Stronger Together, Tous Ensemble

Stronger Together, Tous Ensemble
Country of originCanada
Original languagesEnglish
French
Production
Running time90 minutes
Original release
NetworkSyndication
ReleaseApril 26, 2020 (2020-04-26)

Stronger Together, Tous Ensemble was a 90-minute Canadian benefit concert which aired on April 26, 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic and a week after the 2020 Nova Scotia attacks. The program drew an audience of over 11,500,000 viewers and listeners, and was simulcast by every major Canadian television broadcast company, including Bell Media (CTV), Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC Television), Rogers Media (Citytv), Corus Entertainment (Global), V, and numerous other television, radio, and Internet-based broadcast platforms. This made it both the largest multi-platform broadcast and highest viewed non-sporting broadcast in Canadian television history. Numerous singers, actors, athletes, charities, and those impacted by coronavirus were featured including remarks by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. Over CA$9,000,000 in donations during the event were raised for Food Banks Canada.

Production

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Stronger Together, Tous Ensemble is primarily composed of homemade video from various celebrities' households, singing or giving words of encouragement. The program was created in collaboration to unite viewers during the COVID-19 pandemic and after the 2020 Nova Scotia attacks.[citation needed]

Broadcasters

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The benefit concert aired on 120 different radio, television, and online platforms.[1]

On television, the concert was broadcast on English-language stations CTV, CBC Television, Citytv, and Global. It was also broadcast on French-language station V. The special was also simulcast on networks owned by Bell Media (CP24, CTV 2, MTV, Much, TSN, and Vrak), the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (Ici ARTV and Unis), Rogers Media (FX and Omni Television), Corus Entertainment (ABC Spark, National Geographic, SériesPlus, and Slice), Asian Television Network (ATN HD, ATN Bangla, ATN Cricket Plus, ATN Food Food, ATN Gujarati, ATN Jaya TV, ATN Life, ATN PM One, ATN Punjabi Plus, and CBN), Blue Ant Media (A.Side TV, BBC Earth, Cottage Life, HIFI, Love Nature, Makeful, and Smithsonian Channel), and Stingray Group (Stingray Hits! and Stingray Retro), as well as networks such as APTN, Family Channel, Hollywood Suite, NTV, OutTV, and Super Channel Fuse.[1]

On radio, the concert was simulcast on CBC Music, CBC Radio One, EZ Rock, Sirius XM channel 169, and Virgin Radio, and select stations owned by Arctic Radio, Bell Media Radio, Blackburn Radio, First Peoples Radio, Harvard Broadcasting, Jim Pattison Group, Rawlco Communications, Stingray Radio, and Vista Radio.[1]

The concert was also streamed on numerous websites, streaming services, and on-demand services, including CBC Gem, CBC Listen, Crave, Ici TOU.TV, Stingray Qello, Super Channel On Demand, and the websites and apps of the CBC, CTV, Citytv, Entertainment Tonight Canada, Global, Global News, and iHeartRadio Canada.[1]

Featuring

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Stronger Together, Tous Ensemble began with Sam Roberts cover of "We're All In This Together" with his family and subsequently featured numerous singers, actors, athletes, charities, victims of the COVID-19 pandemic, politicians, and Canadian personalities.[2] It concluded with a twenty-seven artist collaboration of "Lean on Me", and closing remarks by Justin Trudeau and Drake.[3]

Musical performances

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Artist Song Language
Sam Roberts "We're All in This Together" English
Michael Bublé "Gotta Be Patient" English
Spanish
Barenaked Ladies
Sofia Reyes
Bryan Adams "Shine a Light" English
Tom Cochrane "Life Is a Highway"
Sarah McLachlan "Blackbird" (The Beatles)
Voices Rock Medicine
(A choir consisting of Canadian women physicians)
"Rise Again" (The Rankin Family)
Shania Twain "Up!"
City and Colour "We Found Each Other in the Dark"
Charlotte Cardin "Faufile" French
Randy Bachman "Takin' Care of Business" English
William Prince "The Spark"
Jann Arden "Sleepless"
Alessia Cara "You've Got a Friend in Me" (Randy Newman)
Measha Brueggergosman "You'll Never Walk Alone" (Rodgers and Hammerstein)
David Foster and Katharine McPhee "St. Elmo's Fire"
Marie-Mai "Ton Histoire" French
Burton Cummings "Share the Land" English
Max Kerman and Nick Dika "Years in the Making"

Lean on Me

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Near the end of the broadcast, twenty-seven artists collaborated on a bilingual rendition of "Lean on Me" as a tribute to Bill Withers following his death a month earlier. The rendition is a product of an initiative by Tyler Shaw and Fefe Dobson called ArtistsCAN,[4] and was released separately to raise funds for the Canadian Red Cross.[5]

Other appearances

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Person Occupation
Rick Mercer Comedian
Hayley Wickenheiser Retired hockey player, five-time Olympian
Lilly Singh Comedian
Eugene Levy
Dan Levy
Catherine O'Hara
Annie Murphy
Cast of Schitt's Creek
Actors
Russell Peters Comedian
Jason Priestley Actor, film director
Serge Ibaka Basketball player, member of the Toronto Raptors
Celine Dion Singer
Kiefer Sutherland Actor
Eric McCormack Actor
Perry Bellegarde National Chief of the Assembly of First Nations
Anne Murray Singer
Ryan Reynolds Actor
Penny Oleksiak Olympic swimmer
Tessa Virtue Retired Ice dancer and three-time Olympian
Bianca Andreescu Tennis player
Chris Hadfield Astronaut
Hamza Haq Actor
Will Arnett and Amy Poehler Actors
Mike Myers Actor
Julie Payette Governor General of Canada, Former astronaut
Geddy Lee Singer, member of Rush
Christine Sinclair Soccer player
Pascal Siakam Basketball player, member of the Toronto Raptors
Connor McDavid Hockey player, member of the Edmonton Oilers
The Atherton Family (Cirque du Soleil)
David Suzuki Environmentalist
Margaret Atwood Author
Robbie Robertson Musician, member of The Band
Rick Hansen Paralympian
George P. Allen
Margaret Rivers
Jemima Westcott
Burdett Sisler
Centenarians
Howie Mandel Comedian
Justin Bieber
Hailey Baldwin
Singer
Model
Buffy Sainte-Marie Singer
Abdulwahab Jalab Syrian entrepreneur, Food delivery volunteer
Andre de Grasse Sprinter
Georges St-Pierre Retired mixed martial artist
Morgan Rielly Hockey player, member of the Toronto Maple Leafs
Scott McGillivray Host of Income Property
Drew Scott and Linda Phan Co-host of the Property Brothers
Bubbles and Ricky (Trailer Park Boys) Fictional characters
Justin Trudeau Prime Minister of Canada
Drake Rapper

Impacts

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Justin Trudeau
@JustinTrudeau
Twitter logo, a stylized blue bird

Our front line workers are going above and beyond to keep us safe, our shelves stocked, and our country moving. And tonight's #StrongerTogether event is all about saluting them and supporting @FoodBanksCanada. Click here to get all the details: http://StrongerTogetherCanada.ca

April 26, 2020[6]

Stronger Together, Tous Ensemble drew in over 11,500,000 viewers and raised over CA$9,000,000 for Food Banks Canada.[7] The program became the most watched non-sporting event in Canadian television history.[8]

The special won the Canadian Screen Award for Best Entertainment News Program or Series at the 9th Canadian Screen Awards in 2021.[9]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b c d "STRONGER TOGETHER, TOUS ENSEMBLE Extends to 90 Minutes as New Broadcasters Join the Largest Single-Show Broadcast Event in Canadian History". CBC. April 21, 2020. Retrieved April 27, 2020.
  2. ^ Scott, Katie (April 23, 2020). "'Stronger Together, Tous Ensemble': Justin Bieber, Ryan Reynolds, Mike Myers, others added to roster". Global News. Retrieved April 27, 2020.
  3. ^ Samhan, Jamie (April 26, 2020). "Drake Closes Out 'Stronger Together, Tous Ensemble' With Important Message". ET Canada. Archived from the original on May 2, 2020. Retrieved April 27, 2020.
  4. ^ Wallis, Adam (April 27, 2020). "Canadian artists come together in 'Lean on Me' cover for coronavirus relief". Global News. Retrieved April 27, 2020.
  5. ^ Rossignol, Derrick (April 27, 2020). "Justin Bieber And Other Canadian Stars Cover Bill Withers For Charity". UPROXX. Retrieved April 27, 2020.
  6. ^ Justin Trudeau [@JustinTrudeau] (April 26, 2020). "Our front line workers are going above and beyond to keep us safe, our shelves stocked, and our country moving. And tonight's #StrongerTogether event is all about saluting them and supporting @FoodBanksCanada. Click here to get all the details: http://StrongerTogetherCanada.ca" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  7. ^ "STRONGER TOGETHER, TOUS ENSEMBLE Raises Over $6 Million So Far for Food Banks Canada as Historic Broadcast Reaches 11.5 Million Canadians". Bell Media. April 27, 2020. Retrieved April 27, 2020.
  8. ^ Debra Yeo, "‘Stronger Together’ COVID-19 special becomes most watched non-sports broadcast ever in Canada". Toronto Star, April 27, 2020.
  9. ^ Rachel West, "‘Canada’s Drag Race’, ‘Property Brothers’, Jann Arden Among Canadian Screen Awards Lifestyle And Reality Winners". ET Canada, May 17, 2021.