musique Greg, pending approval by the [Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission](/source/Canadian_Radio-television_and_Telecommunications_Commission) (CRTC). While financial details were not announced, the ''[Journal de Montréal](/source/Journal_de_Montr%C3%A9al)'' reported that he paid at least $10 million.{{cite web|last1=Faguy|first1=Steve|title=Gregory Charles agrees to buy Radio Classique from JP Coallier|date=December 8, 2014 |url=http://blog.fagstein.com/2014/12/08/gregory-charles-agrees-to-buy-radio-classique-from-jp-coallier/|accessdate=December 9, 2014}} The same year, Charles won the [Martin Luther King Jr. Achievement Award](/source/Black_Theatre_Workshop) for his musical achievements. On June 30, 2016, Charles was appointed an [Officer of the Order of Canada](/source/Order_of_Canada) by [Governor General](/source/Governor_General) [David Johnston](/source/David_Johnston_(governor_general)) for "his infectious energy, creativity and dedication to ensuring that the performing arts and culture thrive in Canada and abroad."{{cite web|title=Canada's Honour Roll|url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/governor-general-announces-113-appointments-to-the-order-of-canada/article30686986/|work=The Globe and Mail|date=June 30, 2016}} From 2015 to 2019, Charles produced and hosted two youth oriented television programs for the French network of the cbc: virtuoses, a variety program dedicated to young classical musicians and crescendo, a show dedicated to high school students who perform with their school choirs. In 2017, Charles founded an online music school called Gregory's Academy, where thousands of young and adult students learn music in an innovative way. In 2019, Charles produced and hosted a series of television programs dedicated to the [plight](/source/plight) of immigrants who came from war stricken countries called le Vrai Nouveau Monde. In 2020, Charles was on the first leg of a European tour when the pandemic hit. Shows in France were postponed. Later that year, Charles won the Félix for best instrumental album of the year at the gala de l’ADISQ for his album LEN. It was his 5th [Félix](/source/Prix_F%C3%A9lix). Charles is also the recipient of 5 "[Gémeaux](/source/Prix_G%C3%A9meaux)" awards for his work in television and one [Artis](/source/Prix_Artis) award as youth personality of the year in television, back in 1995. In 2021, Charles joined the cast of [Star Academie](/source/Star_Acad%C3%A9mie) on the [TVA](/source/TVA_(Canadian_TV_network)) network. He reprised his role in 2022. Charles is married to Nicole Collet, a Microsoft executive and is the father of one daughter, Julia, born in 2012. In September 2022, there was mild controversy when a video of Prime Minister [Justin Trudeau](/source/Justin_Trudeau) was circulated on social media signing [Bohemian Rhapsody](/source/Bohemian_Rhapsody) with Charles at the piano, while travelling to [London](/source/London) for the [funeral of Queen Elizabeth II](/source/Death_and_state_funeral_of_Elizabeth_II){{cite web |title=Trudeau spotted singing Bohemian Rhapsody days before Queen's funeral |url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/trudeau-bohemian-rhapsody-queen-funeral-1.6587875 |access-date=20 September 2022}} ==Discography== '''GOSPEL LIVE EN NOIR & BLANC (2004)''' # "I'm on My Way" # "When I Rise" # "His lIttle Light Of Mine" # "Wade in the Water" # "Amazing Grace" # "Jesus I'll Never Forget" # "When I Rise ( Reprise)" # "Gospel Hallelujah" # "I'M A Slave" === ''I Think of You (2006)''=== #"I Think of You" #"Our House" #"I Put my Trust in You" #"Unlabel'ble" #"Promise That You Love Me" #"No Love" #"Your Love Will Lead Me Back to You" #"You are Near" #"Til the Day I Die" #"Life Goes On" #"Solo pienso en ti (Prima)" ("I think of You" – Spanish Version) This album was [certified 2× platinum](/source/Music_Canada) in Canada in December 2006.[http://www.cria.ca/gold/1206_g.php CRIA Gold & Platinum certifications for December 2006] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071001143307/http://www.cria.ca/gold/1206_g.php |date=October 1, 2007 }}. Retrieved July 25, 2007. ===Loin de la lumière (2007)=== #"Au fond de moi" #"Mariko "On n'se comprend pas" #"Quand on se voit" #"Loin de la lumière" #"Chocolat" #"Sur ma peau" #"On sera deux" #"Tu as rejoint les anges" #"Elle était belle" #"Toi et moi" #"Je reviens" ===Quand j'ai dit (2011)=== #"J'ai changé" #"Le goût" #"Qu'encore tu penses à moi" #"Quand j'ai dit" #"Heureux malheureux" #"J'ai oublié" #"Reste ce soir" #"Quand je veille" #"Jusqu'à la fin" #"Si tu dois" #"En t'attendant" ====Charts==== *CAN: #25{{cite web|url=http://jam.canoe.com/Music/Charts/ALBUMS.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150627062005/http://jam.canoe.com/Music/Charts/ALBUMS.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=June 27, 2015 |title=Nielsen SoundScan Charts }} ==References== {{reflist}} ==External links== {{Commons category}} * [http://www.gregorycharles.com/ Official Web Site] * {{in lang|fr}} [http://www.singsing.ca/ Les petits chanteurs de Laval et les voix boréales] * [https://web.archive.org/web/20090125215447/http://choeursdunouveaumonde.ca/ Chœurs du nouveau monde] * {{in lang|fr}} [http://www.qim.com/artistes/biographie.asp?artistid=718 Quebec Info Musique: Gregory Charles] * {{cite news | url=http://www.cbc.ca/arts/music/charles.html | title=Charles in Charge Montreal's Gregory Charles is more than a singer – he's a one-man industry | first=Patricia | last=Bailey | date=November 27, 2006 | accessdate=July 1, 2007 | publisher=[Canadian Broadcasting Corporation](/source/Canadian_Broadcasting_Corporation) }} * {{IMDb name|id=0153043}} {{Authority control}} {{DEFAULTSORT:Charles, Gregory}} Category:1968 births Category:Black Canadian broadcasters Category:21st-century Black Canadian male singers Category:21st-century Canadian male singers Category:21st-century Canadian singers Category:Canadian game show hosts Category:Canadian gospel singers Category:Canadian pop singers Category:Canadian male television actors Category:Canadian people of Trinidad and Tobago descent Category:Living people Category:Male actors from Montreal Category:Officers of the Order of Canada Category:Quebecers of French descent Category:Singers from Montreal Category:CBC Radio hosts Category:French-language Canadian singers Category:Canadian male pianists Category:21st-century Canadian pianists Category:21st-century Canadian male musicians Category:Félix Award winners --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Gregory Charles](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gregory_Charles) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gregory_Charles?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.