Young singer's star on the rise

Langley’s Cole Armour has put together an impressive resumé in his four years of singing, appearing at everything from the B.C. Country Music Awards to the Prêt-A-Pour High Tea and winning this year’s Red Robinson Showdown talent competition at the PNE.

That’s a pretty good start for any musician, never mind one who’s only 10, but Armour takes it all in stride.

“I just really liked to be able to go up on stage and show my talent,” he said.

He hasn’t been afraid to jump in at the deep end, either. His initial performance was in a church at the Walnut Grove School of Music and Dance’s talent showcase, and he took it to another level for his next show.

“The second time I performed was at the Merritt Mountain Music Festival,” he said.

“I opened for Sarah Evans on the main stage.”

Many novice singers might be intimidated by that kind of show, but Armour said he loved the experience.

“It was a really good feeling,” he said. “That was the first time I really felt like a star.”

Armour has performed music from a variety of genres, and cites such diverse influences as Carrie Underwood, Céline Dion and Michael Jackson. At the Red Robinson Showdown, he sung Martina McBride’s country hit “Independence Day” and Giacomo Puccini’s famous aria “Nessun Dorma,” from the final act of the opera Turandot.

He doesn’t want to limit himself by sticking to one genre.

“I don’t like to pick a certain kind of music,” he said.

Armour comes from a musical background as well, which has aided his development. His father, Ron, is a professional musician and a member of McQueen, a band that’s been together for 25 years and has performed all across North America. His mother Lori also has a deep passion for music. Armour said his brother Chase never got into the music scene, though.

“He’s all about hockey and computer games.”

Ron Armour said their family recognized Cole’s talent as soon as he started singing around the house.

“Cole’s what we call a natural,” Ron said. “His talent was definitely there. Our concern was to see that he was trained properly vocally.”

To that end, Armour has worked with renowned vocal coaches like Althea Di Gregorio and Trudy Buckler Blake. He also has publicity and management help from Maureen O’Brien and Bernie Grinstead, and an extensive network of other supporters.

“He’s got just a whole raft of people behind him,” Ron said.

Perhaps Armour’s most ambitious performance yet came at the recent B.C. Country Music Awards. He performed “Nessun Dorma” together with a nine-piece orchestra from the Vancouver Choir Symphony. It sounds like an unusual choice for a country music show, but Ron said the B.C. Country Music Association and president Don Adams are open to promoting young talent across genres.

“The BCCMA is all about supporting young new artists, because that’s the future of music, no matter what your genre is,” he said. “[Adams] believes in artist development, and you don’t see that any more in this industry.”

Armour has several local performances coming up. He’ll be singing the anthem for the Langley Chiefs’ games at the Langley Events Centre on Nov. 21 and Dec. 17, and is also appearing at the Jeans and Gems Cancer Gala at Thunderbird Equestrian Showpark on Nov. 21. He said he’s living his dream right now.

“I’ve always wanted to be on stage and perform.”

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