Melanie Doane

Melanie Doane is a Canadian singer, songwriter, actress, and music educator whose career has spanned Broadway, recording, film, television, and music education. She is the daughter of J. Chalmers Doane, a music educator and member of the Order of Canada, and grew up learning multiple instruments, among them piano, bass guitar, mandolin, guitar, violin. After high school, Doane enrolled at Dalhousie University with the goal of becoming a music teacher, a path that shifted when she was cast in Neptune Theatre's production of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat in 1986. She continued performing at Neptune regularly for two years before relocating to Toronto in 1988.

In the years following her move, Doane appeared in several theatre productions, including Fire! and Buddy — The Buddy Holly Story, the latter of which brought her to Broadway in 1990. Her stage work during this period established her as a versatile performer before her recording career took shape.

In 1993, Doane independently released the EP Harvest Train, which attracted the attention of Sony Music Canada and led to a record deal. Her debut album, Shakespearean Fish, followed in 1996. Though it did not achieve commercial radio success, it caught the ear of Los Angeles-based record producer Rick Neigher, who collaborated with Doane on her second album, Adam's Rib, released in 1998. The title track became the album's first Top 40 hit, with "Waiting for the Tide," "Goliath," and "Happy Homemaker" also charting. Doane toured in support of the album for two years alongside Jann Arden, Great Big Sea, The Philosopher Kings, and as part of Lilith Fair. In 1999, she won the Juno Award for New Artist of the Year and took home the Canadian Radio Music Award for Most Charted Rock Artist for "Adam's Rib."

After parting ways with Sony Music Canada, Doane worked with Neigher again on a third studio album through a partnership involving Ted Dykstra and actor Gary Sinise. During that recording period, she gave birth to her first child, worked as a session musician, co-wrote songs with SHeDAISY, starred in the independent film Black Swan, and released the live album Melvin Live. The studio album You Are What You Love was subsequently released through Actorboy Records and Warner Music Canada. Its single "Still Desire You" reached the Top 5 at Canadian radio stations, and the accompanying music video reached number one on MuchMoreMusic's viewer's choice countdown. Doane gave birth to her second child during the album's promotional period. Her performance in Black Swan earned her the award for Best International Actress at the 2003 New York International Independent Film and Video Festival.

In 2007, Doane began developing an album inspired by motherhood. Released in 2008, A Thousand Nights combined original compositions with covers of songs by Fleetwood Mac, The Everly Brothers, and Leonard Cohen, and featured guest appearances by Jim Cuddy, Ron Sexsmith, Kathryn Rose, Emilie-Claire Barlow, and Ted Dykstra. The lead single "Songbird," featuring Cuddy, reached the Top 5 on the iTunes country singles chart in Canada. Two of her compositions, "Every Little Thing" and "Chopin Ballad," received placements in the television series Being Erica and Flashpoint respectively. In 2007, 2008, 2010, and 2013, Doane served as the featured entertainer on the Canadian Pacific Railway Holiday Train Tour, performing approximately 60 shows over three weeks across communities in Canada and the United States.

Doane recorded her next studio album, The Emerald City, with her brother and drummer Creighton Doane at his Toronto studio, releasing it on March 1, 2011. Shortly after its release, she was cast in the role of Song Woman in Mirvish's Toronto production of War Horse. Rehearsals began in December 2011, and the production opened at the Princess of Wales Theatre in February 2012, running until January 6, 2013.

Doane's songs have been placed in numerous television productions, including Brothers and Sisters, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Dawson's Creek, Party of Five, Baywatch Hawaii, Resurrection Blvd, and Prom Queen: The Marc Hall Story, among others.

Beginning in the 2009–2010 school year, Doane volunteered to teach ukulele to students at her children's Toronto school using the instructional method developed by her father in the 1960s. That initiative grew into Doane Uschool, a registered charity that teaches more than 1,000 students weekly in schools across Toronto and Nova Scotia. The program's students have performed at the PanAm Games, appeared with Chris Hadfield aboard the International Space Station, and participated in the CBC Music Festival and the 2018 Luminato Festival, as well as recording projects with artists including Jann Arden and Barenaked Ladies.

In 2022, Doane co-created the children's television series Ukulele U with music producer Bob Ezrin, which debuted on CBC Television and CBC Gem. In addition to hosting the show, she served as executive producer, writer, and composer. At the 11th Canadian Screen Awards in 2023, she received nominations for Best Performance in a Children's or Youth Program or Series and Best Original Song in Television for "Use Your Outside Voice," the latter shared with her brother Creighton Doane and Bob Ezrin.