Watch Tia Wood's electrifying cover of The Hills by the Weeknd
The emerging singer-songwriter tackles the pop star's edgy R&B song
For the final Juno Session — the series where Canadian musicians cover the artists who have won the songwriter of the year Juno Award — singer-songwriter Tia Wood brings her smooth touch to the Weeknd's 2015 tune, The Hills.
Wood picked the eerie song because she grew up listening to the Weeknd.
"My brother would always talk about him, had all of his posters and I'm such a big fan as well," she said.
She also selected The Hills because it's out of her comfort zone: "It comes from such a different world than my music comes from," she said, adding, "And it's a world that just fascinates me."
Wood's cover slowly builds before exploding into an electrifying, rock-leaning version with plenty of guitar on the chorus. The song is given a new edge with Wood's powerhouse vocal delivery.
The performance "kind of allowed me to step into a whole new persona that I don't get to do often," Wood said.
Wood released her debut EP Pretty Red Bird in 2024, and is a first-time Juno nominee for contemporary Indigenous artist or group of the year. She will also perform at this year's Junos on March 30.
The Weeknd has 22 Junos, including the songwriter of the year award which he won in 2016, 2021, 2022 and 2023. He is nominated for four Junos this year including the TikTok Juno Fan Choice Award, single of the year, artist of the year and songwriter of the year.
Watch Wood's cover above, and check out cbcmusic.ca/junos to see the other Juno Sessions by Billianne, Good Kid and Dylan Sinclair.
The 2025 Juno Awards will take place on March 30 at Rogers Arena in Vancouver, and broadcast live on CBC-TV, CBC Gem, CBC Radio One, CBC Music, CBC Listen and globally at CBCMusic.ca/junos.
