He beat out Blue Rodeo, Billy Talent and Hedley. And even the Biebs.

Billboard's next issue will feature the artist who the trade-mag reports outdid all the other Canadian musicians and comedians on the domestic touring front from April 2013 to April 2014. That top-touring artist would be Sugar Sammy.

Sugar Sammy performed 84 live shows in that period: his groundbreaking, bilingue spectacle You're Gonna Rire as well as his solo franco standup show En Français SVP.

In the last two years, Sugar Sammy has sold more than 235,000 tickets to his shows in Canada and India, including 86,000 for You're Gonna Rire.

He's not finished yet. On Saturday, 25,000 more tickets go on sale for both the bilingual and franco shows. And on June 14, Sugar Sammy will perform his 100th sold-out show at the city's Olympia Theatre. To put these numbers in perspective, it is the equivalent to 15 shows in the Bell Centre Amphitheatre or 43 at Salle Wilfrid Pelletier.

And it's not only on the theatre front that Sugar Sammy has been making his mark. It was just announced that the franco TV series, Ces gars-là, a buddy comedy featuring Sugar Sammy in his lead-acting debut, has been given the green light for a second season.

The first 10-show season just wrapped on V this past week. The shows are penned by Sugar Sammy and his co-star, his real-life best buddy, comic/actor/director Simon Olivier Fecteau, along with India Desjardins. Fecteau also serves as director of the series.

The series cleverly and satirically plays off the cultural identities of its two principals, Sugar Sammy and Fecteau.

It is a reality show with elements of Seinfeld/Curb Your Enthusiasm, and it has clearly caught on with viewers on the tube and the web, averaging more than 680,000 per episode.

And, oh yeah, Sugar Sammy has been nominated again for the Olivier de l'année award — which is voted on by the public — at the Le Gala Les Olivier on May 11. He won the award last year — the first non-francophone to take what is essentially the most popular comic in Quebec honours.

So, it is safe to say that an anglo/allo comedian can flourish in Quebec, all the while taking potshots at the majority culture. Who would have ever thunk it — particularly after this last divisive provincial political campaign?

But hats off to Sugar Sammy. He has gone where few would have ever dared to tread. He also speaks to the multicultural diversity of a city that some refuse to accept.

The reality is, however, that Sugar Sammy is, on some level, a poster boy for Bill 101. A child of immigrants, he attended French primary and secondary school. He is equally comfortable performing in French as in English, not to mention in Hindi and Punjabi as well.

It is, in fact, his outspoken views on the city's multicultural nature, as espoused in his stage and TV shows, that have catapulted him in becoming one of the province's biggest vedettes.

He takes particular pride in the fact that Ces gars-là has been drawing a steady following among anglo viewers. It has been suggested by pundits that Sugar Sammy is responsible for the series having one of the largest anglo fan bases of any French-language show on the tube. Almost up there with the number of anglos — dismayed by Toronto-centric CBC coverage — tuning into RDS for Habs hockey games.

“It's been unbelievable — just walking down the street, on my Twitter feed and in the mail — the number of anglos and ethnics who have told me, apart from RDS hockey coverage, that this is the first time they've watched French TV,” Sugar Sammy says.

“I never thought I would be at the forefront of bilingualizing and biculturalizing people. And I don't think many others thought that would be my mission, either. But the point is the content of the show speaks to all — anglos, allos and francos looking for some laughs. And I don't have to pander, which is the best part of it all. I stay myself throughout.”

Shooting on the second season starts in July. It will air in early 2015 on V.

As for his standup shows in English and French, about 30 per cent of the content has changed since they were launched two years ago. That's because the shows reflect the political and cultural realities of a province where nary a day goes by without some sort of development.

“I've had to update the material almost weekly,” he says. “When the shows first started, there was no chatter about the charter of values. Since then, we've had the return of the red squares and a provincial election and PKP and political changes at city hall in Montreal. And the city's roads continue to fall apart. This is all rich stuff, which has crept into the shows.”

The charter may be no longer an issue, but Sugar Sammy still stands by this declaration in his performances: “No kippas, no turbans, no hijabs — but the mullet is still legal in Quebec.”

Nor can he resist taking shots at Quebec City. “They love themselves so much there. And I keep telling them Quebec City is my favourite village in the whole province and that I would move there for sure — if I didn't have any ambition, either.”

But he does note that since the election, there has been a palpable change in attitude in the province. Certainly toward him.

“My hate mail has dropped considerably. Though I've had overwhelming support from most, there were some out there sending me hate mail for being myself — for representing someone who talks about embracing diversity and multilingualism. But I've really noticed a calmness that has come over people of late.”

Wait a sec: could tranquil political climes hurt his career?

“I don't think so. Hopefully, it will have people thinking: let's get behind the guy who had the balls to point out the dangers of divisiveness here.

“If that doesn't happen, I'll have to move to Alberta,” he cracks. “Still, I have plenty of faith in this province. I'm sure we'll have more contentious issues coming up real soon.”

Plus ça change …

 

Additional performances of You're Gonna Rire at the Olympia Theatre take place June 20 and 21, Oct. 3 and 4, and Dec. 17, 18 and 19. Tickets start at $34.65 and go on sale Saturday, May 3 at 9 a.m. at Admission outlets. For more details, as well as information about Sugar Sammy's new En Français SVP shows, call 514-790-1245 or go to evenko.ca or admission.com.

 

Photograph by: John Kenney , The Gazette