Maxime Landry was the 2009 winner of Star académie, (created by Julie Snyder), similar to American Idol (which surpassed a television viewer audience of 4 million per episode when it was on the air).

Even though Landry may not have found the same degree of success as Marie-Mai after her near-cleanup of American idol a few years earlier, he nonetheless is just as famous for his own genre of music.

Whereas Marie-Mai is pop-rock, Landry’s songs lean heavily on his skills as a guitarist… taking them into the country spectrum, or near-country realm of music (remember the post named “Country music = Québec”?).

A good number of the songs he sings are reinterpreted classics.  But regardless if these songs were folk or pop at their origin, he’s turned them into a pop-country genre, and given them a whole new public appeal.   Some songs were written for him by other high-profile artists (such as Linda Lemay).

He released albums in 2009 and 2011… but he just came out with a new country album, “3e Rue Sud”, featuring his hit Rendez-vous  (I just checked the countdown, and it is currently charting around #15 to #20 in Montréal, but higher in rural regions (#9 on 97.1FM Haute-Mauricie, for example)

I won’t be surprised if this new album will propel him to a new level (both with air-time and concert tours).

Maxime Landry’s official website is HERE.

His songs are available for sale through various platforms.  Please stick to official sites and do not pirate… our artists are part of our cultural fabric.