Becky Han

Last updated

Becky Han
Origin Arctic Bay, Nunavut
GenresAcoustic Inuktitut music
Occupation(s)Singer, songwriter
Years active2006-present [1]

Becky Han is an Inuk Canadian singer and songwriter, noted for composing original acoustic music in Inuktitut.

Contents

Life and career

Han is originally from Arctic Bay, Nunavut. [1] She first posted videos online as a way to continue sharing her music with her parents after she moved from Nunavut to Brandon, Manitoba, which led to a substantial online following. [1] Han has discussed two motivations for writing and sharing original music in her native language of Inuktitut: to help keep the language alive, and to feel closer to the community she grew up in. [1] Han has built her music career while also working as a stay-at-home mother. [2]

Han won both first and second place in the Nunavut Department of Culture and Heritage's 2016 Qilaut Inuktut children's songwriting contest. [1] One of her songs, "786", won first place, and another of her songs, "Qaariaq", won second place; both songs were co-written with her sister, Tracy May. [3] Han and May's song "6-muaqpat" won second place in the 2019 Qilaut contest, and their song "Piqannarijaq" won fifth place that year. [4] Han had previously placed eighth in the 2015 contest with a song that she co-wrote with Melissa Reid. [5]

In March 2017, Han opened for Tanya Tagaq in Winnipeg during Tagaq's tour. [1] [6] [7] [8] In a 2017 BBC broadcast in which Tagaq played an hour of her favourite music, she included Han's single "Guutiga" among the 15 tracks she selected. [9]

Also in 2017, Han's single "786" was featured by Up Here Magazine in a Nunavut Music Week list of Inuktitut music. [10]

In 2018, Han won first place in the Qikiqtani Inuit Association's contest for the best original song or poem in Inuktitut. [8] The title of Han's winning entry was "Nagligigakkit" (which translates to "because I love you"). [7] She placed third in the 2019 QIA contest. [11]

In 2021, Han published The Bee, a picture book based on her award-winning song "Qaariaq". [12]

Selected awards

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Hill, Angela (December 1, 2016). "Becky Han wins Qilaut songwriting contest". CBC.
  2. ↑ Rohner, Thomas (December 6, 2016). "For Becky Han, children's songs just have to be funny". Nunatsiaq News.
  3. ↑ Government of Nunavut (December 5, 2016). "2016 Qilaut Inuktut children's songwriting winners" (PDF).
  4. ↑ Government of Nunavut (2019). "2019 Qilaut winning songs".
  5. ↑ Government of Nunavut (2015). "2015 Qilaut winning songs".
  6. ↑ Kostesky, Jenn (March 24, 2017). "Live Music: Tanya Tagaq and Becky Han in Winnipeg". FEISTY Magazine.
  7. 1 2 "QIA recognizes young Inuit singers and poets: Becky Han's "Nagligigakkit" wins first honours". Nunatsiaq News. March 8, 2018.
  8. 1 2 Zerehi, Sima Sahar (March 1, 2018). "QIA announces winners of song/poem contest". Qikiqtani Inuit Association.
  9. ↑ "Tanya Tagaq's Playlist". February 5, 2017.
  10. ↑ Mathisen, Herb (December 1, 2017). "Iqaluit Rock City: A soundtrack to Nunavut Music Week". Up Here Magazine.
  11. ↑ Zerehi, Sima Sahar (February 28, 2019). "QIA announces winners of song/poem contest". Nation Talk.
  12. ↑ "The Bee". Inhabit Media. Retrieved June 3, 2022.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.