Wee Inuit throat singers earn instant fame after Trudeau ceremony

Cailyn DeGrandpre, right, and Samantha Kigutaq-Metcalfe, pose for a snapshot with the new prime minister, Justin Trudeau, at a Rideau Hall reception following their Nov. 4 performance. (PHOTO BY LYNDA BROWN)

The talk of the town: Samantha Kigutaq-Metcalfe, left, and Cailyn DeGrandpre, at Rideau Hall just before their Nov. 4 performance at the swearing-in ceremony of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his cabinet. (PHOTO BY LYNDA BROWN)

OTTAWA — Cailyn DeGrandpre reacted like any 11-year-old girl might when told she was going to throat sing for the new prime minister: she did cartwheels around the house.

Reached at her Ottawa home Oct. 6, just a couple days after throat singing with partner Samantha Kigutaq-Metcalfe at Justin Trudeau’s swearing-in ceremony at Rideau Hall, DeGrandpre explained why she loves throat singing so much.

“It’s fun and I like to bring back our culture,” she said over the phone.

“A long time ago, what I did on Wednesday was illegal. I was just so happy that every time I throat sing, I bring back our culture and I show people how to do it and what it’s like.”

The two Ottawa-based girls have been the talk of the town ever since the Nov. 4 swearing-in. They even have their own hashtags on Twitter now — #Ministersofcuteness and #giggles — not to mention media interview requests about every half hour.

DeGrandpre and Kigutaq-Metcalfe, both 11 and in Grade 6, have been learning to throat sing at the Ottawa Inuit Children’s Centre since they were about two years old, and performing live together for three years.

It was their performance at the release of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission Report in June that convinced organizers of the swearing-in ceremony that the young throat singers should be on the roster.

Organizers called Lynda Brown, the girls’ teacher, at the OICC Oct. 30, just five days before the ceremony, to ask her whether Kigutaq-Metcalfe and DeGrandpre could perform on Nov. 4.

Brown agreed on the spot.

“She asked and I said, ‘I can tell you right now, both the parents will say yes. We’ll make sure they get there. Count us in,’” said Brown.

“And I couldn’t stop smiling, knowing this was coming down the pipe and we had to be quiet about it. I so wanted to scream it from the treetops.”

Having taught them since they were toddlers, Brown was brimming with pride after the event.

“It’s just amazing to see their growth and development. For me, as a throat singer, seeing their progression, it’s not just a matter of them making the sounds, it’s learning the timing and the fun of it. And that’s one of the things they showcased so beautifully is how much fun throat singing can be.”

The girls performed two songs during the event which saw Trudeau and his cabinet members take their oaths of office — the traditional “Hum-Ma” song and the “Cleaning Song” which is meant to emulate what it sounds like when you clean the runners of your qamutik.

The girls are genuine pros; they’ve performed numerous times in front of large audiences. The key, they said, was to focus on each other and not look at Trudeau, the audience or the television cameras.

The hardest part, in fact, was keeping it a secret ahead of time.

Even though it was the biggest gig they’ve ever done — one that earned them instant fame in both mainstream and social media — they weren’t allowed to tell anyone in advance what they had been asked to do. It was excruciating to keep the secret from their friends, they said.

Brown said she has a lot of students who have learned to throat sing at the children centre’s after school cultural program, Tukimut, including her own daughter, but she knew the performance would be a big deal, and would garner media attention, and she felt Kigutaq-Metcalfe and DeGrandpre were mature enough to handle it. She was right.

“I was a bit nervous but not that nervous,” said Kigutaq-Metcalfe, a Taylor Swift fan. “But after, when everybody was telling us they were so proud of me and Cailyn, and what we did for our community, I felt very proud of myself and Cailyn.”

Carla Turner, DeGrandpre’s mother, said she had no doubt the girls would do well but she still can’t believe the aftermath response from friends, family and strangers.

“I am completely overwhelmed. I was not expecting this kind of response or reaction and our whole family is overjoyed,” she said. “It’s very heartwarming. I love the support they’re giving our family. I’m going to cry right now!”

Kigutaq-Metcalfe’s mom, Jane Kigutaq, originally from Arctic Bay, is an OICC Kindergarten cultural teacher. She too was nearly in tears recalling what it meant to her and the family.

“I was just so happy for her. I didn’t ever think that this much could happen. They practice a lot at Tukimut and I thought they were just playing around. I didn’t know it would get this huge. I was so very proud,” Kigutaq said.

At the Rideau Hall reception afterward, the two tweens got a hug from the new prime minister who told them they did great. DeGrandpre said she congratulated Trudeau on his new job.

So what’s next for Metcalfe and DeGrandpre? A performance at the United Nations?

Brown said she wouldn’t be surprised. She said she’s already had requests for future gigs but nothing confirmed at the moment. They’re all satisfied just to bask in the love and attention right now.

The girls made an appearance on CBC Radio 2’s Q program Nov. 6 and got to hear a pre-recorded message from their hero, Nunavut’s Polaris Music Award-winning throat singer Tanya Tagaq.

Tagaq told them she cried when she saw their performance on Nov. 4 and is so proud that they are carrying on an ancient tradition that was almost lost due to religious shaming and other colonial forces.

Indeed, Brown said there were very few throat singers when she was growing up but now, the musical tradition has almost become mainstream and that’s thanks, in part, to people like Tagaq who share the tradition worldwide.

DeGrandpre said she plans to be a throat singer for the rest of her life. She’s also crazy about gymnastics and that ginger-haired pop phenom Ed Sherran. She is 11 after all.

You can watch their performance here.