Nearly a decade after her last full-length project, Melanie Fiona returned with Say Yes her first major release since 2014. While the two-time JUNO winner never stopped creating, the EP marked a powerful return on her own terms.
Helping bring that vision to life was Toronto-based independent label Public Records. Having known Fiona for years, co-founder and General Manager Gavin Sheppard recognized that Say Yes wasn’t about looking back. It was about helping Fiona create a project that reflected the artist and person she had become.
Before Say Yes, Melanie Fiona had already achieved what many artists spend an entire career chasing. From The Bridge and The MF Life, she earned two GRAMMY Awards and a JUNO Award, collaborated with artists including John Legend, J. Cole, Nas and T-Pain, and built an international reputation as one of Canada’s most celebrated R&B artists.
But after years in the traditional album cycle and navigating the demands of the industry, Fiona stepped back from the spotlight. In the years that followed, she embraced motherhood as her life and career evolved, finding new ways to stay connected with her audience before eventually returning to music with a clearer sense of how she wanted to move forward.
When the time came to release another full project, Fiona wasn’t interested in recreating the artist she had been. Instead, Say Yes became a reflection of everything that had shaped her in the years since. The six-track EP explores healing, love and self-discovery while embracing the soulful storytelling that has always defined her music.
For Public Records, supporting Say Yes meant honouring Fiona’s vision and ensuring her return to music remained on her own terms. Rather than encouraging her to fit a particular narrative or chase the latest trend, the team focused on creating the space for her to make the record she wanted to make. “We’re not creating a product,” says Sheppard. “We’re helping someone tell their story.”
“It starts with listening, it starts with figuring out what’s the right environment to create the art, but then past that, what is the right environment to allow you to continue to speak about it?”
Putting that philosophy into practice meant connecting Fiona with the right producers, creating studio environments where she felt comfortable and bringing together songs recorded years apart into a cohesive body of work. As the project took shape, that same care extended to how it was presented, from its visuals to the PR and marketing supporting its release. “We weren’t chasing a moment. We were chasing a feeling,” Sheppard says
For Sheppard, a label’s role extends beyond recording and releasing music. It’s also about recognizing how much artists are asked to give when personal work becomes public. “The best art is extremely personal,” he says. “Then we ask people to perform it and talk about it again and again.”
That understanding informed how Public Records approached Fiona’s return, balancing the work of bringing Say Yes to audiences with the care and respect Sheppard believes artists deserve.
Creating that kind of artist-first environment takes more than good intentions. It requires the people, resources and infrastructure to support every stage of an artist’s career.
Sheppard credits FACTOR with making that possible, not only by investing in artists, but by investing in the teams that help bring their work to the world. From labels and managers to publishers and marketers, he believes those partnerships allow artists to focus on what they do best: creating.
“What FACTOR does in terms of supporting recording artists—and, in turn, the infrastructure around them—is unparalleled.”
“Talent is not the issue in this country,” says Sheppard. “It’s infrastructure.” For him, Canada’s strength has never been a lack of artists, but ensuring they have the support systems needed to build sustainable careers and reach audiences at home and abroad.
With FACTOR’s support, Public Records was able to give Say Yes the care and long-term investment the project deserved. The result was a JUNO Award-winning release that underscored the value of giving artists the time, resources and support to build something meaningful.
Featured photo: Melanie Fiona in the exclusive JUNOS x FUZE Reps 2026 portrait studio at the Broadcast Night Awards – Sunday, March 29, 2026 PHOTO CREDIT REQUIRED: CARAS/FUZE Reps @oshane.howard @fuzereps @_________chi________ @cadreartists @retouch.house
