Simu Liu, left, and Ryan Peake of Nickelback perform during the Juno Awards in Edmonton on Monday, March 13, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Timothy Matwey
EDMONTON – Actor Simu Liu has a song in his heart and a debut album on his mind.
After breaking into renditions of Avril Lavigne and Nickelback hits as host of the Juno Awards, the “Kim’s Convenience” star says he hopes to release some of his own tunes in the future.
Liu says he struck a deal with Los Angeles-based record label 88rising, which specializes in the careers of Asian American artists.
He explained on the Junos red carpet in Edmonton that it has led to “collaborating on some music we’re really excited to share.”
Liu, who grew up in Mississauga, Ont., says that could mean his own album “might happen sooner rather than later.”
The 33-year-old isn’t entirely new to working with 88Rising, as the label collaborated with him on the track “Hot Soup” for the 2021 soundtrack of “Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings.”
Before he was a professional actor, Liu flirted with boy-band stardom when he joined the short-lived high school group LX4.
At the Junos last year, Liu surprised viewers when he pulled out a guitar and serenaded the audience with a parody of Lavigne’s “Complicated,” sparking questions about whether he planned to sing more.
He did at the Junos on Monday, which led one reporter in the media room to ask Liu about what he would sing on a hypothetical album of covers. He chose John Legend’s ballad “All of Me,” the rousing “Go the Distance” from the soundtrack of Disney’s “Hercules” and “Lose Yourself” by rapper Eminem.
“This album (would) make no sense, but it (would) be amazing because I will have had a lot of fun doing it,” he joked.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 19, 2023.
