The Weeknd Leads the 2021 Juno Awards Nominations

By FYI Staff

He may have been snubbed by The Grammy Awards, but The Weeknd has been shown some major love by The Juno Awards. He tops the list of just-announced nominees for the 50th Annual Juno Awards, closely followed by Jessie Reyez, JP Saxe and Justin Bieber with five nods apiece.

The nominations were announced Tuesday a.m. by The Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (CARAS) during a virtual presentation streamed live via CBCMusic.ca/junos.

This year’s annual features 225 nominations spread across 44 categories. The Weeknd is cited in six: Juno Fan Choice, Single of the Year, Album of the Year, Artist of the Year, Songwriter of the Year, and Contemporary R&B Recording of the Year.

Rising star Jessie Reyez is named for Artist, Songwriter, and Contemporary R&B Recording of the Year and has two nominations in Music Video of the Year. R&B-influenced pop performer JP Saxe is up for Juno Fan Choice, Single of the Year, Breakthrough Artist of the Year, Songwriter of the Year and Pop Album of the Year, and pop superstar Justin Bieber is up for Juno Fan Choice, Single of the Year, Album of the Year, Artist of the Year, and Pop Album of the Year.
 
Artists with three nominations include Ali Gatie, Céline Dion, Curtis Waters, and Lennon Stella.

At a post-nominations Juno press conference, Allan Reid,  ‎President, CEO The Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences/The Juno Awards and MusiCounts, admitted that the fact that this year's Juno Awards drew more submissions than any previous year was "a real surprise," but is testimony to the ongoing creativity of Canadian artists in such a challenging period.

For a complete list and biographies of all nominees and more information on the 2021 Juno Awards, please visit here. Rewatch the full Juno nominee press conference at CBCMusic.ca/junos.

The 2021 Juno Awards will be broadcast nationwide Sunday, May 16  at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT on CBC TV, CBC Gem, CBC Radio One, CBC Music and globally on CBCMusic.ca/junos.

Voting is now open for Juno Fan Choice Presented by Freedom Mobile. Fans are encouraged to vote on TikTok and at junofanchoice.ca.

 To mark the milestone 50th anniversary, the Juno Awards will take place at several musical landmarks from across the country, including Budweiser Stage in Toronto.  Reid did stress that pandemic restrictions will prevent public attendance at these events.

A full list of other locations will be released ahead of the awards broadcast, which will be presented to an at-home only audience.

This year, the Juno Awards return to Toronto after a decade, marking the 26th time that the city will host the music spectacle

Included in the televised event, Jann Arden is to be inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame from her hometown at Calgary’s Studio Bell, home of the National Music Centre.

The Humanitarian Award, presented by Music Canada, will be presented to The Tragically Hip, and Pegi Cecconi will be honoured with the Walt Grealis Special Achievement Award for her role in the development and success of artists such as Rush. This special award, along with 37 additional Juno statuettes, will be handed out at the Juno Opening Night Awards on Friday, May 14.

Gary Slaight will receive the 2021 MusiCounts Inspired Minds Ambassador Award, presented by the Canadian Scholarship Trust Foundation, to recognize his philanthropic impact on music education in Canada.

MusiCounts will also recognize an inspirational and passionate Canadian music educator’s impact through the MusiCounts Teacher of the Year Award, presented by the Canadian Scholarship Trust Foundation. The 2021 nominees are Bruce Millerd (Carleton Village Sports & Wellness Academy, Toronto, ON), Mary Piercey-Lewis (Inuksuk High School, Iqaluit, NU), Nicholas Pettipas (Bicentennial School, Dartmouth, NS),  Sophie Jalbert (École Roy et Joly, Rivière-du-Loup, QC), and Stephen Richardson (École St. Joseph, Yellowknife, NT).