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Degrassi News Roundup!

Since the Degrassi: The Next Generation reunion panel last week, there has been a flurry of articles and interviews with the Degrassi producers and cast members. Here is a complete list of what we’ve seen so far. I will update this as we hear about more.

‘Degrassi: The New Generation’: EPs & Cast Reflect On Teen Drama’s Longevity, Pitch Potential Reboot Threads – Deadline

Degrassi: TNG Cast Talks Reboot, Craig’s Toxic Relationships at 20th Anniversary Reunion Panel – TVLine

Continue reading Degrassi News Roundup!

Categories appearances awards drake justin bieber

Justin Bieber Mentions Degrassi at the 2011 Juno Awards

Degrassi got a major shoutout from Justin Bieber last night at the Juno Awards! During the opening skit, Drake skypes with Justin. Justin starts talking about everything he misses about Canada (Tim Hortons, hockey, and DEGRASSI)! Justin says “the new season of Degrassi is starting” at around 2:27 of this video.

Degrassi was also briefly mentioned during Drake’s now-infamous Old Money skit! Check it out, because Drake was hilarious.

Categories cast: alumni drake interviews

Drake Responds to His Degrassi Past

The Grammy Awards are this Sunday, and I can’t wait to see Drake perform with Rihanna! In the meantime, check out this interview with Drake via Billboard.com. Drake is asked about Degrassi, and he talks about growing up on TV. He mentions how other celebrities have reacted to his Degrassi past, and the embarassing Degrassi photos that constantly come up. The Degrassi part is towards the end of this interview. To watch the rest of the interview, click here.

Categories appearances cast: alumni cast: current charlotte arnold drake nina dobrev shenae grimes

Videos from the MMVAs

This year the MMVAs were one big Degrassi reunion with several former and current Degrassi cast members in attendance.

Here are all of the Degrassi-related highlights from the show:
Drake’s Performance: click
Shenae Grimes On Stage: click
Charlotte Arnold On Stage: click
Drake Accepts An Award: click
Nina Dobrev On Stage: click
& also Charlotte Arnold MOD Interview: click

Categories cast: current drake interviews

Degrassi Kids Reflect on Drake

A new article in The National Post describes how the current Degrassi cast members are reacting to Drake’s success and album release. Here is a little excerpt:

“If you saw him on the street, what would you call him, Aubrey or Drake?” asks Degrassi cast member Melinda Shankar, who plays Alli Bhandari on the show, at a listening session of Thank Me Later in a classroom on the set of the long-running show.
“Aubrey, because that’s what I knew him as first,” responds Paula Brancati (Jane Vaughn on the show), who says she enjoyed performing with Graham, even if he spent much of the time glued to his BlackBerry.

To read the full article click here. The article also contains a small new Holly J. season 10 spoiler.

Categories cast: alumni drake music

Drake’s Album Release Tomorrow

After months/years of waiting, Drake’s debut album Thank Me Later will be released tomorrow! It’s hard to imagine that not long ago he was still our Jimmy Brooks. Now he’s about to have the #1 album on the Billboard charts! Don’t forget to pick up your copy tomorrow or download it on iTunes. We feel a little like proud parents right now I think.

Categories drake music

Drake’s Days on Degrassi

As many of you already know, we are exactly 1 week away from Drake’s highly anticipated album release. Thank Me Later comes out next Tuesday June 15th! It’s hard to imagine that not long ago he was our very own Jimmy Brooks. Over the past year he has become a household name, getting recognition from the press as well as other celebs.

TVSquad.com recently took a look back at some of his best Degrassi moments. Click here to read it for some lols.
Thanks to Andie for sending this in!

Categories awards cast: alumni drake music

Drake Receives 4 Juno Nominations

No surprise here. Drake is continuing to take the music world by storm. The former Degrassi star has received 4 Juno nominations, trailing only Michael Buble for the top spot. His song “Best I Ever Had” has been nominated for “Single of the Year.” He is also nominated for “New Artist of the Year,” and a double nomination in the category of “Rap Recording of the Year” for his debut EP So Far Gone and the collaborative track “Still Fly.” We’re confident that Drake might be taking home a few trophies. The Juno Awards take place on Sunday, April 18th in St. John’s, Newfoundland. Check out the official website for a complete list of nominees.

Categories drake music

Drake at the Grammy Awards

If you haven’t already seen it, check out Drake’s performance at the Grammy Awards with Lil Wayne & Eminem!

Categories cast: alumni drake

Drake Nominated for a Grammy

Drake is now a Grammy nominee!!

Drake continues to take the music world by storm, picking up a Grammy Award Nomination this year. His song “The Best I Ever Had” has been nominated for “Best Rap Solo Performance.” Drake is up against Eminem, Jay-Z, Kid Cudi, and Mos Def in that category. Drake is also nominated for “Best Rap Song (Songwriters Award)”

Congrats to Drake for being the first Degrassi cast member to get nominated for a Grammy! lol

Categories cast: alumni drake

Drake on His Degrassi Audition

In a new interview, Drake AKA our very own Aubrey Graham discussed how he got his role on Degrassi. It was not the most conventional method! lol. Drake talks about his upbringing and life as both Jewish and black. In grade 9, he met with an agent who set him up for a Degrassi audition. He says:

I’ve never told this story before but I had actually smoked Marijuana for the first time before I went to the audition, [laughs] so, it was going to be fun. I was in the bathroom splashing water on my face and all this stuff. But that actually led to me actually leading a very clean cut life!

LOL! I guess he must be a really good actor. Click here to read the full interview.

Categories cast: alumni cast: current drake evan williams melinda shankar

Evan Williams in a New Movie

Degrassi actor Evan Williams is starring in a new made-for-TV movie called “The National Tree.” In the movie, Evan plays a teenager who wins a national tree contest and convinces his father to move the tree to Washington D.C. The movie focuses on a father-son cross country trip. “The National Tree” premieres Nov. 28th on the Hallmark Channel and will repeat a few times over Thanksgiving weekend.

In other movie news, Melinda Shankar is currently in New York filming a new movie. As well, Drake told Billboard magazine that he is still interested in acting and would like to do a movie with his friend Jamie Foxx.

Categories awards cast: alumni drake

Drake Nominated for a VMA

Drake has been nominated for a MTV Video Music Award! He is nominated for Best New Artist and up against Lady Gaga, 3OH3!, Kid Cudi, and Asher Roth. The show takes place on Sept. 13th. Let’s hope he wins!

Categories cast: alumni drake

Drake’s New Music Video

Drake’s music video for “The Best I Ever Had” has been released! You can watch it right here on Youtube. The video was directed by Kanye West.

Drake also spoke to Complex Blog recently and talked about how he is proud of his Degrassi past. He told the blog: “There are artists that I feel could be doing a lot better for themselves that go on there and kill their own careers by just talking too much, and I think that they took that personally and now all they do is air Degrassi clips of me and potential things that could embarrass me. But with me, man…the great thing about me being me in this game is that I’ve been so honest up until this point, I really have nothing to hide, I don’t fear any clip, you know? It’s out there already, everyone knows that’s my story. At the end of the day, it’s part of me, it’s my stepping stone. I’m proud of every moment thus far.”

Categories drake interviews

Stefan and Linda Talk About Drake in a New Interview

Macleans Magazine did an article on Drake recently and they discussed his time on Degrassi a lot. Linda Schuyler and Stefan Brogren were interviewed, and they talked about his reaction to rapping on the show (for the episode “It’s Tricky”), his rumoured relationship with Rihanna, the new cast’s reaction to his success, and his charisma that they saw in him at an early age. It’s a worthwhile read! Click here to check it out.

Categories cast: alumni drake

More Drake Craziness

A new article in the Toronto Star describes Drake’s rise to fame, and includes quotes from Linda Schuyler. Drake’s level of success has been blowing our minds for the last few months, and this article is no different. It describes Drake as “rap’s hottest property” and states that he is searched online even more than Eminem, who just released a new album. Here’s an interesting excerpt in which they describe his time on Degrassi and growing up as a racial minority:

Degrassi co-creater Linda Schuyler remembers Drake (it’s his middle name) as “very charismatic, even as a rather awkward 13-year-old when he started here. He had a way of connecting with people. We would do these mall tours, 3,000 to 4,000 teens screaming for the Degrassi kids, and you could see that Aubrey set off that energy.”
Wilson said the offspring of a Memphis-based black musician dad and white Jewish educator in Forest Hill is a border-hopping barrier-crosser. “He’s Canadian, he’s half-Jewish, that’s a novelty,” he explained. “Stereotypes of region and race are being challenged, yet he has no credibility issues and he’s comfortable in his own skin.”
It wasn’t always that way. In 2006, Drake spoke with the Star about being a racial minority at Forest Hill Collegiate. “It was very awkward,” he said. “I never had a girlfriend. Not one of those girls would bring me home. It would be too risky.”
“His parents represented two different sides of life,” said Schuyler. “As he got older, he needed to find ways to reconcile those two different influences. Music was a wonderful outlet for him and he turned out to be extraordinarily talented.”

Read the full article right here.

Categories cast: alumni drake

Chris Brown vs. Drake: An “Explosive” Situation

Take this with a grain of salt but this article is reporting that Chris Brown is apparently “furious” that Rihanna is seeing Drake, because he thought that he and Rihanna were just taking a break until the court case was settled. The “source” says that “Drake may catch something when Chris sees him next.”

We think Aubrey can totally take him on.

Categories awards cast: alumni drake

Drake to Appear at MMVAs

Just announced today, Drake will be appearing at the Much Music Video Awards in Toronto this Sunday! He recently shot a music video for his song “Best I Ever Had,” it seems only natural that he make an appearance at the awards show in his hometown. We also expect other Degrassi cast members to attend the MMVAs this Sunday, so hopefully we’ll get some new pictures!