Canadian Bernie Herms hopes Grammy win inspires his family to ‘dream big’

“I want to share it with my family, have my kids see it and inspire them to dream big.”

Herms, who grew up the son of an Edmonton Pentecostal minister before working with the likes of Barbra Streisand and Josh Groban, believes his Grammy will give him an extra boost of motivation as he returns to his Nashville studio.

“You have these creative moments in seclusion,” he said of songwriting.

“To have your artistic community acknowledge what you did … it’s energizing. There’s no doubt about it.”

Herms also watched as his collaborator Scott, who sings in Lady Antebellum, won another Grammy in the best contemporary Christian music album category for “Love Remains,” which features his song.

Rapper Drake emerged as another big winner at the pre-telecast show thanks to “Hotline Bling,” which grabbed two Grammys for best rap song and best rap or sung performance.

It brings his career Grammy tally to three, after taking home one for his 2011 album “Take Care.”

But Drake wasn’t in L.A. to accept the honour because he’s in the midst of a European tour.

Instead, his producer Paul Jefferies, who works under the name Nineteen85, jumped on stage to claim the prize and plug Drake’s upcoming release.

“Right now Drake and the boys are out in London finishing up the tour,” he said a short speech.

“I just flew back so, on behalf of team ‘More Life,’ thank you.”

“More Life” is Drake’s anticipated project that’s expected to drop on streaming music services soon. While playing a concert last week he told the audience he was about two weeks away from finishing it, adding further anticipation for a release that was originally slated for last December.

And while Leonard Cohen missed qualifying for this year’s Grammys by about three weeks with his final album “You Want It Darker,” he was still there in spirit.

Folk singer Judy Collins sat behind a grand piano as she recalled a memory of her long-time friend and collaborator, and the first time she encountered his song “Suzanne.”

“He came into my living room and said, ‘I can’t play the guitar and I can’t sing,” she said. “And I don’t know if this is a song.”

She then drifted into a performance of the Montreal poet’s famed song paying tribute to the legend.

Canadians didn’t come out with any wins during the main Grammys show.

While Drake’s “Views” and Justin Bieber’s “Purpose” were both nominated for album of the year, the evening’s top honour went to Adele for “25.”

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Listen to a Spotify playlist of this year’s Canadian Grammy nominees: http://spoti.fi/2kPXK0t

David Friend, The Canadian Press

by Canadian Press

Canadian Bernie Herms hopes Grammy win inspires his family to ‘dream big’

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