An Algonquin grad musical duo finds itself on the tour of a lifetime after they were chosen by a panel of high-profile mentors to record a new original single after appearing on CTV’s The Launch.
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It was on the show’s second episode where alumni Elijah Woods and Jamie Fine were given the opportunity to work with music industry mogul Scott Borchetta, Surgarland front woman Jennifer Nettles and OneRepublic front man Ryan Tedder.
The duo worked with the experienced artists to come up with an original version of Tedder’s newly written song, Ain’t Easy, to compete on the show for a chance to launch their music career to the next level.
Woods and Fine were successful in proving themselves to be more than ready to further establish themselves in the industry and were ultimately chosen as the winners.
While the duo are no strangers to music, the TV show was able to shoot them into the spotlight overnight.
Colin Mills, program coordinator of music industry arts at Algonquin, taught Woods before he graduated in 2014 and has gotten to know Fine through mutual friends. According to him, the pair has had an undeniable chemistry right from the beginning.
“Elijah has an incredible ear for the production side of things, has been creating catchy music for years and has spent a lot of time honing his craft,” he said. “When you pair his producing skills with Jamie’s unique voice, you get a sound that’s unlike anything else out there right now.”
Woods was working towards his diploma in music industry arts when he met Fine for the first time. She is a graduate of Algonquin’s culinary arts program and was working at the Woodroffe campus when Woods heard her voice on one of his classmate’s recordings.
He was determined to meet the woman behind the sound and they have been writing and making music together ever since.
Woods had a strong background in electronic music and was writing his own material before he enrolled at Algonquin. According to Mills, it became apparent to him and the other professors early on that he was a student with incredible talent and potential.
“You could tell that he wanted to pursue something in the industry when he started here, and he really absorbed as much as he could in his classes,” he said. “When he met Jamie, it was almost as if the path just laid itself out.”
Before The Launch, the duo was able to successfully rack up over a million streams on their Spotify channel, making it obvious that together, they are a force to be reckoned with.
While it’s clear that they were achieving success on their own, Mills believes the TV show was an opportunity that they couldn’t pass up.
“You can’t ignore the people involved with the show and their status in the music industry,” he said. “If you have the chance to meet with and perform in front of those people, it’s something that you really have to jump on.”
Their years of experience making music together certainly could have played a part in their victory. They were already creating something beautiful on their own before the show and this experience simply gave them the opportunity to take it that much further.
They are garnering a lot of media attention and their song is now dominating the radio and bringing some well-deserved attention to their incredible gift.
While it might seem like achieving a win like this was effortless for the skilled pair, Mills says that isn’t necessarily the case.
“They have worked very hard to get to where they are right now,” he said. “They are dealing with a really small industry where most people either fail or struggle to make it for a really long time, so for them to get to where they are now is truly amazing.”
An achievement like this is very exciting for the college and brings a sense of pride to the music industry arts program. Mills admits that while they can’t take credit for the success of their students, he hopes that they take the skills that they learned and apply them in their careers.
As for Elijah Woods xJamie Fine, Mills can’t wait to see where the duo takes their music next.
“They are young, dedicated, hard-working, talented artists and I think that if they want to make more happen from this they could,” he said. “I’m really excited to see where they go and I hope they continue on this upward path.”