If asked to name an influential Canadian singer, a good number of people would probably need a moment to think.
However, upon consideration, the list of our musically-inclined northern neighbors grows compelling. Neil Young, Leonard Cohen and Joni Mitchell are at the top of that list.
Gordon Lightfoot, Alanis Morissette and The Tragically Hip also make appearances.
Rounding off (but certainly not least on) such a list would be k.d. lang.
The musician, who prefers to spell her name in all lower-case letters, began as a country prodigy and worked her way into the adult contemporary scene.
Her debut came in the 1980s, when lang was in her 20s.
On Saturday, Oct. 18, k. d. lang brought her music to campus, appearing in concert at the Touhill Performing Arts Center.
The singer began her rise to stardom by winning eight of Canada's Juno Awards in the category of Most Promising Female Vocalist.
Her growing career received a boost when Roy Orbison chose her to sing a duet of his classic "Crying" with him. The pair won a Grammy for their performance.
A few years later, in 1992, lang changed gears, releasing the album, "Ingenue," which offered almost no trace of her previous country leanings.
Instead, it was an adult pop record that would mark the height of her visibility.
"Ingenue" had several singles on airwaves throughout the year, the best known of which would be "Constant Craving," for which lang won another Grammy, this time for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance.
In the Touhill's magnificent Anheuser-Busch auditorium, lang joked about "Ingenue," introducing the song "Wash Me Clean" by saying, "This one takes us back to 1992. It was a very good year, in my opinion. After all, I am a one-hit wonder."
Yet, after "Ingenue," while lang has perhaps not seen the public attention of 1992, she has certainly risen in critical esteem and maintained her fan base.
Her music and lyrics have matured, and she is now a masterful performer who has left behind any trappings of youth.
Rather than feeling the need to overpower vocally, she knows when subtlety is best. Her songs bind smoky sentiment to tight, sometimes Brazilian-inflected rhythms.
Her voice is sultry enough to feel right at home singing the blues and moodier pieces, but clear and compelling enough to soar over pop and country numbers.
Her continued mastery of her music has only added to its neo-rustic charm.
Opening for lang was Dustin O'Halloran, a young pianist who composed portions of the soundtrack to Sofia Coppola's 2006 film, "Marie Antoinette."
Setting a mellow tone for the evening, he performed several piano solos, all of which were spare and sorrowful.
The music and atmosphere lightened when lang took the stage but many of the sentiments remained bittersweetly reflective, even homesick.
Many of her songs manage to deal with the mysteries of love without being downers, by being clever and never giving into wholesale emotion. "Love can make your heart a one-track mind" sang a barefoot lang, wearing a vest and slacks that highlight her boyish charm.
Lang's unmistakable smile accompanied her through every song, whether a broken-hearted contemplation or a bossa-nova groove.
For one country tune, the stage backdrop was lit up dark blue with bright twinkles as lang waxed poetic on the night sky, followed by a few spoken words in Spanish from her guitarist.
The packed audience was mostly hushed as lang performed, and the atmosphere was placid and nostalgic.
When miss lang mentioned that she and her troupe had been to the Obama rally, the audience broke into uproarious applause, unrivaled until the end of the show. After the applause she said simply "Good," earning laughter.
So ironically, the noisiest moment of the evening was brought on the mention of another public figure, but perhaps this is how lang likes it. She was soon back to her music, sharing her world-weary but uplifting sentiments with an audience that was still and thoughtful, transported to a starry night years ago.
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