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CBC Music's Searchlight 2023: the Top 100 artists

These are the artists from across Canada who made the list, as chosen by our industry experts.

These are the artists from across Canada who made the list, as chosen by our industry experts

CBC Music ·
A microphone on a stand in front of a crowd of people outside in front of a stage.
The Top 100 artists in CBC Music's Searchlight 2023 have been announced. (CBC)

The first milestone of this year's Searchlight contest is finally here, as we reveal the artists who have made the Top 100.

Here's how the national Top 100 was decided. Each artist was judged on the following:

  • Potential for success in the Canadian music industry.
  • Vocal performance, quality of music and lyric composition.
  • Our judges' impression of your song and your career to date.
  • Social media engagement and streaming numbers.

Please also note that the quality of each song was judged on audio, not video. 

See the musicians who made the Top 100 below.

CBC Music's Searchlight 2023 Top 100  

  1. Ajay Friese, "Fifty" (Victoria) 
  2. Amanda Jordan, "Somebody's Maybe" (Smiths Falls, Ont.)
  3. Amber Walls, "Should Have Listened to Mama" (Blackville, N.B.)
  4. Andrew Dupuis, "Wake Up" (Duhamel, Que.)
  5. Aphrose, "Good Love" (Toronto)
  6. Avery Raquel, "Deep in My Mind" (Brantford, Ont.)
  7. Aviv, "Jimmy's House" (Toronto) 
  8. Avry, "Pillows" (Toronto)
  9. Beau Nectar, "Buds" (Moose Jaw, Sask.)
  10. Blue Ridge Band, "Chasing Sunsets" (Lévis, Que.) 
  11. B00sted, "She Wanna" (Vancouver)
  12. Braden Lam, "Second Wind" (Halifax)
  13. Cam Kahin, "Try Again" (Dunnsville, Ont.)
  14. Charles the Emperor, "Dust" (Montreal)
  15. Chloé Caroline, "Twin Flames" (Kingston, Ont.)
  16. Cinzia and the Eclipse, "Runaway" (Toronto)
  17. Close Kicks, "Never Gonna Give This Up" (Lindsay, Ont.)
  18. Cross Parallel, "We Can't Lose" (Nanaimo, B.C.)
  19. Darcy Scott, "Wasted Spaces" (St. John's)
  20. Darrian Gerard, "Explosion" (Duncan, B.C.)
  21. Daussen, "Don't Feel the Same" (Regina, Sask.)
  22. Dawson Gamble, "Dance With Me Darlin'" (Toronto)
  23. Delon Om, "Peace and Love" (Toronto)
  24. Derina Harvey Band, "Waves of Home" (Edmonton)
  25. Donny Lee, "Got Me This Far" (Edmonton)
  26. Eleanor, "Make Sense" (London, Ont.) 
  27. Elenee, "Consistently" (Lloydminster, Sask.)
  28. Elissa Mielke, "Paper Moth Flame" (Toronto)
  29. Encore, "Done" (Winnipeg)
  30. Eric Punzo, "Broken Halo" (Toronto)
  31. Excuse Me., "Heavyweight" (Guelph, Ont.)
  32. Exmiranda, "Fresh Fro" (Toronto)
  33. FKA Rayne, "Side Effect" (Vancouver)
  34. Ghostown, "Ghost of Saturday Night" (Summerside, P.E.I.)
  35. Group Project, "Alma Mater" (Montreal)
  36. Hayley Wallis, "Halulu" (Vancouver)
  37. Ivytide, "Flood Lines" (Montreal)
  38. J3M, "Space and Time" (Toronto)
  39. Jace Carrillo, "Equinox" (Montreal)
  40. Jane Wood, "Bitemark" (Toronto)
  41. Jeremy Voltz, "Baby This Is Worth It" (Toronto)
  42. Jess and Tay, "Boy Problems" (Kingston, Ont.)
  43. Jessa Sky, "Surrender" (Edmonton)
  44. Jessica Sevier, "Legends of the Summer" (Toronto)
  45. Johnny Hollow, "The Wild Hunt" (Kitchener, Ont.)
  46. Jordan Astra, "Starting From Scratch" (Toronto)
  47. Josh Alexander, "Hurricane" (Montreal)
  48. Josh Sahunta, "Broken" (Edmonton)
  49. June6xteen, "Polaroid" (Montreal)
  50. Justin Fancy, "Lie" (Conception Bay South, N.L.)
  51. Kaiya Gamble, "Polaroids" (Calgary)
  52. Kasablanca, "Dream About You" (Toronto)
  53. Kasey Nugent, "Spin the Bottle" (Toronto)
  54. Kresnt, "Uptown" (Vancouver)
  55. Kyra Daniel, "Words Mean Something" (Kingston, Ont.)
  56. Laura Cavacece, "Leaving" (Toronto)
  57. Laura Roy, "Odyssey" (Canning, N.S.)
  58. LeFloranco, "Danser avec toi" (Ottawa)
  59. Liyah Katana, "Toxic" (Toronto)
  60. Luna Elle, "Tempo" (Toronto)
  61. Lyle Kam, "June" (Toronto)
  62. Madisyn Gifford, "21" (White Rock, B.C.)
  63. Maeesha b, "Don't HMU" (Ottawa)
  64. Maggie Andrew, "Better Than You" (Halifax)
  65. Mannie, "Trip" (Toronto)
  66. Mattmac, "Rez (Remix)" (Winnipeg)
  67. Maya Killtron, "Out of My Life" (Toronto)
  68. Miesha and the Spanks, "Dig Me Out" (Calgary)
  69. Mikey Jose, "Quarterlife" (Vancouver)
  70. Milan André Boronell, "Aurora" (Montreal)
  71. Minoe, "Cherry" (Montreal)
  72. Munya Mataruse, "Maramba Doro" (Yellowknife)
  73. Myazwe, "The Plot" (Winnipeg)
  74. Myles Castello, "Relevant" (Toronto)
  75. Nicole Ariana, "Master of Denial" (Halifax)
  76. Oleyada, "U and Me" (Mississauga, Ont.)
  77. Oliver Michael, "Running in the Dark" (Rossland, B.C.)
  78. Pillow Fite, "Spilt Milk" (Halifax)
  79. Pisceze, "Dodging Bullets" (Toronto)
  80. Poolblood, "Twinkie" (Poolblood)
  81. Rachel Cousins, "Hell and High Water" (Portugal Cove-St.Philips, N.L.)
  82. Richard Tichelman, "Missing You" (Surrey, B.C.)
  83. Robin Cisek, "Hey Disaster" (Edmonton)
  84. Rosewood Ave, "Good Ole Days" (Matheson, Ont.)
  85. Sarina Haggarty, "Waste of Time" (London, Ont.)
  86. Shubz, "Don't Let Me Go" (Ottawa)
  87. Sleep/less, "Surrender" (Winnipeg)
  88. Slightest Clue, "Just Fine" (Vancouver)
  89. The New Hires, "Get Out" (Ottawa)
  90. The Wilderness, "Christina" (Kingston, Ont.)
  91. The Honest Guy, "Lost to the Summer" (Toronto)
  92. Tiz McNamara, "April Fool" (Toronto)
  93. Tyler Del Pino, "Patchwork" (Winnipeg)
  94. Tyler Lorette, "Shattered" (Courtice, Ont.)
  95. Vandelux, "All I've Ever Known" (Vancouver)
  96. Victoria Anthony, "New Disaster" (Vancouver)
  97. Waahli, "Te Revoir" (Montreal)
  98. Wayfie, "Call You Mine" (Vancouver)
  99. Wissem, "Maracas" (Montreal)
  100. Yellowsky, "Redemption Point" (Saskatoon)

Congratulations once again to our Top 100. Please check back in on Tuesday, Aug.15, 2023, at 8 a.m. ET when our top 10 finalists will be revealed. All 10 artists will be chosen by our judges.

Our grand prize winner and the four secondary winners of CBC Music's Searchlight 2023 competition will be announced on Tuesday, Aug. 22, 2023, at 8 a.m. ET.

Each of the artists in the Top 100 will be featured on our new Searchlight Standout stream, and you can listen to the playlist via CBC Listen or using the CBC Listen app.

Good luck and congratulations to all Searchlight 2023 Top 100 national contenders, and thank you to every artist who has participated this year!

Questions? Email searchlight@cbc.ca.

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