Actor Simu Liu has a song in his heart and a debut album on his mind.

After breaking into renditions of Avril Lavigne and Nickelback hits as host of the Juno Awards, the 鈥淜im鈥檚 Convenience鈥� star said he hopes to release some of his own tunes in the future.

Liu said he struck a deal with Los Angeles-based record label 88Rising, which specializes in the careers of Asian American artists.

He explained on the Junos red carpet in Edmonton that it has led to 鈥渃ollaborating on some music鈥� with the label.

鈥淚鈥檓 really excited to share it with people in the coming weeks,鈥� he added.

Liu, who grew up in Mississauga, Ont. and appears in the Hollywood film 鈥淏arbie鈥� this summer, said that could mean his own album 鈥渕ight happen sooner rather than later.鈥�

The 33-year-old isn鈥檛 entirely new to working with 88Rising, as the label collaborated with him on the track 鈥淗ot Soup鈥� for the 2021 soundtrack of 鈥淪hang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings.鈥�

Before he was a professional actor, Liu flirted with boy-band stardom when he joined the short-lived high school group LX4.

At the Junos last year, Liu surprised viewers when he pulled out a guitar and serenaded the audience with a parody of Lavigne鈥檚 鈥淐omplicated,鈥� sparking questions about whether he planned to sing more.

He did at the Junos on Monday, which led one reporter in the media room to ask Liu about what he would sing on a hypothetical album of covers. He chose John Legend鈥檚 ballad 鈥淎ll of Me,鈥� the rousing 鈥淕o the Distance鈥� from the soundtrack of Disney鈥檚 鈥淗ercules鈥� and 鈥淟ose Yourself鈥� by rapper Eminem.

鈥淭his album (would) make no sense, but it (would) be amazing because I will have had a lot of fun doing it,鈥� he joked.

Liu also shared his enthusiasm for 鈥淓verything Everywhere All At Once鈥� winning five of the top six awards at last Sunday鈥檚 Oscars ceremony, the night before the Junos.

He said he watched the Academy Awards from his Edmonton hotel room along with friends 鈥渏ust screaming at the TV鈥� as the offbeat Asian-American film won categories that included best picture and three acting awards.

鈥淚t鈥檚 a wacky, weird story about multiverses and sausage hands, but at its core is a story about an immigrant family,鈥� said the actor, who immigrated to Canada from China as a child.

鈥淚t was just such an incredibly emotional night,鈥� he added.

鈥淚 was rooting for all of our stories and our culture.鈥�

David Friend, The Canadian Press

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