CanCon icon — and arguably the original lowercase girl — k.d. lang already has many accolades to her name, including the sheer magnitude of bringing a song like "Constant Craving" into existence. Now, the singer-songwriter and activist has been bestowed with Canada's highest honour in the arts: the Lifetime Artistic Achievement prize at the Governor General's Performing Arts Awards (GGPAA).
Governor General Mary Simon presented lang with the award at Ottawa's Rideau Hall on Friday (May 26). Alongside this year's other six laureates (playwright Michel Marc Bouchard, singer-songwriter Molly Johnson, choreographer James Kudelka, soprano Rosemarie Landry, conductor John Kim Bell and actor Paul Sun-Hyung Lee), the artist was also celebrated with a subsequent awards gala on Saturday (May 27).
Honorary co-chair of the 2023 GGPAA Gala National Committee, Ryan Reynolds, kicked off the event with a pre-recorded speech. Toward the end of the night, lang was given a musical tribute by Jann Arden, who performed the honouree's 1992 track "Miss Chatelaine" (which lang reimagined with Orville Peck as part of her 2021 dance remix album, makeover).
Governor General Mary Simon presented lang with the award at Ottawa's Rideau Hall on Friday (May 26). Alongside this year's other six laureates (playwright Michel Marc Bouchard, singer-songwriter Molly Johnson, choreographer James Kudelka, soprano Rosemarie Landry, conductor John Kim Bell and actor Paul Sun-Hyung Lee), the artist was also celebrated with a subsequent awards gala on Saturday (May 27).
Honorary co-chair of the 2023 GGPAA Gala National Committee, Ryan Reynolds, kicked off the event with a pre-recorded speech. Toward the end of the night, lang was given a musical tribute by Jann Arden, who performed the honouree's 1992 track "Miss Chatelaine" (which lang reimagined with Orville Peck as part of her 2021 dance remix album, makeover).
"Wherever these artists have taken us, we have followed, inspired by their passion for storytelling and by their commitment to the next generation of Canadian artists," Governor General Simon said of the laureates' achievements at the gala.
"I can't even actually fathom being placed in the same company as the people, the artists who have influenced me so tremendously," lang said upon the initial announcement of her recipiency earlier this year. "Canada has such an embarrassment of riches, so many tremendous artists, and to be bestowed with this honour is unthinkable really, because you just sort of go through your life with blinders on doing the work. ... So, thank you."