Nicole Holness

Nicole Holness co-hosts MTV’s flagship interactive series MTV LIVE along with Daryn Jones, Paul “The Intern” Lemieux and Sheena Snively. This Gemini-award winning series provides a whole series of laughs, with a unique take on pop culture, as well as a variety of interviews, skits, and in-depth discussions and debates.

Aside from her hosting duties, Nicole supports social issues that are affecting youth culture. In Fall 2008, she travelled to Haiti to take part in the GIRLS OF LATITUDE docu-series as part of an initiative between MTV and Plan Canada, exploring anomalies of the youth justice system.

Although she studied fashion design and marketing at the International Academy of Design, her love of music took her over. Formerly part of R&B girl group X-Quisite, Holness and her bandmates were nominated for a JUNO Award, and Urban Music Award,and Canadian Radio Award. Nicole has since picked up the mic again for her first solo album, Epic, released in Spring 2009.

Interview

What music are you listening to these days?

I’ve been listening to the Arcade Fire a lot recently. Not that they’re anything new, but for me, it’s a big discovery; I keep listening to The Suburbs over and over again. I also love me some Adele - I will play that on loop all the time.

Why should people, especially youth, vote?

It’s really important for youth to vote. We have a voice just as much as our parents or the elderly do, because we live in this country too. The same things that concern people that are older than us concern us, too - we’re going to get to that point! So why not start to get involved now? Healthcare is important. If you’re in school, you don’t want to see cutbacks happening. You don’t want to have to be paying more taxes, or allowing people who are richer than everyone else take the easy way out.

Why do you care about your community when it’s so easy not to?

How could you not care about your community? You’re a part of it! You’re not leaving it anytime soon, and the better that everything is around you, the better your quality of life is. To just discard that doesn’t really make any sense to me, especially as you get older and you discover what life is really about. It’s not something you can just put on the back burner. Community is a part of you, and vice versa.

What do you look for in a politician? What do you expect from your MP?

Honesty is very important. Someone who is actually genuine, and actually cares enough about all types of people: all levels of class, people that have been born in Canada, people immigrating to Canada. We’re all just as important and we all have separate needs, but one isn’t less important than the other. So someone who strives towards making Canada a better place.

What causes do you actively support?

There’s an NGO called Plan Canada, located in over 40 countries now, focusing on developing countries and underprivileged women and children. They try to make their lives at least just a little bit better. You can’t change the world all in one shot, but they’re a really great organization, and they’re just trying to improve the quality of life for people who are less fortunate than us in Canada.

What is a simple action that you recommend youth take to make a difference?

The first thing that youth really need to do is care. Take notice! You can watch the news for five minutes and really know what’s going on. You can go on the internet - click click click! What’s going on in my community? It’s not just that basement jam that’s happening - there are a lot of other things going on. The first thing you need to do is just care: there are so many different ways now to find out what’s happening and how you can help. As long as you put in half the effort that you would getting ready to go out to the clubs, you can make a difference - just with that. Become aware.

Do you think that there is a connection between art and democracy? If so, what might that look like?

K-Os is an interesting example, because he speaks a lot about having your freedom, and speaking your mind, and not letting the man stomp all over you. You do have a say, no matter who you are. There are a lot of places in this world where people aren’t as free to vote or aren’t as free to speak up, or aren’t as free to go on the internet and research or post a comment. He’s a really interesting artist because he tells his followers, through his music and his activism, that if you have a voice and you have an opportunity to be free, you should exercise that right, and do what you can to make where you are a better place.

I will vote because__________?

I will vote because I want my community and everyone in it to live life to its fullest. I will vote because I can. I will vote because I want to be an example to others around me.