Jeanick Fournier’s audition tape on Canada’s Got Talent 2022 painted her as a sweet but slightly nutty single mother from Chicoutimi, Quebec. Her pre-audition interview with the judges softened and stole their hearts after she revealed she was a palliative care attendant. But when this singer’s moody backing track began and plunged the room into suspense, the judges couldn’t have believed the phenomenal vocal power this 49-year-old mum was hiding within her.
Jeanick’s song choice, Celine Dion’s “I Surrender,” could easily have been an instant fail. However, Jeanick’s first verse was flawless, controlled, and pitch-perfect, thickened with soulful tones and gritted passion like a rockstar singing Whitney Houston. But this verse was just the build-up to a chorus which would blow the entire auditorium away.
Judge Kardinal Offishall gazed spellbound and statue-like, frozen in time, hearing Jeanick’s powerhouse chorus. Her top notes bordered on shouting, masterfully bold yet breathtaking like a volcanic release from the innermost depths of her soul. Her vibrato hit like a stadium sell-out singer, her falsettos angelic, and her key changes left the audience wondering — what can this woman NOT do?!
This perfect performance earned a standing ovation from all four judges and stellar critiques across the board. Jeanick was instantly overwhelmed and shaking, verging on bawling her eyes out when Howie said, “You are an angel. There aren’t a lot of human beings like you. Then you open your mouth and you sing like an angel, and it came from another world.”
With Jeanick in tears, CGT host, Lindsay Ell, rushed on stage to hug the singer, before surprising the room by stepping down to the judges’ panel. She hit the Golden Buzzer, awarding Jeanick an instant place in the semi-finals, saying, “I think you made all of Canada smile tonight.”
Making Jeanick’s story even more compelling, she’s the adoptive mother of two Down Syndrome children, all while working as an end-of-life care assistant. Her goodwill and down-to-earth nature likely trace back to her Christian upbringing, revealed in her audition tape that she started singing at 7 years old with a nun in a church.
Jeanick went on to win the entire 2nd season of Canada’s Got Talent with a record-breaking number of votes, singing “Never Enough” by Loren Allred and “The Show Must Go On” by Queen. Her self-titled debut album dropped later that year, followed by the 2023 French-language album, “Vivante,” and two EPs in 2024: “Pour toi” and “Celle que j’étais.”