EL SEGUNDO, Calif. — Canadian singer-songwriter Jann Arden is back for a third season of her hit comedy series Jann.
We caught up with the Canadian star, who discussed why her show and others are resonating with American audiences.
5 Things You Need to Know:
- The comedy is described as a fictionalized version of Arden on a quest for renewed fame. She plays former pop star struggling to cope with turmoil in her personal life, including the breakup of her relationship with longtime girlfriend Cynthia, her mother's diagnosis of early-stage dementia, and trying to rebuild her career in with hopes of finally outshining her archrival, Sarah McLachlan.
- Arden is known for her signature ballads "Could I Be Your Girl" and "Insensitive," which is her biggest hit to date. She has 17 top ten singles from eight albums. "Humor has been a huge part in my career from the get-go, from the time I sang in the bars," said Arden. "I was in the worst bands playing in the Ukon up by frickin' Alaska. We knew nine songs and we had to play from like 11:00 at night to 3 in the morning, which is four hours of music with 9 songs ... and I was just panic stricken, and so I started talking to these drunk people in the bar, all three of them, just to buy some time. Meanwhile the guys played the blues. And I started making people laugh."
- Arden has received a total of 19 Juno Award nominations to date, winning eight including Solo Artist of the Year in 1994, Songwriter of the Year both in 1995 and 2002, and Female Artist of the Year both in 1995 and 2001. She has also won awards at the MuchMusic Video Awards, Prairie Music Awards, Western Canadian Music Awards, and Alberta Recording Industry Association (ARIA) Awards. In 2006, it was announced she would receive a star on Canada's Walk of Fame. In 2006, Arden received the National Achievement Award from the Society of Composers, Authors, and Music Publishers of Canada (SOCAN) for having six singles reach the 100,000 airplay mark on Canadian radio. She was awarded the prize at a gala in Toronto. In 2007, Arden was inducted into the Canadian Association of Broadcasters Hall of Fame and was the winner of the International Achievement Award at the 2007 Western Canadian Music Awards. In 2012, Arden was awarded the Queen's Diamond Jubilee Medal.
- In 2017, Arden was appointed as a Member of the Order of Canada for her "achievements as a singer-songwriter and broadcaster, and for her extensive charitable work." In 2020, Arden was named by the Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences as its 2020 inductee into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame.
- "It's very physical comedy," said Arden of her show Jann. "I’ve always wanted to throw myself onto the ground and fall out of rickshaws and ride mechanical bulls and throw myself into snowbanks hang off barbed wire fences. So I think in that regard, the show is very old timey. I think it really goes back to like — I used to love Laverne & Shirley. I love those two just falling and busting things and being just ditsy ... It’s not a 22 year old ingénue with five roommates living in New York. It’s a middle-aged singer-songwriter on the decline with a mother with dementia, living in Canada."