45th ADISQ gala | Louis-José Houde, on a melancholy note

Was it emotion? At 18^e and final entertainment of the ADISQ gala, according to his own words, Louis-José Houde abandoned himself less than usual to his false dandy delusions, Sunday evening at the Salle Wilfrid-Pelletier at Place des Arts . We were treated to a more solemn LJH, like his elegant double-breasted jacket.

More introspection, restraint and confidence, he made people laugh as much as they think. Notably at the conclusion of the gala, while on a melancholic note, he quoted Jim Corcoran (“A language that is sung is a living language”) in order to warn against the threat of the Anglo-Saxon steamroller on Franco-Saxon culture. Quebecois. “A language can die,” he recalled in the tone, not at all cheerful, of the indictment.

During his highly anticipated opening monologue, he also paid emotional tribute to Karl Tremblay, of the Cowboys Fringants, who was suffering from cancer, and to the late Guy Latraverse. “The father of showbiz champagne is no more, but the party continues,” said the host, recalling his now famous formula as well as parts of the history of the ADISQ gala and Latraverse’s career.

He sure had some jokes up his sleeve. He gently mocked the growing number of artists in the music industry. “There are too many discoveries, not enough retirements,” he claimed, proposing to eliminate ten artists per year, depending on relevance. “Who don’t we need?” For example…” He obviously didn’t name any names, his gender not being that of Ricky Gervais. “There is no shortage of labor in music,” he added later in the evening, at the piano bar, recalling some anecdotes from his 18 years in entertainment.

“One last gala? For what ? Because I have exhausted the pool of jokes on FouKi. I leave that to Ginette,” Louis-José offered for any explanation of his departure, after the astonishing opening number of this 45^e ADISQ gala. Ginette Reno, in voice, accompanying FouKi (which she renamed Funky last year) and her dancers in silver lamé at the end of the choreography of 80’sa song in Franglais which undoubtedly made some sensitive ears curl.

Louis-José Houde loves music. He knows music. His melomania has been evident since his debut at the helm of the ADISQ gala, even if he admitted on Sunday that it was not his love of music, but his love of the French language that had prompted him to accept to succeed Guy A. Lepage in 2006.

We have seen, in other awards ceremonies, hosts who seemed to have been parachuted there. Because they have humor, retort, response. Louis-José has all that, of course. He spontaneously pointed out, after Ginette Reno declared having “found a friend” at Jean Coutu (where her album and biography are sold exclusively), that she had once again provoked, for the second year in a row, a bigger laugh in the room as him.

For my part, I burst out laughing when this father of a 10-month-old baby claimed that he would host the cinema gala “just to have another evening of adults”. It’s funny because it’s not true…

Louis-José Houde has been able to find, for 18 years, the perfect balance between homage, teasing and well-cooked artists. It has been said again and again: he took his hosting of the ADISQ gala very seriously and devoted a lot of effort to it. He gave it all the importance that his professionalism and his privilege of being a phenomenally successful artist granted him.

He practiced his numbers in public for weeks beforehand, precisely because they were intended for the public, and not just for artists or the industry. He was not hosting a professional meeting between insiders, but a televised gala intended for all Quebecers. His intentions have always been clear.

Louis-José Houde arrived at the ADISQ gala as a luxury replacement, Véronique Cloutier having slammed the door a few weeks before the event, due to an artistic dispute. It was not a long, quiet river. At the height of COVID, ratings plummeted. But never, in memory, has the host suffered bad criticism. Last year, he took on the challenge despite a herniated disc, a cocktail of painkillers and the script-editing of François Avard.

As he told my colleague Dominic Tardif this weekend, the pressure to go flawless was becoming greater and greater. Is it this slight hesitation that I noticed in his otherwise impeccable animation on Sunday evening? Imagine the pressure of whoever takes over? We wouldn’t like to be in his shoes… “I don’t see anyone other than Dominique Michel,” joked Robert Charlebois at the start of the gala.

A year ago, when Radio-Canada – particularly focused on self-promotion on Sunday – announced that the public broadcaster was severing its ties with the Gala Québec Cinéma, the general director of television, Dany Meloul, declared in an interview: “ Across the world, galas are less popular with the public. The notion of watching an awards show on television no longer works. »

Inevitably, with the departure of Louis-José Houde, the question of the future of television galas arises even more acutely. They are, again and always in my opinion, essential showcases of our national culture. Thanks to the musical numbers at the ADISQ gala, I am convinced that many discovered on Sunday the finalists in the “Revelation of the Year” category (Bibi Club, Calamine, Francis Degrandpré, Kanen and Jeanick Fournier), even the classic of classics of Quebec hip-hop, La Vi Ti Neg by Muzion, delivered irresistibly on the stage of the Salle Wilfrid-Pelletier.

All the performances were good, from the duo of Alexandra Stréliski and Daniel Bélanger to that of Patrick Norman and Martine St-Clair, including Clay and Friends and Pierre Kwenders, Maten with Black Bear, Loud and Raccoon and even Dirtybeards.

A good part of the success of the ADISQ gala can be explained by its musical numbers. There is also the fact of limiting the number of prizes awarded to only ten, in cutting-edge categories likely to interest the general public, not just the industry or those who follow Quebec music news very closely.

The fact remains that a large part of the success of the gala has, for 18 years, been due to Louis-José Houde himself. We always looked forward to his opening monologue. It set the tone for the rest of the evening. We will now have to do without it.

“I’m afraid of the next gala without Louis-José,” summarized for all of us Marie-Annick Lépine, of Cowboys Fringants, who celebrated her 45th birthday on Sunday, just like the ADISQ gala. She greeted her lover Karl and their two daughters, who remained at home. It was the emotional moment of this gala, which was conducted smoothly, without any major outpourings.

I too am afraid of the next gala without Louis-José. Hoping that for a long time to come, as Guy Latraverse would have liked, we can celebrate our showbiz. With or without champagne.