2008: Jully Black 'Until I Stay'

In 2008, Jully Black was a correspondent and mentor on Canadian Idol, but no one who ever came out of that show has the power, talent, presence and voice that this woman does. You can’t teach brilliance, and that was what Jully brought to the show at the Radio Awards Canadian Music Week 2008. As the sinewy, snaking horn charts started the song “Until I Stay” from 2006’s Revival, Jully’s crack band showed just how to do soul ‘live’ in the 21st century. It doesn’t need to be ultra-produced, with 20 people on stage, it needs immediacy and grit, as Jully wailed, cajoled, howled and controlled the whole show. She’s the boss, and the awed crowd knew it. On the performance’s camera tapes appended for this current multi-cam edit she was mostly mostly viewed in center close-ups, images eerily reminiscent of the shots of Big Brother from the British film version of George Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty Four. Big Sister? Her piercing eyes, strong face and commanding beauty transcend all: the woman could give lessons in Fierce to Beyonce. Jully Black, born in Toronto to Jamaican immigrant parents, has been a recording artist since she was 21. She has released 4 albums and 6 charting singles in Canada, received 10 certified Gold and Platinum records, and been nominated for 10 JUNO Awards, winning two; Jully was chosen by CBC Music as one of "The 25 Greatest Canadian Singers Ever." 2014 HD multi-camera edit, assembled from 2008 tracks and SD clips.