By Mark Squibb / August 11, 2023
Judy Brazil of Trepassey was recently awarded a bronze medal in an international singer/songwriter competition. Submitted photo.
Judy Brazil of Trepassey can now add a Bronze Crystal Award for International Songwriter of the Year courtesy of the International Singer-Songwriters Association to her many other awards and honours.
Upon hearing of the association’s annual awards show, Wanda Rossiter nominated Brazil in three categories – Vocalist of the Year, Rising Star and Singer/Songwriter of the Year – back in April. With the help of thousands of voters, Brazil made it to the final round in all three categories. From that point forward, the duty of selecting award winners fell to a panel of qualified judges.
Brazil was invited to attend the red-carpet awards show in Atlanta, Georgia earlier this August, but unfortunately was unable to attend. Shortly following the awards show however, she received an email informing her that she had earned the bronze medal in the Singer/Songwriter category.
She said the award was a brightener during a summer that has been filled with personal hardships.
“I thought it was a scam first, to be honest,” Brazil joked. “And I was having a really down day, so I was quite emotional. But I cried like a baby, I’ll be quite honest. I really and truly did not expect this, because there were so many really talented artists in this competition… It’s a big accomplishment, so I have to say that I’m quite proud of it.”
Brazil has been entertaining folks on the Southern Shore and beyond for decades and has a number of albums under her belt.
Her most recent album was ‘My True Love,’ released in 2022. Four songs from that album were submitted to the contest – ‘My Father, My Friend,’ ‘Behind the Curtain,’ ‘Shattered Dreams-Titanic Lament,’ and ‘My True Love.’
The songs touch on a variety of themes and emotions — ‘My Father, My Friend’ is a song about fathers written from the perspective of a child; ‘Shattered Dreams - Titanic Lament’ was written some years back to coincide with an anniversary of the sinking of the famous ship; ‘Behind the Curtain’ deals with mental health and how some folks ‘hide themselves behind the curtain’ because of their mental health; ‘My True Love,’ meanwhile, is one of Brazil’s few love songs.
“A lot of the songs I do are for the heart,” said Brazil. “I like to write songs that I can imagine or that I’ve gone through. I’m very particular over what I write, to be honest. I’m very critical of myself.”
She cites Nana Mouskouri, Anne Murray, Rita MacNeil, and her own family members as major influences on her music career.
“I love all music — except rap,” joked Brazil. “I love listening to people sing and learning how they write their songs. And there are so many up-and-coming artists who are doing really well for themselves, and I encourage them to keep going and keep writing. Everybody has their own way of writing songs.”
Brazil wished to extend her thanks to fans, friends, and family that not only voted for her in the contest, but who have supported her over the years.
To purchase one of her albums album, you can reach Brazil at 709-728-8993 or jjssbrazil@hotmail.com.
