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JUNO Awards 2012
And Your Nominees Are…
Artist of the Year
City & Colour
Deadmau5
Drake
Feist
Michael Bublé
Group of the Year
Arkells
Down With Webster
Hedley
Nickelback
Sam Roberts Band
New Artist of the Year
Alyssa Reid
Dan Mangan
Diamond Rings
JRDN
Lindi Ortega
New Group of the Year
Braids
Hey Rosetta!
Mother Mother
Rural Alberta Advantage
The Sheepdogs
Album of the Year
Avril Lavigne- Goodbye Lullabye
Drake- Take Care
Justin Bieber- Under the Mistletoe
Michael Buble- Christmas
Nickelback- Here and Now
Alternative Album of the Year
Braids- Native Speaker
Dan Mangan- Oh Fortune
Destroyer- Kaputt
Fucked Up- David Comes to Life
Timber Timbre- Creep On Creepin’ On
Rock Album of the Year
Arkells- Michigan Left
Matthew Good- Lights of Endangered Species
Sam Roberts Band- Collider
Sloan- The Double Cross
The Sheepdogs- Learn & Burn
Pop Album of the Year
Avril Lavigne- Goodbye Lullabye
Hedley- Storms
Down With Webster- Time to Win Vol 11.
Lights- Siberia
Mariana’s Trench- Ever After
International Album of the Year
Adele- 21
Coldplay- Mylo Xyloto
Lady Gaga- Born This Way
LMFAO- Sorry For Party Rocking
Rihanna- Loud
JUNO Fan Choice Award
Arcade Fire
Avril Lavigne
City & Colour
Deadmau5
Drake
Ginette Reno
Hedley
Justin Bieber
Michael Bublé
Nickelback
These are just your basics. Head on over to the JUNO Awards site to see the full list of nominees.
Polaris 2011
Get To Know Your Short List
Ron Sexsmith- Long Player Late Bloomer
The inclusion of Ron Sexsmith on the Polaris Short List is a bit of an anomaly; he just doesn’t embody any of the typical qualities of Polaris nominees. That’s not to say that the outcomes will always be the same, but patterns form for a reason. Let’s examine:
First off, Sexsmith has been around forever. He started writing and releasing music in 1985 and has since had over 12 commercial releases. Why the sudden interest from highbrow Canadian music media? I don’t know. Secondly, he’s fairly well known and respected. His songs have been covered by Feist, Michael Buble and Rod Stewart to name a few. He’s also worked alongside Chris Martin of Coldplay, Leonard Cohen and Shonen Knife. Your parents will likely know who he is, ask them. (A bad sign? Maybe.)
Lastly, while Long Player Late Bloomer is not a bad record, it’s just not great. There’s some good songwriting in there, but there’s also some cheesy stuff. He has a good voice, but it’s kind of unexciting. Like I mentioned before, he fits nicely between Celine Dion and Dan Fogelberg in your parents’ record collection.
Polaris is known for showcasing and boosting the careers of upcoming and slightly obscure artists. Sexsmith is neither; he doesn’t need the fame and he doesn’t need the funding. Not to mention, there is just nothing on this album that departs from what we hear on Adult Contemporary radio stations every day. Allowing him to win this award would be a slap in the face to courageously creative artists like Braids, Colin Stetson and Austra.
Listen for yourself and decide if I’m heinously off the mark with this one.