CHANGES
AND THE
AWARD
GOES TO...
PHOTO: CARAS/IPHOTO
Nuela Charles & William
Prince Lead Western
Canadian Music Award
Nominees
2020 Polaris Music Prize
Long List Revealed
ALESSIA CARA
2020 Juno Award Winners
Honoured in Special Virtual
Broadcast
In a special virtual broadcast, CARAS
announced the winners of the 2020 Juno
Awards on June 29 th , about three months
after this year’s awards shows and festivities
in Saskatoon were cancelled at the last
minute because of COVID-19. Featuring a
lineup of guest presenters, the virtual event,
now available to stream via CBC platforms,
announced 42 winners across all categories
and included special performances by
Alessia Cara, iskwē, Neon Dreams, and The
Dead South.
Alessia Cara was the big winner, taking
home Album of the Year for The Pains
of Growing, Pop Album of the Year, and
Songwriter of the Year. Shawn Mendes
took Single of the Year for the third year in
a row and Artist of the Year for the second.
Tory Lanez maintained his reign of the Rap
Recording of the Year category, marking his
third consecutive win, as well as being the
first artist to win in both the Rap Recording
and R&B/Soul Recording category (where
he was a co-winner alongside Jessie Reyez)
in the same year. For the second year in a
row, nine-time Juno Award winner Avril
Lavigne won for Juno Fan Choice and Regina-based
The Dead South won Traditional
Roots Album of the Year.
There were also 26 first-time winners,
including Alexandra Stréliski (Instrumental
Album), Half Moon Run (Adult Alternative
Album), iskwē (Music Video), Ben Kaplan
(Jack Richardson Producer of the Year),
and Celeigh Cardinal (Indigenous Artist or
Group), and more.
To see the complete list nominees and
winners, go to www.junoawards.ca.
The Western Canadian Music Alliance has
revealed the nominees for the 2020 Western
Canadian Music Awards (WCMAs) in both
the artistic and industry categories. Like in
past years, the WCMAs will be handed out
during BreakOut West; however, this year it
will happen during a special livestreamed
event on Sept. 25 th as part of the BreakOut
West: Home Edition.
Now in its 18 th year, the WCMAs once
again saw representation from all seven
member associations, with numerous
artists and industry members earning multiple
nominations. In the artistic categories,
leading the way with three nominations
each are Nuela Charles (Pop Artist, Songwriter,
and Video Director of the Year) and
William Prince (Songwriter, Roots Artist,
and Recording of the Year). In total, there
were 15 acts with double nominations. In
the industry categories, the National Music
Centre got four nods and the West End
Cultural Centre got three.
For a full list of nominees, go to
www.breakoutwest.ca.
Grammys & Labels Dropping “Urban” from Industry Lexicon
As anti-racism protests and the Black Lives Matter
movement sweep North America, Republic
Records has officially dropped the word “urban”
from its department names, genre descriptions,
and job titles. DJ/producer/songwriter management
company Milk & Honey also said it was
eliminating “urban” from its company. Then, on
June 10 th , the Recording Academy announced
that the Grammy Awards will stop using “urban”
in its awards and language as part of the latest
round of annual changes to its rules and guidelines.
The Grammys had previously come under
fire for its use of the term.
The Polaris Music Prize, presented by CBC
Music, has revealed its 40-album long list.
The Polaris Music Prize awards $50,000 to
the artist who creates the best Canadian
album of the year, judged solely on artistic
merit without consideration for genre or
record sales. Additionally, the nine other
acts whose albums make the 2020 short
list will receive $3,000 each courtesy of
Slaight Music.
Albums eligible for 2020 Polaris
Music Prize consideration must have
been released between May 1, 2019 and
May 31, 2020. In total, the 201-member
independent jury of Canadian music media
professionals considered 223 albums. The
10-album short list will be unveiled on
July 15 th via CBC Music. The winner will be
revealed during a virtual event shown live
on CBC platforms on Oct.19, 2020.
To see the 40 albums that made this
year’s Polaris long list, go to
www.polarismusicprize.ca.
16 CANADIAN MUSICIAN