lang named to Canadian Music Hall of Fame

TORONTO - Groundbreaking singer k.d. lang is being inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame.

The Edmonton native, whose rendition of Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah" dazzled spectators at the opening ceremony for the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, is being honoured at this year's Juno Awards, the Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences announced Tuesday.

Lang has won eight Junos and four Grammys in her more than 25-year career.

"To be included in the lineage of Canadian artists who have formed my musical DNA and who remain my mentors is beyond humbling," lang said in a statement. "I am deeply honoured to be inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame."

In 1985, the Junos honoured lang as Most Promising Female Vocalist of the Year.

With a punk-rock fashion esthetic, and early musical influences that included classic country and rockabilly, lang helped define the meaning of the term alt-country. The 1999 album "Absolute Torch and Twang" garnered lang her first Grammy and larger mainstream recognition. She then switched from country to a fiery brand of adult contemporary for her 1992 album "Ingenue," which featured the hit "Constant Craving" and went platinum in Canada.

In 2005, "Hymns of the 49th Parallel" delivered lang's take on fellow Canadian songwriters, including her version of Cohen's "Hallelujah."

Lang joins last year's inductee, Regina-born musician Colin James, along with such others as The Band, The Guess Who, Shania Twain and Rush.

The 42nd annual Juno ceremony will be broadcast April 21 from Regina's Brandt Centre.