Social networks have ignited in the last two days after several Internet users denounced the absence of a tribute to Karim Ouellet during the Félix on Sunday. But ADISQ denies having forgotten the singer, found dead in tragic circumstances last January.
By email, ADISQ indicated that a short video In Memoriam was presented at the Gala de l’industrie last week to highlight the great missing of the past year. This segment mentioned not only Karim Ouellet, but also other big names in the industry who have passed away in recent months, such as Renée Martel, Paolo Noël or even the legendary press officer Francine Chaloult.
However, the Industry Gala is not broadcast on TV. There was no mention of Karim Ouellet, or any other great deceased, in the first ADISQ Gala, on Télé-Québec, and in the Sunday evening Radio-Canada ceremony.
It has been “several years” since the video In Memoriam is no longer broadcast during the main gala, explains the Quebec Association of the Record, Entertainment and Video Industry (ADISQ). The association recognizes, however, that there was talk of making an exception this year to commemorate the deaths of Karim Ouellet and Renée Martel during the gala hosted by Louis-José Houde.
“There was talk of broadcasting two 15-second capsules at the Sunday Gala in memory of Karim Ouellet and Renée Martel. By viewing these capsules, the artistic team judged that the time allocated and the rendering were not up to what these two artists would have deserved, ”we concluded, however.
The short black and white obituary segment presented during the Gala de l’industrie was nevertheless posted on Monday on the ADISQ YouTube account. A form of tribute deemed once again insufficient, according to many Internet users, in particular those who admired the work of Karim Ouellet.
The controversy continues
Singer-songwriter Klô Pelgag, who won the Félix for show of the year on Sunday, echoed the same on her Facebook page on Tuesday. The singer let it be known that a short impersonal montage of less than two minutes during the Gala de l’industrie was not up to the task of two artists as outstanding as Karim Ouellet and Renée Martel.
“This environment is capable of anything, uplifting and breaking people. And if I may say so, it is the artists who are the heart of all this. I think they deserve more than an off-air slideshow at a loud party at Club Soda. I would have liked to hear a song by Karim Ouellet, a song by Renée Martel, ”she wrote.
All this controversy overshadows a ceremony which has nevertheless been hailed by critics, a rare thing at a time when televised galas face an uncertain future in the face of constant public disinterest.
This is not the first time, however, that ADISQ has been criticized for not having highlighted the death of industry figures as it should. This was the case in 2016 for the late singers Bob Bissonnette, Pierre Lalonde and Lucille Dumont, who were also not entitled to a mention during the big ceremony on Sunday evening.
That said, tributes to Karim Ouellet have however multiplied in the last year. A show in his honor was even organized during the Francos last June.