Corey Hart comes full circle with Hall of Fame induction at Juno Awards
Singer-songwriter also releasing new album, touring across Canada in May
Canadian rocker Corey Hart is having a big year.
The '80s heartthrob, who gave fans Sunglasses at Night and Never Surrender, will be inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame at the 48th annual Juno Awards on Sunday. Hart, who has sold over 16 million albums, is also releasing a new album and kicking off a Canadian tour in May — his first in over 20 years.
On Sunday, Hart will join other music legends, such as Leonard Cohen, Anne Murray and Neil Young, when he's inducted into the Hall of Fame at the Junos in London, Ont. The show will be broadcast live on CBC-TV, CBC Radio, CBC Gem and globally on cbc.ca/junos beginning at 8 p.m. ET.
"It's an incredible honour — one that I didn't anticipate or expect ever happening, " said Hart, who is a multi-Juno nominee and winner. "And to think that I'm going to be in that august company, it's so humbling.… It's just mind-blowing."
The Montreal-born Hart said that in 1998 he decided to step away from making music and touring to spend time with his young children and wife. He said it was a personal choice, "and it's something that I don't regret ever doing."
Watch Corey Hart discuss his Hall of Fame induction and his 20-year hiatus:
He explained that he didn't know his own father well, only seeing him once or twice a year after his parents split when he was a young boy.
"There was a pain that I carried with me of not having a relationship — not having memories with my father," the 56-year-old said. "And I did not want my kids to experience the same thing that I went through."
But now that his four children are older, Hart is back making new music and touring.
For those wondering what he's been up to, his new collection of songs in Dreaming Time Again are very autobiographical. The "mini" album contains five songs that were all written last year, he said. One of the tracks, Another December, is a song for his mother, who died in 2014.
"Christmastimes were particularly hard for me," said Hart, who was very close to his mother. "So that song is an uplifting message in the song wanting her to know that I'm OK and that, you know, the light that she instilled in me is still shining bright."
Other tracks on the album include a song for his eldest daughter and one for his wife, Julie. The couple met 25 years ago at a Junos show. He said he was supposed to give an award that he didn't want to present, so the show producers let him present an award to singer Julie Masse of Quebec instead.
"Had I accepted the first award that they'd given me, I never would've met her," Hart said.
Hart's family will all be at the Junos on Sunday to watch him receive the Hall of Fame honour and take to the stage.
Masse, 48, will also join him on stage when he closes out the Juno broadcast. Hart said he hasn't performed at the Junos since the mid-'80s, and he's "super excited."
Hart said he has "some surprises planned" for fans, but added he will sing songs he thinks they will want to hear.
With files from Tashauna Reid and The Canadian Press