JUNO Nominee Press Conference – Phoenix Concert Theatre, Toronto – February 2nd, 2016

By Erin Donnelly

With a new year comes new awards shows, and one of the biggest music given to any Canadian or international artist is a JUNO. The Juno’s are celebrating their 45th annual awards show this year in Calgary, Alberta on April 3rd. The nominations are officially released and many artists are pumped to see their names on the list as potential winners.

The nominee press conference was hosted at the Phoenix Concert Theatre in Toronto, Ontario on February 2nd. Every major news outlet in the city was present, including CTV, Global News, City TV, ETalk, and CP24.

The event opened with a welcome message by Allan Reid, the President and CEO of CARAS (The Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences) where he thanked the many sponsors such as the Canadian Government, Alberta Government, and TD Bank.

Western Canadian Music Award nominee, rapper Transit, then performed for the packed crowd of media and artists.

Now, the moment that you have all been waiting for, a list of some of the nominees and performers for the 2016 JUNO Awards…

Toronto’s own, The Weeknd came out with a whopping six nominations including JUNO Fan Choice, Single of the Year, Album of the Year, Artist of the Year, Songwriter of the Year, and R&B/Soul Recording of the Year.

Both Drake and Justin Bieber have been given five nominations each, including JUNO Fan Choice, Single of the Year, Album of the Year, and Artist of the year. Drake has also been nominated for Rap Recording of the Year, while Bieber has been nominated for Pop Album of the Year.

Alessia Cara was announced to be the first performer with Dean Brody second (which pleased the crowd), and timeless rocker Bryan Adams was added to the list.

Canadian Pop sensation Alessia Cara will not only perform, but will be in the running for JUNO Fan Choice, as well as Single of the Year, Breakthrough Artist, and R&B/Soul Recording.  Clearly, it will be a big night for her.

Shawn Mendes is having another incredible year and is nominated for a JUNO Fan Choice, along with Album/Artist/and Pop Album of the Year. Buffy Sainte-Marie received a nod for Songwriter of the Year, Aboriginal Album of the Year, and Contemporary Roots Album. City and Colour is hoping to win one of three nominations including Artist of the Year, Songwriter of the Year, and Jack Richardson Producer of the Year.

Many other artists are named for various awards, including The Sheepdogs, The Elwins, Scott Helmen, Hedley, Discrete, Young Empires, Cancer Bats, Kardinal Offishall, Jan Arden, Metric, Three Days Grace, Michael Jerome Brown, Death From Above 1979, Half Moon Run, Dear Rouge, Walk off the Earth and more. Some of the international artists up for awards are Vance Joy, Hozier, One Direction and Adele.

Tickets are now on sale for the 2016 JUNO Awards in Calgary, Alberta on Sunday April 3rd. You can get your tickets online at www.ticketmaster.ca or watch live on CTV!