Mike's Bloggity Blog

Is it really Juno time again already?

So what are the Junos exactly?  Let’s get you caught up.  The awards celebrate the best in Canadian music.  Simply put they are the Canadian Grammys. The Juno Awards are actually spread out over two nights.  Tonight will see the majority of the awards given out, thirty three in fact.  Tomorrow’s actual broadcast on CTV will feature only eight awards and whole lot of performances.

As a lover of all things Canadian music and entertainment, this my friends is my bread and butter.

So where am I?  Toronto.  More specifically, The Allstream Centre for the Juno Gala.  I’ll be chilling out backstage all night, chatting with all the winners (and some losers,) so if at any point you have any questions, just let me know.  This night is always a blast.

I’m going to be live-blogging all night, so stay tuned!

6:15pm Tonight’s Gala kicks off with a super buzz-worthy Shad, he’s nominated for Rap Recording of the Year.  He also write a really interesting blog post this week in the National Post.  Could big changes be ahead for the Junos? Click here to read it.

6:19pm:  Jian Ghomeshi and Seamus O’Regan are tonight’s co-hosts.  I remember from last year that Shamus stole the show with his very surprising potty mouth.

6:40pm: Breaking news.  Welcome speeches are always boring.  No matter where you sit or how much free wine you’ve had.

6:41pm The minister of travel and tourism just said Justin Beaver.  A.m.a.z.i.n.g.

6:47pm Adult Alternative Album of The Year goes to Neil Young...who is looking anything but.  It’s been 29 years since he was last at the Juno Awards!

6:56pm: I asked Neil Young, if he followed the Top 40 genre that he will be winning awards with this weekend.  He said, “Music is music. I don’t follow handles. That’s someone else’s job.”

6:59pm: “How do we win an Instrumental Juno?  Add vocals.”  -Fond of Tigers after winning Instrumental Album of the Year.

7:02pm: Polaris Prize winners Karkwa win Francophone Album of The Year.  “It means a lot that we can make an impact on the Canadian music industry.”

7:09pm Edmonton’s Quanteisha wins R&B Soul Recording of The Year! Who knew Edmonton was so urban?  Turns out she doesn’t even have an album out yet, seven singles and she’s still independent.  Amazing example of how cool the Canadian music industry can be.

7:12pm Jim Byrnes wins Blues Album of The Year.  He’s a successful actor (Hellcats, Sanctuary), lost both of his legs in a car accident and is the nicest person we’ve had back here all night.  I’m amazed by his perseverance.

7:23pm: Elain Lil’Bit Shepherd wins Reggae Recording of The Year. I’m always surprised by how little attention this genre gets. “The reggae genre is actually lot stronger than we give it credit for.”

7:30pm Gryphon Trio, Lara St. John, Gerald Finley and R. Murray Schafer all win Junos for their classical albums, which has never come across my radar.  Tell me, am I missing out?

7:34pm:  Matt Good wins Rock Album of The Year. He’s not here because he’s previously called the Junos pointless. He should have at least come for the free food.

7:53pm: Deane Cameron wins the Walt Grealis Special Achievement Award in the same building that his father enlisted in for the Canadian military when Deane was 17 years old.

8:10pm Cameron has been talking for quite a while now and I kinda thinking how great it would for everyone to get the chance to summarize their life and thank all those that have meant something to them.  That alone is an honour.

8:14pm “If I didn’t tell anyone that I won, I doubt anyone would know about this award.  I hope that more people would pay attention to Jazz music.” -Traditional Jazz Album of The Year winner John Macleod.

8:16pm Johnny Reid wins Country Album of The Year.  The media room is already swooning.

8:19pm: Show opener Shad shocks the crowd and wins Rap Recording of The Year.  Then why wasn’t he nominated for artist of the year!

8:32pm:  Hedley wins Best Video for “Perfect.”  I still can’t help that this video looks familiar.

8:36pm: Shad is backstage now and the media room is so happy that he got Best Rap Album  over Drake.  No offense to Drake, just refreshing I guess.  “Yeah absolutely”, when asked about hosting next year’s Junos.

8:42pm:  Daniel Lanois wins Producer of The Year and then apologizes for beating Arcade Fire.  I’m sure they’ll be fine. He then invites Neil Young up again, “just to say something.”  Why not?

8:49pm “The Hedley curse is definitely broken.” -Kyle Davidson, director of Hedley’s Juno winning music video.  Surprising that the band has never won before.

8:55pm “We try not to put in a bunch heyaheys, to make sure we didn’t do the overkill.” -Aboriginal album of the year award winner, CerAmony.

9:01pm I asked Johnny Reid if he felt that his positive attitude was exceptional in the music industry, “I learned a long time ago that life is too short. It’s as simple as that.”

9:09pm: Ladies and Gentlemen, the least likely winner of Best Children Album ever:
Peter Lenton.

9:19pm: Rush wins for Music DVD of The Year.  I was super excited until I realized that none of the people who won who are actually in Rush.  I’m glad that I asked my neighbour before asking a question.

8:26pm: Huzzah! Said the Whale wins New Group of The Year!  J’aime them beaucoups!  Plus their energy is infectious!  They actually had their stuff stolen a few days ago and hilariously re-enacted their mishap. Click here to watch.

Wow a great night!  Thanks for following along!  The big show is tomorrow night!  See you then!

Okay, so it’s official, I’m 100% going to this year’s Junos! I’m beyond excited to be going to Toronto in a few short weeks!  The last couple Junos (Calgary, Vancouver and St. John’s) have all been amazing but to celebrate the best of Canadian music in  what is essentially the home of Canadian music will be a truly unforgettable experience!

Here’s the top three things I can’t wait to do:

1. Talk to Shania Twain.  If there was a number higher than #1 one, I would invent it and then invent a number high than that.  Yes, my excitement is that high.  Neil Young comes in a close second but really that’s just for my dad. I already have a list of questions that I’m dying to ask her, hopefully I don’t seem too crazy/excited, so her people will let me get through an interview.  Fingers crossed. I’m also excited to see Drake.  He was amazingly humble last year, I wonder what 12 months has done.

2. Anyone that covers entertainment any amount of time can become cynical.  They forget how lucky we are to meet, interview and sometimes share a beer with any number of Canadian celebs.  You know who don’t become cynical?  The fans.  That’s why I always make sure I check out Juno Fan Fare. To see people who are genuinely excited about meeting their favourite bands is refreshing and extremely exciting.  Unless you’ve been, you really have no idea.  This year’s fan fest features the likes of: Classified, Danny Fernandes, Down With Webster, Faber Drive, George Canyon, Hannah Georgas, HEdley, Hollerado, Johnny Reid, Karl Wolf, Keshia Chante, The Midway State, Shad, Stereos, Sweet Thing and These Kids Wear Crown. The cynic in me would make a joke about it actually being a Straight Iron Conference, but not this time folks!

3.  I’m probably supposed to say that the actual Junos make it somewhere on this list, right?  While the awards are cool, I have to say that Juno Fest is just a wee bit cooler.  This year’s festival sounds amazing and I can’t wait until I can get myself to Toronto to enjoy shows in more than twenty of the city’s coolest venues featuring some of the bands that I’ve been dying to see including: Elliot Brood, Said the Whale, Hannah Georgas and Justin Rutledge. (Click here to see the whole list.)

The Junos take place in Toronto from March 21-27th!

See you there?

Every year when the Juno nominations are announced, I instantly look to see who was nominated in my favourite category: Video of The Year. I’m not sure what it is, maybe because amazing videos are so hard to come by nowadays, but feel like I’m one of the few people that still really love and actively seek out music videos. That’s why I’m so happy that this year’s crop of nominees are really, really good, I’m not sure how the the Juno voters are going to decide!

Take a look at this year’s nominees!  Who do you think deserves the big award?

Broken Social Scene – Forced To Love

Chargez! – Ariel

Collect Call [Christopher Mills short film] – Metric

Hedley-Perfect

Billy Talent – Saint Veronica

The Juno nominations were just announced a few minutes ago and as expected,it looks like  Drake is going to be having one hell of a night!

Not only is the former Degrassi-er hosting the biggest night in Canadian music, Drake also  leads the pack with six JUNO Award nominations.  Other big nominees include  Arcade Fire, Broken Social Scene, Hedley, Johnny Reid, Justin Bieber and Sarah McLachlan all who picked up several nominations.

Fans/haters of the Junos will notice that every year the awards seem to be building their cred with alternative nominees like BSS and Arcade Fire.  The show used to be very Top 40 friendly and with Metric winning several awards last year, the musical tides are definitely changing.

Perhaps the most shocking part of today’s announcement was the price of the tickets to the award show.  The cheapest tickets are $62 and go all the way to $213!  Since the show is only two hours long (with commercials) that is quite a steep price for Canadian music fans, don’t you think? In case you’re wondering, that works out to about $2.42 a minute!

Not that you won’t get to see some great performances  Arcade Fire , Broken Social Scene, Down With Webster Hedley and Johnny Reid are all scheduled to perform!

The Junos will take place on March 27th in Toronto!

Here’s a list of some of the BIG categories!  (Click here to see the entire list!)

JUNO FAN CHOICE AWARD
Drake Cash Money*Universal
Hedley Universal
Johnny Reid Johnny Mac*EMI
Justin Bieber Island Def Jam*Universal
Michael Bublé WEA*Warner

SINGLE OF THE YEAR
Oh Canada Classified HalfLife*Sony
Find Your Love Drake Cash Money*Universal
Perfect Hedley Universal
Hallelujah Vancouver Winter 2010 kd lang Nonesuch*Warner
Wavin’ Flag Young Artists for Haiti Universal

INTERNATIONAL ALBUM OF THE YEAR
Recovery Eminem Interscope*Universal
Teenage Dream Katy Perry Capitol*EMI
Animal Ke$ha RCA*Sony
Need You Now Lady Antebellum Capitol Nashville*EMI
Speak Now Taylor Swift Big Machine/Open Road*Universal

ALBUM OF THE YEAR
The Suburbs Arcade Fire Sonovox*F.A.B.
Thank Me Later Drake Cash Money*Universal
The Show Must Go Hedley Universal
A Place Called Love Johnny Reid Johnny Mac*EMI
My World 2.0 Justin Bieber Island Def Jam*Universal

ARTIST OF THE YEAR
Drake Cash Money*Universal
Johnny Reid Johnny Mac*EMI
Justin Bieber Island Def Jam*Universal
Neil Young Reprise*Warner
Sarah McLachlan Nettwerk*Sony

GROUP OF THE YEAR
Arcade Fire Sonovox*F.A.B.
Broken Social Scene Arts & Crafts*EMI
Down With Webster Universal Motown*Universal
Great Big Sea WEA*Warner
Three Days Grace Jive*Sony

NEW ARTIST OF THE YEAR
Basia Bulat Secret City*EMI
Bobby Bazini Mungo Park* Sélect
Caribou Merge*F.A.B.
Hannah Georgas Hidden Pony*EMI
Meaghan Smith Sire/WEA*Warner

NEW GROUP OF THE YEAR
Die Mannequin WEA*Warner
Hollerado Royal Mountain*Arts & Crafts/EMI
Misteur Valaire Mr. Label*Outside/Select
My Darkest Days 604*Universal
Said The Whale Hidden Pony*EMI

SONGWRITER OF THE YEAR
Arcade Fire
“Ready To Start” | “We Used To Wait” | “Sprawl II (Mountains Beyond Mountains)”
THE SUBURBS – Arcade Fire Sonovox*F.A.B.*Arcade Fire Music
Drake
“Fireworks”- co-songwriter M. Samuels | “Over”- co-songwriters N. Shebib, M. Samuels, C. Kalla & A. Cook | “Show Me A Good Time”- co-songwriters K. West, J. Bhasker & E. Wilson
THANK ME LATER – Drake Cash Money*Universal*EMI Music Publishing
Hannah Georgas
“Chit Chat” | “The Deep End” – co-songwriter Robbie Driscoll | “Lovers Breakdown”
THIS IS GOOD – Hannah Georgas Hidden Pony Records*EMI*Beetle Bomb Music
Royal Wood
“Waiting” | “On Top Of Your Love” | “Tonight I Will Be Your Guide”
THE WAITING – Royal Wood MapleMusic*Universal* MapleMusic Publishing
Sarah McLachlan
“Illusions of Bliss” | “Forgiveness”- co-songwriter Pierre Marchand | “Loving You Is Easy”
LAWS OF ILLUSION – Sarah McLachlan Nettwerk*Sony*Tyde Music

I’ve always championed for the Junos, insisting that they are cooler than people actually think they are.  Well, if you weren’t a believer before, I think this might change your mind.

The Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (CARAS) and CTV announced late Wednesday night that Neil Young will be the recipient of the 2011 Allan Waters Humanitarian Award at this year’s Juno Awards. The Award, named after CHUM Ltd. founder Allan Waters, is made possible by funding from the CTV-CHUM benefits package.

While this will be really exciting for those watching at home, when I read the press release I immediately thought:  Holy Shit I’m going to get to ask Neil Young a question in the press room!  Then I puked.

In case you needed a refresher, the impact of Neil Young’s music as well as his philanthropy has touched millions of lives and spans generations.  Young is a five-time JUNO Award winner and was inducted to the Canadian Music Hall of Fame in 1982.  In 2009 he was made an Officer of the Order of Canada and in 2010 was named the MusiCares Person of the Year by The National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences.

Hosted by Drake, THE 2011 JUNO AWARDS, Canada’s Music Awards, will be broadcast for the 10th year in a row on CTV on Sunday, March 27 from the Air Canada Centre in Toronto.

See you there Neil!

I’m beyond excited that we are less than three months away until the 40th annual Junos in Toronto!

If you are a Canadian musician, than you should be excited too. Applications to play at this year’s Juno Fest are now open! JunoFest is a two-night music festival that is one of the signature events of the 2011 JUNO Week. The all-live festival will feature the talents of over 100 regional and national artists representing the many genres of Canadian music.

In the past, some of Junofest’s bands have included: Beast, Bedouin Soundclash, Classified, Danny Fernandes, Divine Brown, Elliott Brood, Elizabeth Shepherd, Famous, Feist, Hey Rosetta!, Handsome Furs, Julie Doiron, Metric, MSTRKRFT, Sam Roberts, Shad, Shout Out Out Out Out, The Wailin’ Jennys and Wintersleep.

Junofest will be taking place at over 15 venues in downtown Toronto on Friday, March 25 and Saturday, March 26.

If you think you got what it takes, head on over to Sonic Bids and submit your application! If you make it, let me know. I’ll definitely come check you guys out! I’ve been to the last three Juno awards and every year Junofest is my favourite part. If you aren’t sure if your band is big enough to make it, why not apply?  It costs only $10.  Wouldn’t you pay $10 for your big break?

Your chances of winning a Juno just got a little bit better.

CARAS announced today that to celebrate it’s 40th Anniversary of the Junos, they’ll be adding a 40th category: Electronic Album of the Year.

The new category is defined as an album-length original recordings composed with electronic equipment as the essential songwriting tools and defined by their electronic elements.  Hmm I wonder if audio-tune counts?  If not, that should eliminate most Canadian popstars.

Submissions for the 2011 JUNO Awards open October 1, 2010.

Happy early 40th Birthday Junos, see you in Toronto next year!

Hopefully this will be the last time I talk about Justin Bieber for a good, long while.

Like him or not, after seeing the ratings for this year’s CTV broadcast of the ratings, you can’t ignore the much ballyhooed newly crowned teen idol is a force not to reckon to with.

1.6 million people watched the two hour award show, making it the most watch Junos since 2003. In the most sought after 18-34 demographic, numbers jumped 63%! Who knew people in their twenties could be infected with Beiber-fever.

How long do you think it will be until they ask Bieber to host next year’s awards?

We are a couple of hours away from the start of the 2010 Juno Awards! As you know, the actual Junos celebration is spread out over almost an entire week and tonight is the huge culmination.

Last night, over thirty Junos were handed out. If you want to see all the winners, click here. Tonight another 7 awards will be won! I’m guessing, mostly by Michael Buble.

While CTV will show you what is going on stage, I’m backstage all night and will live blogging,. I’m looking forward to finally experiencing Bieber fever and seeing what the fuss about Drake is all about.

Happy Junos everyone!!!

3:20pm Most of the night’s events will be taking place in and around the Mile One Centre. Here are some pics of people putting the finishing touches on the Red Carpet and the Juno Stage which will be on George Street.

4:15pm:

Before the night begins, I got the chance to interview Tiffany Astle who is the national media relations manager for the Junos. Chris McDowall is the VP of Holmes Creative. Since the Junos are such a serious event, I thought it would only be appropriate to ask very serious questions.

What temperature do you have before you know you diagnose yourself with Bieber fever?

Tiffany: 5000 degrees. I would have to be really hot, which she is

Chris: It’s gotta be about 109 or a 110 degrees before I’m full on Beiber-fever.

If you could win a Juno, which one would it be?

Tiffany:I would win the award for best publicist, it would require a whole new award, but it is what I deserve. It would be black and gold, to compliment my outfits.

Chris: Best Hair. Hair is like snowflakes……

Who would accompany you down the red carpet at the Junos?

Tiffany: I would take you to help make you famous, but let’s be honest, it would probably be Jason Mraz.

Chris: Megan Fox…I mean my wife.

5:07pm We are about to head out to the Red Carpet. There we will stand for 90 minutes until people start coming. It’s freezing. BUT I do have a little bit of a buzz-on and warm gloves. What more could you want!

6:20pm Olympic Gold Medalist John Montgomery is still riding his Vancouver 2010 wave. He’s hoping not to go back to work anytime soon. His girlfriend and him are both setting their sights on Sochi 2012! Yes, he has a girlfriend.

6:35pm Jim Cuddy admits to not being very good at having an online presence but calls it one of the most important tools for new and emerging artists.

6:4opm I used to sleep in a parking lot over night just to get Great Big Sea tickets. Years later, the guys are just as cool. Their tenth studio album comes out this year!

6:47pm “Don’t put anything out that you don’t absolutely love. You have to love what you do.” -Lights.

6:55pm I almost sorta got Bieber Fever. Call it Beiber-lite:

8:00pm We are here! It is Juno time!!!

8:01pm Classified opens the show down on George St! The whole street packed and singing our newunofficial anthem, “Oh Canada.”

8:05 Michael Buble is next and he elicists one of the loud
est screams I’ve heard. Especially when he goes into the audience to sing “Haven’t Met You Yet.”

8:10pm The Barenaked Ladies come out to announce the night’s first award. BNL confirms that no one is hosting. Obviously they ignore that I would have done for free.

8:12pm Michael Buble wins the night’s first award, Single Of The Year. He says he is nervous, do you believe him? He doesn’t seem like the guy who gets too nervous!

8:20pm Justin Bieber comes out to perform surprisingly early. He switched earpieces SECONDS before the camera went to him. He looked TERRIFIED.

8:21pm And now Drake has joined Bieber on stage! I told you this was going to happen!

(sorry for the break-the internet stopped working and we were moved)

8:26pm Fan Choice winner Lyndsey screams that Michael Buble wins the Fan Choice Juno. I talked to her on the red carpet and she wanted Drake to win, but Buble will do!

8:28pm My mom’s boyfriend Johnny Reid performs his big hit, Dance With Me. Reid has three upcoming sold out shows in St. John’s. That is quite an accomplishment!

8:37pm Nikki Yanofsky gives a little bit about Musicounts. Fun fact: On the Red Carpet, I had to ask her publicist if she was Nikki or Eva Avila.

8:39pm Back in the pressroom, a journalist has brought the cutest eight year old kid. He just said he was sick of talking about Bieber and that “all boys hate Bieber. ” Smartest 8-year old ever.

8:41pm Does Shiloh have an accent? Isn’t she from Edmonton?

8:45pm After Billy Talent‘s performance, K’Nann introduces Bryan Adams as the winner of the Humanitarian Award. Sadly, Adams was one of the victims of the volcanic-ash aviation disaster and never made it into St. Johns. Can we give it to him next year?

8:48pm Fun fact: There is an open bar in the pressroom. Oddly enough, they are serving Big Rock, which is brewed in Alberta. I want some BlueStar damnit!

9:00pm Sadly K’naan beats my (secret) best friend, Carly Rae Jepson for Songwriter of The Year. But if anyone was going to win, he certainly deserves it.

9:05pm The Junos used to have a bad reputation for just awarding the Top 40 artists. Ladies and Gentlemen, may I please introduce you to the always awesome Great Lake Swimmers.

9:10pm Probably the most competitive category of the night is the New Artist Of The Year. Again, Carly Rae lost but this time it was too Drake. I think I agree with that one even less, seeing as how he doesn’t even have an album out

9:12pm Metric is on stage, as Michael Buble comes backstage. We get to see him early!

9:15pm Amelia Curran gets to talk about the Junos Gala Award. I’ve taken to her a couple of time this weekend and she has been absolutely awesome. So grateful and professional.

9:17pm Michael Buble just came in. Best Hair of the night! He also just told me that the volcanic ash cloud is headed towards Newfoundland and we might be stuck here for a couple of days?!?! Um…is that true?! He is leaving right after the show, we might be stuck here for three days though.

9:25pm Can the Blue Rodeo please write the soundtrack for my life?

9:30pm Sadly, I missed the April Wine train. I call this my strech and bathroom break!

9:45pm Okay, I got distracted by the weather news. What did I miss? April Wine? Anything else?

9:46pm Drake picks up his second award of the night, Rap Recording of the Year. Sadly, he doesn’t thank the cast of Degrassi!

9:47pm: The first sign that we are almost done, “The official sponsors of the Junos were….”

9:50pm And the night’s last award goes to Michael Bubble for Artist of The Night…or whatever Alexandre Bilodeau said! The press room died. So funny!

9:56pm The show closes out with K’naan’s Waving Flag. He is joined on stage by Drake, Nikki Yonowski, Justin Bieber and a whole bunch of others! What a great way to close an amazing night!

9:55pm Loverboy just came in the room. “Before the band was put together, I was never interested in sounding like anyone else.” They also talk about how they’ve been raising money and awareness for juvenile diabetes. This is obviously a cause that is very important to them.

10:05pm I asked them what they thought about the Canadian music industry. They agreed that the copy write laws are important and that as long as musicians are making money, it’s a good thing.

10:08pm Metric just walked in the room.

10:11pm I just asked them what’s next, they said to win an Oscar. My suggestion? Precious 2.

10:12pm Emily Haines to new artists: “Don’t let anyone sign you and your music for any less than you deserve. And don’t let anyone tell you can’t do exactly what you want to do.”

10:18pm Waiting for Drake to make his way back stage. It doesn’t look like Bieber will be showing up. I got that needle for no reason.

10:20pm K’Naan just walked in. I asked him about Canada’s efforts in the recent international disasters: He says that he doesn’t “like to think in terms of “enough”, but we could always do more.”

10:22pm Drake just walked in. He pulls up a chair and has a seat. I asked him about being so comfortable, “When you think too much about what you have to do, it’s not good. You have to be comfortable in what you do.”

And with that, the Junos have officially came to an end. Usually the night closes with much more excitement, but news of the volcanic cloud coming, people packed up pretty quick and trying to get out of town!

What an amazing weekend. I was able to discover some really great new music and celebrate some old favourites!

As with every year, the real stories about the Junos come out after the (sometimes) boring real events. Saturday night in St. John’s was no exception.

There were dozens of parties happening all over the city and it was almost too much too keep up.

Here’s what I saw:

• Michael Buble was scene in the Delta Hotel lobby. Cougars felt his presence and he was nice enough to stop and pose for pictures with them.
• Drake hosted a Red Bull party. I heard it turned out to be lamer than expect, so I skipped.
• I headed to the Gibson Guitar party. If you were a fan of Canadian Idol that was the place to be. Carly Rae Jepsen, Rex Goudie, Jacob Hoggard were all there. So was Mariana’s Trench and a ton of people wearing skinny jeans.
• The above picture is of a band. I’d love to tell you there name, but they played a full 45-minute set and never said who they were. They announced the band before and after them, but never said their actual name. Makes it very hard to talk about how great they were, if I can’t look them up online!
• The Arkells show became the unofficial “place to be”. Classified also showed up and the place went nuts. This is the show that everyone will be talking about it.