Arcade Fire, Serena Ryder nab Juno nominations
Arcade Fire, Tegan and Sara, Michael Bublé and Serena Ryder are among the top acts in the running for the 2014 Juno Awards, Canada’s annual celebration of popular music.
Montreal rock troupe Arcade Fire is the front-runner with six nominations, including group of the year, songwriter and both best single and alternative album for Reflektor.
Toronto singer-songwriter Serena Ryder’s latest album Harmony boosted her to five nods, including for artist of the year, songwriter, album and best single for What I Wouldn’t Do.
Calgary-born siblings Tegan and Sara Quin are also in the running for a host of honours, including group of the year, best pop album for Heartthrob and best single for Closer.
Perennial audience favourites Drake, Hedley, Michael Bublé and Céline Dion also earned a raft of nominations each for their latest albums, Nothing Was the Same, Wild Life, To Be Loved and Loved Me Back to Life, respectively.
Nominees in selected categories include:
– Artist of the year: Céline Dion, Drake, Michael Bublé, Robin Thicke, Serena Ryder.
– Group: Arcade Fire, Blue Rodeo, Hedley, Tegan and Sara, Walk Off the Earth.
– Single: Reflektor, Arcade Fire; Inner Ninja, Classified ft. David Myles; It’s a Beautiful Day, Michael Bublé; What I Wouldn’t Do, Serena Ryder; Closer, Tegan and Sara.
– Album: Reflektor, Arcade Fire; Loved Me Back to Life, Céline Dion; Nothing Was The Same, Drake; To Be Loved, Michael Bublé; Harmony, Serena Ryder.
– Songwriter: Arcade Fire, Henry (Cirkut) Walter, Ron Sexsmith, Serena Ryder, Tegan and Sara Quin.
– Breakthrough group: A Tribe Called Red, Autumn Hill, Born Ruffians, Courage My Love, July Talk.
Breakthrough artist: Brett Kissel, Florence K, Tyler Shaw, Wake Owl.
– International album: Unorthodox Jukebox, Bruno Mars; The Marshall Mathers LP II, Eminem; Night Visions, Imagine Dragons; Midnight Memories, One Direction; Truth About Love, Pink.
– Fan’s Choice: Arcade Fire, Avril Lavigne, Celine Dion, Drake, Hedley, Justin Bieber, Michael Buble, Robin Thicke, Serena Ryder, Walk Off The Earth.
The 43th annual Juno Awards, which will be held at Winnipeg’s MTS Centre on March 30 after a week of musical celebrations across the city. Artists who released albums between Sept. 1, 2012, and Nov. 13, 2013, are eligible.
The Junos are “gearing up for musical magic in Manitoba,” Melanie Berry, president of the Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (CARAS), declared at today’s announcement.
She and other organizers also unveiled a list of some of the performers who are bound for the Juno stage, including top nominees Serena Ryder, viral sensations Walk Off The Earth and Tegan and Sara, as well as chart-toppers Robin Thicke and City and Colour.
Dual American-Canadian crooner Thicke, best known for his controversial chart-topping hit Blurred Lines, is up for a trio of trophies: artist of the year, pop album of the year and the fan choice honour.
Spearheaded by CARAS, the festivities will also include tributes to this year’s special honourees, including:
– Bachman-Turner Overdrive’s induction into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame.
– Celebrating this year’s Allan Waters Humanitarian Award winners: married singer-songwriter duo Chantal Kreviazuk and Raine Maida.
– Recognition of music industry insider, producer and consultant Frank Davies as the 2014 Walt Grealis Special Achievement Award winner.