Yahoo Sports 
12 Toronto artists/bands the CFL should have picked over OneRepublic
Wednesday, September 21st
For the third year in a row, the CFL has elected to make the halftime act for the supremely-Canadian Grey Cup an American band. This time around, they've chosen Colorado-based pop-rock band OneRepublic, following on the heels of Fall Out Boy (Illinois) in 2015 and Imagine Dragons (Nevada) in 2014. What's particularly annoying about this choice is that the 2016 Grey Cup's in Toronto, which offers an incredibly high number of prominent local artists and bands to choose from. Granted, it's not always easy to line up whoever you want, but the CFL does have significant resources and the Grey Cup offers a massive audience, so it's an attractive gig for many. In honour of the CFL's 12 players per side, here are 12 artists or groups either from or based in Toronto that would have been a better choice, across a wide range of genres and styles. (For reference, any act that has previously played a Grey Cup halftime show is not considered; acts that have played other Grey Cup events, including pre-game, are.)
Honourable mentions: The Strumbellas, Die Mannequin, Sum 41, Great Lakes Swimmers, Austra
12: Sloan: They'd be way higher on this list if they were from Toronto instead of just based there, as Sloan's most associated with their hometown of Halifax, Nova Scotia. However, Sloan thoroughly deserves a Grey Cup halftime show, and until we get an Atlantic expansion team (which may never happen), a Toronto one would be the best fit for them. Sloan has been producing terrific rock/power pop albums for 25 years now, and they've earned 10 Juno nominations, winning once. They have countless short, well-known catchy songs that would be an excellent fit for a halftime show. Here's one:
11. The Trews: As with Sloan, these guys are another band from Nova Scotia now based in Toronto who thoroughly deserve a Grey Cup halftime show. They've consistently supported the Grey Cup with regular concerts during various Grey Cup festivals, but have never been given the big stage. They've earned five Juno nominations over a career that spans almost 15 years now. One of the hardest-rocking and most energetic bands out there, they'd be a perfect fit for a pump-up halftime show.
10. Down With Webster: While this band from Toronto's The Beaches neighbourhood has been around since they formed for an eighth-grade music class project in 1998, they've really broken out over the last few years, earning six Juno nominations since 2010 and drawing attention from everyone from Gene Simmons to Timbaland. Named after the old American TV show "Webster," their mix of pop, rock and rap is quite innovative and catchy. Check it out:
9. Kim Mitchell and/or Max Webster: Speaking of Websters, how about a band named "Max Webster" that had no one by that name? The band started in Sarnia in the 1960s, but formed as "Max Webster" in Toronto in 1973, and featured Canadian music legends like Kim Mitchell and Pye Dubois. This one would be a perfect appeal for the classic-rock crowd, as they could crank out hits like "Paradise Skies" and "A Million Vacations" and perhaps bring some special guests (mentioned below!) for "Battle Scar." Max Webster's been largely inactive for a while, but hey, a reunion show might be fun.
Alternatively, they could just get Mitchell, who reached even greater fame as a solo artist and has plenty of Toronto connections, including working as a drive-time host on classic-rock station Q107 from 2004 to 2015. Plus, "Go For Soda" will get stuck in everyone's head for the entire second half:
8. k-os: Long before Drake, k-os (real name: Kevin Brereton) was helping to put Canadian hip-hop on the map. His mix of rap, rock, funk and reggae has won him plenty of plaudits, and he's been a regular nominee and winner at the Junos. Brereton was born in Toronto, then moved to Trinidad at three before returning to the GTA at eight, and he's been one of the area's key musical figures since his first single "Musical Essence," released while he was still in school at Toronto's York University in 1993. That won him a MuchMusic Video Award and gained the attention of NBA player John Salley, who became his manager. His first full album, Exit, didn't come out until 2002, but it earned major plaudits, including Billboard describing it as "One of the finest hip-hop records Canada has ever produced." k-os has released six studio albums so far, including 2015's Can't Fly Without Gravity, and he's renowned for his energetic live performances, like this one on The Late Show With David Letterman in 2007:
7. The Weeknd: Since anonymously uploading songs to YouTube in 2010, Toronto native The Weeknd (real name: Abęl Makkonen Tesfaye) has enjoyed a meteoric rise with his alternative R&B music. His 2015 album Beauty Behind The Madness was particularly well-received, debuting atop the Billboard 200 and giving him his first U.S. #1 hit with "Can't Feel My Face." He won Artist of the Year, Songwriter of the Year, Album of the Year and Single of the Year at the 2016 Junos, and he's also won two Grammys. If looking for a popular and critically-acclaimed Toronto artist, he'd be a great fit:
6. Death From Above 1979: Toronto dance-punk duo Death From Above 1979 is also highly critically-acclaimed, claiming Rock Album of the Year at this year's Junos for The Physical World. It marks a great return for them, as the band (Jesse Keeler on bass, synths, and backing vocals, Sebastian Grainger on drums and vocals) started in 2001 but broke up in 2006 after releasing just one full-length album. Their 2011 reunion's brought them to even greater heights, though, with songs like "Trainwreck 1979" charting well in Canada and beyond:
Since their 1992 formation in Toronto, OLP has been one of the most prominent and recognizable Canadian rock bands out there. Their hard rock and grunge elements helped them get major play on radio in Canada and the U.S. in the late 1990s, and albums Clumsy and Happiness Is Not A Fish You Can Catch both hit #1 in Canada. While the 2000s saw lineup changes and a hiatus, their "recreation tour" showed they still have plenty of fans, as did their 2012 album Curve. OLP has won four Junos and a record ten MuchMusic Video Awards. Sadly, drummer and Canadian podcasting legend Jeremy Taggert left the band in 2014, but singer/guitarist Raine Maida, bassist Duncan Coutts and guitarist Steve Mazur are still touring and releasing new material.
Broken Social Scene might be one of the most unusual bands out there from a lineup perspective, as they've had anywhere from six to 19 members at times and have regularly changed their lineup. All their members have prominent solo projects or other bands, but they've managed to create some stunning stuff when they get together. You Forgot It In People and their self-titled album both won "Alternative Album of the Year" Junos, and they've received three other nominations. The band hasn't released an album since 2010, but has performed some shows since then, and given their importance to the Toronto music scene, they would be outstanding Grey Cup headliners.
: While it was technically Scarborough they formed in in 1988, that's been incorporated into the city of Toronto now, so Toronto can definitely claim them. This alternative rock band has had so much success over the years, including the first independent release to reach gold status in Canada (their "The Yellow Tape" album in 1991), two albums (Gordon and Maroon that topped the Canadian charts, and four (Stunt, Maroon, Everything To Everyone and Grinning Streak that hit top-10 on the U.S. charts. They've won seven Junos (out of 10 nominations) and two Billboard Music Awards, and have also been nominated for Grammy Awards and MTV Video Music Awards. Steven Page left the band in 2009, but the remaining group has continued to tour and record, and they found success with last year's Silverball. It would be awesome to see a fundamental band like BNL take the stage at the Grey Cup.
2. Rush
: Yes, this one would be hard to pull off, given that the band retired from touring earlier this year (thanks to drummer Neil Peart's health issues), that they've never been too eager to do things other than their own concerts, and that their long, prog-rock material would be tough to fit in a halftime show, but still. They've sold over 40 million albums worldwide, notched 24 gold, 14 platinum, and 3 multi-platinum albums (putting them behind only the Beatles and the Rolling Stones in terms of consecutive gold or platinum albums), been nominated for seven Grammys and have won several Junos, making them unquestionably one of the most successful groups ever from Toronto or from Canada as a whole. It wouldn't be easy to line them up, but man, if these guys wanted to play halftime, they could put on an incredible show.
1. Drake.
This is the most obvious choice of all, and one that would seemingly be such a perfect fit. Toronto connection? Check. Canadian rapper Drake (real name of Audrey Drake Graham) has talked more about the city than just about any other musician, even popularizing "the 6" as its nickname, and he's even organized a whole music festival there. Popularity? Check. Drake's first three albums went platinum, quadruple platinum and triple platinum respectively, and his latest album Views led the Billboard Hot 100 and the Billboard 200 simultaneously for a record eight weeks. Critically acclaimed? Check. Drake's won a Grammy, three Junos and six BET Awards. Sports connections? Check. Drake's done a ton with Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment (which shares two-thirds ownership with the Argonauts), including a post as the Toronto Raptors' "global ambassador." Drake has become so prominent and so identified with Toronto that he'd be such a perfect choice, so call him on his cell phone already, CFL.
