The Tuesday, Jan. 28 episode of the CBC television show Kim's Convenience will have some Sudbury flavour thanks to R&B musician Tessa Giro-Gooden.
The title track from Giro-Gooden's latest album, Fool Love, is featured on the episode.
Giro-Gooden — who grew up in Sudbury and attended Marymount Academy and Laurentian University, but has lived in Toronto for seven years — said she's really excited to see her song on the show.
“I'm not sure how exactly they're using it, so I'm excited to see what it's like,” she said.
“I love the show. It's hilarious, and it's really awesome. I'm just thrilled to be a part of it in any way. It's such an awesome cultural thing for Canada for sure.”
If you haven't seen it, Kim's Convenience, which is in its fourth season, is about a Korean-Canadian family — a mother and father with two grown children — who run a convenience store in Toronto.
The Jan. 28 episode, entitled “Happy Ummaversary,” airs at 8 p.m. You can catch it both on TV and through CBC's streaming service, Gem.
The episode description is as follows: “Janet is planning to get the Kim family together for their first family dinner in 15 years but it almost proves too much for Jung and Appa to handle. Jung and Shannon try to hide their relationship from the rest of the Handy gang but their cover may be blown after Shannon gets a little ‘handy’ herself at a staff meeting.”
Past seasons of Kim's Convenience are also made available through Netflix, which means Giro-Gooden's song will eventually be heard around the world.
If you'd like to listen to the song "Fool Love," check out the YouTube link below. You can also stream the song and album on services such as Spotify and Apple Music.
Giro-Gooden said she's received a FACTOR (The Foundation Assisting Canadian Talent on Recordings) grant to develop music for film and television.
“It's kind of the best thing to get into the film and TV world with music,” said Giro-Gooden.
“It's a great way to reach a lot of people, and it's a good way to maintain a sustainable career.
“We're kind of used to being on the road and touring a lot. It's nice to be able to bring in funds from just working at home and recording music at home, versus spending so much on the road and touring and hiring a band.”
The 28-year-old musician has already received some attention for her album "Fool Love," which received two Northern Ontario Music and Film Award nods in 2019 for best vocal performance and best engineering.
“It was kind of the first album I ever made,” Giro-Gooden said. “My fiancé (Petr Balaz) and I made it ourselves at our home studio.”
As one of the album's songs airs on national television, Giro-Gooden said she wants to give Balaz props.
“He is the only other person who worked on this song on the album,” she said. “I definitely want to make sure he gets a shoutout on there somewhere.”
Giro-Gooden has a background in musical theatre as well as in classical music. She played cello with Sudbury Symphony Orchestra and was one of the founding members of YES Theatre (she took part in the troupe's “Mary Poppins” performance in December).
She moved to Toronto originally to pursue musical theatre opportunities, but has turned her attention to creating her own music.
“I'm working on a new EP, and also working on a couple of albums with other artists too,” Giro-Gooden said. “It's going to be kind of a busy year in our studio for sure.”
If you'd like to catch Giro-Gooden in concert, she is performing at P&M's Kouzzina in Sudbury 6-9 p.m. both Feb. 5 and 19.
