Black Lake Band member Rebecca Strong wins $1 million On Canada’s Got Talent

November 7, 2024 in People
Explorer: Fall 2024

On May 14, Rebecca Strong won a million dollars in the nationwide talent show, Canada’s Got talent.

21-year-old Rebecca Strong said she’s always been a fan of Canada’s Got Talent and dreamed of appearing on the show one day. In 2023, she sent in an audition video of her singing cover songs. And when she got the call telling her to come audition for the judges in person in Ottawa, she was ecstatic. “When this opportunity came up, I had to take a hold of it,” said Rebecca. “It’s my dream.”

Singing is her dream and her passion. Strong has been singing since she was five years old. She comes from a family of musicians – her father, Glen Strong with Points Athabasca, and her sister Allison Strong with Optek Solutions, are also accomplished musicians. “We are extremely proud of her,” said Allison Strong, one of many family members who went to Ottawa to cheer Rebecca on. “We’re all so excited for Rebecca and all she’s accomplished and where she’s gotten to – this is a once in a lifetime opportunity!”

Rebecca is no stranger to the stage, having been featured at the SaskTel Youth Awards, Voices of the North, and Search for the Stars PA, to name a few. Even so, she still gets nervous before every performance, and the stage at Canada’s Got Talent was the biggest venue she had been at so far. “This kind of thing makes me very nervous,” said Strong. “And just being up there and representing my people made me very proud of being Indigenous.”

Rebecca also built an impressive Tiktok following of over 250K before Canada’s Got Talent. In 2019, Glen Strong took a video of Rebecca practising singing Demi Lovato’s Sober on his Facebook page. The video garnered over 1M views on Facebook. “I couldn’t believe how many views that video got,” said Glen. “I think it was our first hint that people really connected with Rebecca’s voice and her talent for singing.”

The contest was judged by Canadian performers Howie Mandel, Trish Stratus, Kardina Offishall, and Lilly Singh. Rebecca was featured on episode 2 of the show, which aired on March 24, and received the golden buzzer from Lilly, guaranteeing her a spot in the semi- finals and giving her a cash prize of $25,000.

Rebecca sailed through the semi-finals with a powerful performance of Oliva Rodrigo cover Drivers License. The live finale was on May 14, which went to a vote that was open to the public.

Rogers gave this year’s winner $1 million, the largest cash prize in Canadian television history. Catch up on episodes of Canada’s Got Talent on-demand or stream on Citytv+.

In the meantime, Rebecca plans to create music and share it with the world. She hopes her journey will inspire Indigenous youth to follow their dreams. “Anything is possible,” she said. “The only way you can really fail is not trying. It doesn’t really matter the result, as long as you try it.”

Rebecca will be coming to the Athabasca communities in January 2025! Watch our social media channels for details.