To celebrate Much turning 30 we’re taking a look back at some the biggest musicians in the business before they were famous. We can say we knew them when…and we even made some of them work in our office. Back then, these global superstars only pulled a small crowd if any at all. Today, they account for billions of dollars in the entertainment industry. Seriously, stuff goes down when there’s a billion dollars on the elevator.
Keep up with all the amazing Much 30 Anniversary content with the hashtage #ForeverYoung.
Lady Gaga
Back in 2008, Lady Gaga’s debut album The Fame was the number one album in Canada, but the world was still unaware of the pop phenom in their midst. Mother Monster made her debut on MuchMusic’s MOD, securing a relationship with the famous pop star to this day. Gaga has since performend twice at the MMVAs. We’ll always love you, exploding bra.
Usher
In 1997, a relatively unknown Usher showed up at the Much studios one Sunday afternoon and introduced himself to all the crew, giving them hugs and high fives, and doing some of their jobs as well. We have a feeling he would get a bit of a different response today.
Rihanna
In 2005, Jay Z made his first appearance at Much and brought along with him two of his biggest protégés with Kanye West and Rihanna. While West had performed at the MMVAs the year before, a very young and very nervous Rihanna was still new to the music scene. We think she’s gotten past her jitters in the past decade.
Arcade Fire
At the 2005 MMVAs, Montreal indie group Arcade Fire shocked viewers when they kicked off their performance with a full-sized marching band. It marked the future Grammy winner’s first performance on national TV and scored them a place in our hearts forever.
Beyonce
In 1998, Destiny’s Child had just released their self-title debut album, which featured a moderately successful No, No, No. That same year, the four (there were four then) girls stopped by MuchMusic for their first interview on Da Mix. A then 17-year old Beyoncé told our cameras that she could never imagine going solo. She got over that.
Kanye West
Ten years ago, college dropout Kanye West had just dropped out of college and released his debut album. He had the same swagger and confidence then as he does millions of album sales later. The best line of the interview comes when Kanye says “I accidentally said how I really feel about stuff and I wasn’t supposed to do that.” Has he actually been holding back in the last decade?
Katy Perry
In 2008, Katy Hudson had just released her first album as Katy Perry and had already begun amassing her huge fan base of Katy Cats. It was the early days of her career, but Perry’s future as a superstar was evident even then.
Britney Spears
The year was 1999. Britney Spears was still denying that she was dating ‘Justin from *NSYNC’ and was years away from paparazzi taking over her life. She appeared on MuchMusic for the first time that year and drew a huge crowd.
