Justine Blanchet steps into the country-pop spotlight and shows off some winning moves with her romantic, crowd-pleasing debut EP Don’t Ask Me To Dance — premiering exclusively on Tinnitist.
Produced in Nashville by Grammy-nominated Danick Dupelle (Tebey, Tyler Joe Miller, Matt Lang), Don’t Ask Me To Dance explores the realities of modern dating across five top-shelf tracks — with each song representing a unique experience. To help bring the Canadian up-and-comer’s artistic message to life, the EP features the talents of 14 formidable songwriters, including MacKenzie Porter, Madeline Merlo, Laci Kaye Booth, Emma-Lee, Lindsay Rimes, Kelly Archer, Jason Nix and Derrick Southerland.
Besides previously released singles Hard To Love (which explores the challenges of emotional unavailability) and Heart Less (about using your head instead of your heart), the EP also features Cheap Sunglasses (where past pain drives closed-off communication) along with Waste The Weekend (about living carefree and letting loose) and the title track Don’t Ask Me To Dance (about recognizing boundaries and knowing your worth).
“As an independent artist, it is a thrill for my debut EP to be a reality now,” says Blanchet. “Ever since we started planning this project back in in 2021, my goal has been to challenge myself as an artist and create something relatable for others. Dating is full of adventures — both good and bad — but always memorable, so it felt like the right theme to build the EP around. I think people who listen to these songs will find a little bit of themselves in each one and realize how many shared experiences we go through in this thing called life.”
Originally from the Montreal area, Blanchet is bringing her own brand of sophistication, fearlessness, and culture to country. Drawn to the genre for its lyrics and history — along with artists like Shania Twain, Lady A and Reba McEntire — Justine first visited Nashville at 14. After returning two years later to play an open mic at the Bluebird Café, her dreams of relocating there started and never stopped. Seeing music as a vessel for telling down-to-earth, relatable, and inspirational stories, Justine developed herself as a singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist and began releasing her own music in 2017. She now divides her time between Canada and Nashville.
Leading into this EP, she amassed over 1 million streams and views across an impressive catalogue of 10 singles — including 2019’s Strong (175K streams) and 2021’s Get Out Of The Mud (No. 4 on streaming charts). Known to perform in English and French, she has appeared at the Festival Country Lotbinière, the Gatlinburg Songwriter’s Festival, Big Valley Jamboree, the Festival Western de St-Tite, and three Diamonds in the Rough showcases during Canadian Country Music Week.
While charting her own path as an independent artist, Justine is no stranger to the business side of music. Equipped with a degree in communication and marketing, she has worked for entertainment firms, consulted with artists on conceptualizing and executing effective release strategies. Not to be outdone, she has also spoken at master classes presented by Musical Celebration Musicale, a Canadian non-profit that creates performance opportunities for independent musicians. Away from music, Justine can be found enjoying the outdoors and creating with her hands, whether it be building a new piece of furniture or cooking. She is also an avid reader.
Don’t Ask Me To Dance officially arrives on all digital streaming platforms on June 23. Listen to the EP and watch her videos above, hear more from Justine Blanchet below, read her answers to my 20 Questions HERE, and ask her to dance on her website, Instagram, TikTok, Facebook and Twitter.
