J. R. Vautour

J. R. Vautour was born in Toronto, Ontario and raised in Minto, New Brunswick. He began performing at a young age, finishing second to Beverley Mahood in the 12-and-under category of a Brantford, Ontario singing contest.^[2] When he turned 18, Vautour's parents took him to Nashville, Tennessee to record his first demos.^[2] For the 1998 CBC special Where the River Meets the Sea, a show which featured the top music acts of New Brunswick, Vautour was chosen to represent country music.^[3]

Vautour's debut album, J. R. Vautour, was released in 2000 on his own Busy Music record label. His first single, "You're the One," peaked in the Canadian country top 20. "Gettin' Our Feet Wet" spent five weeks at No. 1 on the independent Canadian singles chart. "Dry Eye," the follow-up single, also reached No. 1. Additional singles "Don't Mean Maybe" and "This Time" also reached the Canadian top 20.^[2] With his radio success, Vautour began opening for country legends Boxcar Willie and Gene Watson.^[2]

Vautour was nominated for Country Music Artist of the Year at the 2001 East Coast Music Awards, and his album was nominated for Album of the Year the Canadian Music Week Awards. At the 2002 Juno Awards, Vautour was nominated for Best New Country Artist. Vautour was also nominated for Independent Male Artist of the Year at the 2002 Canadian Country Music Awards.^[2]

Vautour has since released the albums The New Me (2003) and Break (2006), and continued his string of hit singles with songs like "Addicted," "Kiss Me Goodbye," "U Make Me Love U," "Don't Know It Yet" and "The New Me." His latest single, "You Were There," was released in June 2008.