How (and why) is Nikki Yanofsky famous?

Those of us in the Canadian media have a secret code. There are some things that you simply do not talk about.  I’m not going to “out” all of those things but I am going to talk about one of them because enough is enough and I think Canadians really should be talking about this problem.

Why is Nikki Yanofsky so famous?

I mean really, have you ever asked yourself?  How the heck did someone so young essentially become the voice of CTV during the Olympics?  How has someone who has only released one poorly-selling CD get her own national tour and most importantly, is she really even that talented.

Publicists are having a heart attack right now.  I get it.  Nikki Yanofsky’s success is something that everyone acknowledges and no one talks about.  It is sorta like Ben Mulroney….wait a minute. They are both CTV properties. Interesting.  Fun fact: Besides the Olympic themed ‘I Believe’, she’s never had a song place in the Canadian Hot 100.

So how is Nikki so famous?  Well according to Forbes her father brings in quite the pretty penny, which always helps when you are trying to fund a CD, national tour and general popularity.  As president of WowWee Canada Inc, he rakes in more than $750,000 a year! He is a very well respected business man and evidently, one with quite a bit of influence.

So what brought this little “outing” on?  Well it was announced Monday that Nikki will be receiving The Allan Slaight Award at this year’s Canada Walk of Fame Awards. This is the first time that the award will be presented to anyone and it goes to a young Canadian who is making a positive impact in the fields of music, film, literature, visual or performing arts, sports, innovation or philanthropy. Recipients receive an honourarium of $10,000 from the Slaight Foundation.

So that is why I’m pissed.  Did Nikki’s parents buy this too?  Do they really need the $10,000? Or are they so obsessed with making their 16-year old daughter famous that they will seemingly do anything they can to make it happen? I’m frustrated because there are so many struggling artists out there and that amount of money could be life-changing for them.  Instead, it is going to someone who got to open AND close the Olympics this year.  Even with all the publicity, her debut album only debuted at number five.  By Canadian standards and considering the huge CTV-related push she got, that’s a relative disappointment.

It’s nothing against Nikki personally.  I’m sure she is nice and will make a great eventual edition to Degrassi.  But for now, would she be more of a help to the Canadian music industry if she gave other people a chance?  I think she’s had her turn. Why not let other give trying to be successful a  try?