Family Channel’s annual Big Ticket Summer Concert is fast approaching. With acts like R5, Zendaya and Eleven Past One due to hit the stage on Sunday, August 25, music fans in Toronto are in for a treat! With the show just around the corner, The Mag caught up with one of the scheduled acts: Victoria Duffield! After competing on THE NEXT STAR, the dancer and singer scored a recording contract with Warner and has since released her debut album, appeared in various television shows and toured across Canada. Here’s what she had to say about this weekend’s performance!
What made you decide to get involved with the Big Ticket Summer Concert?
Well, Family Channel has been such a great supporter of mine right from the beginning, so I totally appreciate their support. I was a part of the Stand Up! show last October and it was such a great audience! Hearing about the Big Ticket Summer Concert, I definitely wanted to be involved and I’m thrilled to be performing this weekend!
What can we expect from your performance on Sunday?
Expect a high-energy, fun show! I’m going to have my dancers with me and we’re going to take over the stage, entertain the crowd and have lots of fun!
How much practice and prep-work goes into putting on a show like that?
Lots of practice! I am one to practice a lot and work really hard. I’ll have rehearsals with my dancers beforehand but I also rehearse on my own as well. I’m a perfectionist so I work really hard and practice a lot. A lot of work goes into the show, but once I’m onstage, it’s totally worth it!
Do you have any warm-ups or anything special that you do before you go on stage?
Well, I always warm up my voice and rehearse with my dancers beforehand. Before we hit the stage, we’ll have a group huddle, a group prayer and then we’ll hug each other. I see my mom right before I go on stage and then we hit it!
What aspect of the concert are you most excited about?
I’m definitely excited to see all my Toronto fans and everyone from the area who’ll be coming to see the show. I’ve performed at the Molson Amphitheatre before and it’s such a great stadium – it’s so cool that it’s outdoors! I’m looking forward to performing on the big stage in front of so many incredible fans. I hear the ticket sales have been awesome so it’s going to be great! I’m also looking forward to meeting all the other talented acts and cheering them on as well.
Is it more challenging to perform on an outdoor stage than on an indoor one?
I wouldn’t say that it’s more challenging, but it’s definitely different. It has a different vibe from it being all dark. I can have more of a connection with my audience and It feels more intimate, even though it’s still a big stadium. I can see my fans, look them in the eye and interact with them from the stage, so I’m really looking forward to that!
Around this time last year, you had an album come out. Looking back, what’s been the biggest change in your career over the past year?
I got to go on two tours. Growing up working in the arts, it’s always exciting to go on tour, so getting to go on a big stadium tour and then another tour doing smaller venues across the entire country, it was really exciting for me! I think it definitely opened me up more to my Canadian fans. Now they’re more familiar with me and I got to meet them, which was awesome. My album also just recently got released in Japan, so I’m opening up internationally, too. I’m looking forward to my second album. I’ve been working on that for many months now.
What projects do you have coming up after the Big Ticket Summer Concert?
I have some other performances and shows I’m looking forward to doing, but I’m also really anticipating my new album coming out. I’ve been doing lots of songwriting for it. I really love being a part of the songwriting process, so I’ve been doing writing in London, L.A., Toronto and Vancouver. It’s just all coming together! I’m looking forward to releasing my first single sometime in the next little bit!
Thanks, Victoria!
For those of you who weren’t able to snag seats to the sold out Toronto show, never fear! Check out the concert when it airs on Family Channel on Friday, September 6 at 8 p.m. ET/PT!