Hitmakerz Starterz: Brenda Montana

Pop singer-songwriter and TikToker, Brenda Montana, looks back on her start to music

A young Brenda Montana poses with her very first ukulele in 2018.

By Kendra Seguin

Hitmakerz Starterz is an artist spotlight series, introducing readers to Hitmakerz artists and sharing their musical journeys. To read past and future Hitmakerz Starterz stories, be sure to check out the Hitmakerz blog. 

The sounds of singing voices, strummed guitar strings, and clapping hands filled a packed house on a summer day in 2006. An eight-year-old Brenda Montana and her immediate family had travelled from Rankin Inlet, Nunavut down south to High River, Alberta for their summertime family reunion. 

The star of the event was Montana’s Uncle Ken. In the middle of the living room, Uncle Ken played guitar and sang folk songs – his favourite genre, aside from classic ‘80s tunes. Family members filled the perimeter of the room, some clapping their hands, tapping their feet, and singing along. 

Montana just listened.

“I walked up in front of him and knelt on the floor to watch him play,” she said.

Brenda Montana’s Uncle Ken plays guitar for his family during the holidays.

Uncle Ken was the person who got Montana seriously interested in music.

“I was really close to him, compared to my other family,” said Montana. “I would always want to play games [together] and listen to him play music.”

After Uncle Ken passed away from cancer, Montana continued to be inspired by him, now taking her interest in music to a new level. She started writing her own songs.

As a young adult, Montana used the music skills she learned growing up – singing, throat singing, piano, guitar, and ukulele – to begin making her own music. In 2019, she placed third in the Qilaut songwriting contest for her original song, “Pittiaruk Uummatiit.”

“It felt really, really good knowing that people heard my songs and said they liked it,” said Montana. “I was surprised [to win], to be honest, because it was one of the first songs I wrote.”

As a pop singer-songwriter herself, Montana has been inspired by a number of pop stars over the years. When she first started singing for fun at age six, she would often sing along to artists such as Lady Gaga, Adele, and Rihanna. Montana first picked up the guitar at thirteen and a few years later, her musical inspiration turned to one person in particular: Shawn Mendes.

“I remember when he first started and he didn’t have many followers at the time,” said Montana, who has been part of the Mendes Army for nearly 10 years. “I remember seeing him grow and finally seeing him make music videos.”

“I always thought his voice was beautiful,” she gushes.

Like Mendes, who started posting music and comedy videos on Vine, Montana has grown her following through social media. With Vine now defunct, Montana utilizes TikTok. 

She posted her first TikTok video in May 2020, putting an Indigenous spin on the “Wipe It Down” challenge. Montana’s following videos continued on the same trajectory, often highlighting Indigenous culture through popular TikTok trends and sounds. Beyond the fun and funny, Montana also makes educational content, showcasing Inuit food, vlogging her day in the North, and answering viewer questions. 

TikTok has also been a launching pad for building an audience of music fans. Montana went viral after posting a duet to a video by TikToker and musician, Bella Poarch. In it, Montana adds throat singing on top of the original video’s banjo beat background. Today, she continues to post music content between her comedy and educational videos, often throat singing, singing in Inuktitut, or playing ukulele.

The combination of throat singing, singing, and ukulele is brought over to Montana’s debut album, Qaujimagit. Set to release on August 26, 2022, this will be the first time that Montana’s music will be released on a large, professional scale.

“I’ve always wanted to do [an album] and I want to do more in the future,” she said. 

Music has always been an important part of Montana’s life, helping her be vulnerable about her story.

“It means a lot to me because it helps me express my feelings and it shows a lot of emotion,” said Montana.

Whether it has been a way for her to connect with her Uncle Ken or connect with her growing fanbase online, music is at Montana’s core.