The roster, then and now
- Christopher Ward — MuchMusic's first breakout VJ and a genuine songwriter (co-writer of "Black Velvet" — yes, really); went on to a long behind-the-scenes career in music and television writing.
- Steve Anthony — the funny one, then and now; a decades-long broadcasting career in Toronto television kept him a household presence long after the channel's peak.
- Erica Ehm — the poet-VJ who turned her on-air persona into an entrepreneurial empire — writing, publishing (the Yummy Mummy era), and speaking; the blueprint for VJ-to-brand.
- Jeanne Beker — fashion's broadcasting institution: from the MuchMusic trenches to Fashion Television, where she became Canada's most famous fashion journalist.
- Rick Campanelli ("Rick the Temp") — won a national contest to become a VJ and stayed for an era; a beloved broadcasting figure whose post-Much career kept him on national screens and airwaves.
- Jennifer Hollett — transitioned from VJ to a career in journalism and public life, carrying the music-channel credibility into serious media and civic engagement.
- Amanda Walsh — from the MuchMusic desk to a respected acting career (film and television), one of the roster's most successful screen pivots.
- George Stroumboulopoulos — MuchMusic's The NewMusic host became a national broadcaster: the CBC flagship eponymous? — keep it clean: the CBC's flagship talk show, hockey broadcasting, and one of the most recognizable voices in Canadian media — a career that began with music journalism on the channel.
- Sarain Fox — among the later-generation VJs who carried the channel into its final era; continued as a broadcaster, dancer, and Indigenous arts advocate.
- The ensemble — dozens more hosts, reporters, and specialty-show personalities flowed through 299 Queen West, and a remarkable share of them remain in Canadian media, podcasting, and the music business: the channel functioned, among other things, as a finishing school for the country's broadcasters.
Why the VJs mattered
The VJ era was built on a single design decision — hosts as music obsessives, not just announcers — and it created an intimacy television rarely achieves. A VJ's endorsement carried the weight of a friend's recommendation, and their interviews (on the street, in the studio, occasionally chaotic) gave Canadian artists a national platform with personality attached. When the channel faded, the talent didn't vanish; it dispersed into the country's entire media ecosystem, which is why so MuchMusic DNA survives in Canadian broadcasting today.
The lesson
MuchMusic's greatest export wasn't videos — it was people: a generation of broadcasters trained in the channel's street-facing, artist-first ethos. The building's speakers went silent; its alumni are everywhere.
Frequently asked questions
Who was the most famous MuchMusic VJ?
Depends on the era — Christopher Ward and Steve Anthony for the 80s, Erica Ehm and Jeanne Beker as icons, Rick Campanelli for the 90s, and George Stroumboulopoulos for the NewMusic years; each became a household name.
What did MuchMusic VJs do after the channel?
Broadcasting (radio and TV), acting, writing, publishing, entrepreneurship, and public life — the roster dispersed across Canadian media with remarkable success.
Who wrote “Black Velvet,” the Alannah Myles hit?
Christopher Ward — MuchMusic’s first famous VJ — co-wrote the song, one of the great hidden credits in Canadian music history.