Jonathan Piuze-Roy (born March 15, 1989) is a Canadian pop singer and songwriter. Son of hockey great

Patrick Roy Patrick Jacques Roy (; born October 5, 1965) is a Canadian retired professional ice hockey goaltender and executive, who serves as the head coach for the Quebec Remparts of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL). In 2017, Roy was named o ...

, he initially pursued hockey in junior leagues, but abandoned that path in favour of music while still a teenager. Having previously released three albums, his major-label debut, ''Mr. Optimist Blues'', was released in 2017, and includes several songs written by 1980s pop star Corey Hart.

Early life

Roy's father is famed Montreal Canadiens goaltender

. He moved with his family from Montreal to Colorado when he was six years old, due to his father being traded. Roy was influenced by his mother's frequent piano playing for the family as he was growing up. He wrote poetry from the age of 13 or 14, and began putting his poems to music around age 16. At age 17, Roy played hockey for the

Quebec Remparts There have been two junior ice hockey franchises known as the Quebec Remparts (french: Remparts de Québec) that played in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL). The first edition played from 1969 to 1985; the current franchise has pla ...

, with his father coaching the team at the time. Although he enjoyed goaltending, he dreamed of a music career, and was listening to the

Backstreet Boys Backstreet Boys (often abbreviated as BSB) are an American vocal group consisting of Nick Carter, Howie Dorough, AJ McLean, and cousins Brian Littrell and Kevin Richardson. Lou Pearlman formed the group in 1993 in Orlando, Florida. The gr ...

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, and

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. At 18, when his father told him that his future would not be in hockey and that he needed to plan an education, Roy told his father that he wanted to be a musician and songwriter. In 2009 Roy was charged with assault following an incident during a hockey brawl where he skated the length of the ice and attacked the opposing goaltender, punching him several times.

Music career

Roy's album ''What I've Become'' came out in 2009. His second album, ''Found My Way'', came out in 2010. He released his French-language debut album, ''La route'', in 2011. The title track, a duet with

Natasha St-Pier Natasha St-Pier (born 10 February 1981) is a Canadian singer of Acadian origin who has spent most of her career in France. She was coach in the second and third season of The Voice Belgique (''The Voice of Belgium''). Career Natasha St-Pier r ...

, received the most attention. Roy had a critically acclaimed role in the 2012 revival of the musical ''

Don Juan Don Juan (), also known as Don Giovanni (Italian), is a legendary, fictional Spanish libertine who devotes his life to seducing women. Famous versions of the story include a 17th-century play, '' El burlador de Sevilla y convidado de piedra'' ...

''.Williams, John (December 1, 2015).
Jonathan Roy trades goalie stick for guitar
, ''

Toronto Sun The ''Toronto Sun'' is an English-language tabloid format, tabloid newspaper published daily in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The newspaper is one of several ''Sun'' tabloids published by Postmedia Network. The newspaper's offices is located at Pos ...

''. Retrieved September 5, 2017. In 2012, his father helped him set up a meeting with 1980s pop singer Corey Hart, who runs Siena Records, an affiliate of

Warner Music Warner Music Group Corp. ( d.b.a. Warner Music Group, commonly abbreviated as WMG) is an American multinational entertainment and record label conglomerate headquartered in New York City. It is one of the " big three" recording companies and t ...

. Hart offered to sign him to his label after Roy performed a

Teddy Thompson Teddy Thompson (born 19 February 1976) is an English folk and rock musician. He is the son of folk rock musicians Richard and Linda Thompson and brother of singer Kamila Thompson. He released his first album in 2000. Biography Teddy Thompson ...

song for him at Hart's home in

Nassau, Bahamas Nassau ( ) is the capital and largest city of the Bahamas. With a population of 274,400 as of 2016, or just over 70% of the entire population of the Bahamas, Nassau is commonly defined as a primate city, dwarfing all other towns in the country. ...

. Roy and Hart had a hit holiday release in 2016 when they duetted on the

Chris Rea Christopher Anton Rea ( ; born 4 March 1951) is an English rock and blues Blues is a music genre and musical form which originated in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues incorporated spirituals, work songs, fie ...

song "Driving Home for Christmas". In 2017, Roy released the album ''Mr. Optimist Blues'' on Siena Records, Corey Hart's music label. Hart executive-produced the album, and wrote three of the album's songs. The ''

Montreal Gazette The ''Montreal Gazette'', formerly titled ''The Gazette'', is the only English-language daily newspaper published in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Three other daily English-language newspapers shuttered at various times during the second half of th ...

s music critic characterizes the style as "easygoing 21st-century pop with a little light reggae thrown in for good measure. Think Ed Sheeran meets Paolo Nutini and then slap on Bob Marley’s greatest hits." Roy is based in Toronto.

Discography

Albums

* ''What I've Become'' (2009) – No. 18 Canada * ''Found My Way'' (2010) * ''La route'' (2011) * ''Mr. Optimist Blues'' (2017) – No. 3 Canada * ''My Lullaby'' (2021) – No. 99 Canada

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Roy, Jonathan 1989 births Living people Canadian pop singers People from Pointe-Claire Singers from Quebec 21st-century Canadian male singers