This one hurts.

Former MuchMusic VJ and Electric Circus host Juliette Powell has passed away at 53, and for Canadian millennials and Gen X ravers, it feels like the end of an era. Powell wasn’t just a TV personality — she was the face of Saturday night dance floors on your screen, and a pioneer in a time when women of colour were few and far between in Canadian media.

If you were anywhere near a television in the ’90s, you know what Electric Circus was. Broadcasting live from Queen and John in downtown Toronto, EC was our answer to MTV’s TRL — but sweatier, weirder, and way more fun. It blurred the line between club and TV studio. It didn’t just feature music; it was a full-body experience. Neon lights, street dancers, live performances from hip-hop and house artists, and beats that laid the groundwork for EDM to rise in Canada — Electric Circus was early rave culture with commercial reach.

Juliette Powell brought the cool. She was effortless, engaging, and gave the chaos a calm centre. You didn’t just watch Electric Circus, you wanted to be on it. And Powell made it feel like maybe, just maybe, you could be. Whether you were a kid in Brampton or downtown Montreal, Juliette felt like the friend who could get you past the velvet rope.

Before the EDM boom, before Tomorrowland and TikTok remixes, Electric Circus was where electronic music met the masses — and Juliette was the bridge. That stage gave platforms to house music before it was mainstream, before the DJs were headliners at Coachella. EC was a launchpad, and for a lot of us, our first taste of the rave.

After her MuchMusic era, Powell became an author, public speaker, and tech ethics expert, proving she was always ahead of her time. But for anyone who danced in their living room to the thump of Electric Circus, her legacy will always include glowsticks, baggy pants, and an unmatched energy.

Juliette Powell wasn’t just a VJ. She was a cultural reset. A Saturday night staple. A legend.

Rest in power, Juliette. The beat goes on — but it’s a little quieter without you.