Posted by Li Robbins on Friday February 5, 2010 at 3:00 AM Comments2|Recommend3

You might remember Next! from last year -- an excellent series profiling some of Canada's up and coming musicians across several genres of music. You can view the line up at Next!

Today Canada Live kicks off Next! 2010 with a concert by 19-year-old Ali Milner, recorded in Vancouver.

Someone at CBC (not sure who) is on record as saying Ali Milner is "the next Joni Mitchell," but she's also been compared to Fiona Apple, Sara Bareilles and Estelle, and been called a "female Sam Cooke." No pressure there!

Maybe all the comparisons are because Milner is a very flexible vocalist -- she cites her own influences as ranging "from Puccini to Ella, and of course Zeppelin to Queen."

As for the Cooke comparison, for sure that comes from songs like this, I Dare You.

At YouTube one listener says "I'm a Metalhead, but, this rocks my world. It's PERFECT."

Certainly a perfect person to kick off Next! -- a boatload of talent, and at the beginning of her career.