Our Lady Chantal

Chantal Kreviazuk doesn't mind being Canada's queen of melancholy.

"I'm happy to be any queen of Canada," she says brightly.

Her sunny interview demeanour is in contrast to the heartfelt, emotional and sometimes dramatic nature of her piano-driven music, particularly on her latest album, What If It All Means Something.

"I think you can get different inspirations from different moods you're in and from people you're hanging out with," says Kreviazuk, who is performing Sunday on the Coca-Cola Stage at the Stampede Grounds.

"You can also be more melancholy because of the place you're in. I wrote the song In This Life in Vancouver. It has a very strong energy to it, but it's still kind of sad. Maybe it was a bit cloudy or rainy that day."

Much of What If was recorded in California at a home studio built by Kreviazuk and her husband, Our Lady Peace frontman Raine Maida.

Kreviazuk says they'll soon be packing up the studio and relocating it closer to their Toronto home.

"I'm turning into a homebody now," she says. "I find I miss my friends and family a lot more when I'm away."

While the 29-year-old songstress has enjoyed some success south of the border -- she was recently featured on the soundtrack for the Kate Hudson romantic comedy How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days -- Kreviazuk says she's more than happy to stay in Canada.

"I think what I'm most happy about with my career in Canada is that it's never been about one album," she says.

"It's always been about me challenging myself to grow as a person and as an artist and to deliver something that is consistent to who I am as a person and an artist. I think that's wonderful and I'm very grateful."

Since the release of her first album, Colour Moving and Still in 1998, Kreviazuk has used her celebrity to help promote the social and political causes in which she believes.

Currently, she is heavily involved with the War Child charity.

While both Kreviazuk and her husband participate in different causes and charities, there is a common misconception Maida is the person behind all the activism.

"I find that a lot of people think of Raine as more of the mentor in the relationship," she says, sounding a tinge annoyed. "But it really is a give-take relationship. I learn a lot from him and he learns a lot from me."

The Winnipeg native says she introduced Maida to War Child and other charities.

"I don't think Raine was really charity- driven at that time (when they met). He had gotten his record deal at a fairly young age and they were really busy. I think I'm more charity-driven where he may be a little more artist political driven."

By: Lisa Wilton