IMA

A promising debut

Born in Ville LaSalle in 1978, IMA spends her childhood near Montreal (Châteauguay) and her summers in New Brunswick. As curious as passionate, she takes singing, theatre, and dance classes during her adolescent years, and soon afterwards collects her first awards (the first place for Prix d’interprétation and Mention du public in the 2001 competition “Ma première Place des Arts”).

“When you listen to her, you’ll feel like you’re being soothed, transported… even moved into a better place,” Marie Claude Lavallée says.

A committed artist

In September 2002, IMA launched her first eponymous album, which resulted the following year in a success single Baila composed by Zucchero. Close to fifty concerts succeeded in 2003, and one concert was in front of more than 200 000 people for Quebec’s national holiday. Another ten concerts followed when Sylvain Cossette invited IMA to join him on tour.

It is with Pardonne-moi si je t’aime in 2005, that IMA revealed all the facets of her thriving and often surprising artistic qualities. She brought us a unique sound, inspired as much by pop as rock and folk, all the while never failing to create that relaxed atmosphere. As an ambassador of Amnesty International since many years, it is evident that some of her songs hint at her involvement. Songs like “Tu n’es pas seule”, written after an overwhelming trip to Kabul to support Afghan women, are proof of this. IMA is a convinced humanitarian who takes everything concerning social justice at heart. She is a member of several organizations and is currently an ambassador for Recours des sans-abri (www.leger.org).

From the stage to the small screen

In 2006, IMA does her debut on the small screen with a lead in the series called, Casino, produced by Réjean Tremblay and broadcast on Radio Canada. Her character, Sandra Johnson, jazz singer was also featured in the second season and was an excellent vehicle for showcasing IMA’s acting talent.

From one success to another

Inspired by the joy felt when singing the classics as her character Sandra, IMA launches Smile in March 2007. The album was conceived together with her friend and producer Guy St-Onge, and is a collection of some of the young artist’s favourite songs, sung in her own way, with a mature, spellbinding, and sun filled voice. Creating Smile was a dream the artist had been cherishing, and it had been a while she wanted to sing these songs that had always been a part of her life.

With Smile, IMA enjoys a tremendous success and is awarded a gold record in December of the same year. It is in March 2008 that IMA took to the stage of Montreal’s Théâtre St-Denis and seduced as much the audience as the critics. Invigorated by this success, IMA returned and added two more shows in April. In the summer of 2008, IMA not only participated at the opening of the Francofolies de Montréal, but also received the honour to be invited to do her concert at the TNM within the framework of Montreal’s International Jazz Fest.

a la vida !

Towards the end of 2008, the preparation for a new album scheduled to be released in March 2009 begun, and the series of more than fifty concerts in Quebec continued until April.

These last couple of months have been of tremendous importance for the captivating artist’s career: IMA is now not only known by everyone, but also received with a warm and joyous welcome wherever she goes. Her spontaneous and natural personality, in addition to her love for life and people, make her one of the most appreciated artists of the artistic community and audiences.

Besides her passion for yoga, IMA is also a seasoned traveller. This is confirmed on Smile, where her fascination with different cultures comes through in songs in French, English, Italian, and Spanish. She is also known for her beautiful videos that are shot in the most magnificent surroundings, whether in Quebec or elsewhere.

Her love of world music really became clear with the release of a la vida ! The album she concocted with Guy St-Onge brought them joy and happiness and was released on March 16, 2009. At the launch of a la vida !, IMA was surrounded by 15 musicians to express the album’s celebration of life, love, and infinite surprises. The album’s thirteen songs, mostly in French though two are original, are sometimes festive, often tender, or melancholic. a la vida ! brings us to this different realm, where it is always warm, and a balmy breeze caresses the sea, and where la dolce vita rules life.

Christmas

Being the prolific and accomplished artist that she is, IMA also launched a Christmas album in November 2009. The album called Christmas, was the perfect occasion for IMA to sing the most famous carols of the last century, including Happy Xmas (war is over) by John Lennon, Marie-Noël by Robert Charlebois. Although most of the songs are in English, some are in French.

a la vida ! on tour

Four songs made it onto the screen as a direct result of the album’s success. Drôle de vie and Valparaiso illustrate very well the warmth and joy felt when hearing IMA sing. Whereas Mourir dans tes bras adopts the darker tone the song needs, Le temps des fleurs, is a perfect in between with that subtle blend of light, dark, warm, and cold.

The a la vida ! concert was also on tour in the province with a series of concerts that kicked off in Montreal (l’Astral) in March 2010. IMA insisted on having it rather be just a concert, to have it more as a celebration of life and all that it offers.

Awards

With over 250 000 albums sold, IMA has become a staple in the industry. After Smile made it to gold in 2007, it reached platinum in 2008 with over 100 000 albums sold and a TOP 10 stay in the charts for over sixty weeks.
Two more of her albums became gold records in 2009: a la vida ! and Christmas. Of this last album, more than 40 000 copies were sold even before December 25.

Precious

In Spring 2011, it is with great pleasure that IMA presents her sixth album, entitled Precious. And it is for the singer the first completely sung in English album. With Precious, IMA suggests a new sound, a new colour that reveals a previously unknown characteristic, which fits her like a glove. With this new album, IMA wanted not only to head in a different direction, but also to achieve a clear objective: put a smile on the lips of the listeners and bring joy into their lives.

With the collaboration of her long time partners Tino Izzo and Guy St-Onge, she covers thirteen songs (all popularized by men!) that have always inspired and moved her. All songs have love as a recurring theme.

Its launch on March 30 at Club Soda was a huge success, and the singer blessed with contagious happiness effortlessly charmed the crowd. The new concerts will start in mid- September, but to catch Precious in Montreal, head to L’étoile DIX30 on Tuesday, October 4.

IMA has a surprise in store for us this Fall: the video of Stuck in the middle with you has been completely filmed in 3D. In the mean time, the video of the already well-known Da Ya think I’m sexy will be out soon.