Alessia Cara named host for Junos in Saskatoon
Star up for six nominations in Canada’s top award
SASKATOON A mix of performers young and old, fresh and familiar, are set to highlight the 2020 Juno Awards in Saskatoon — with a 23-year-old superstar taking centre stage on the biggest night in Canadian music.
Multiple Juno winner and Grammy winner Alessia Cara will not only serve as host for the 2020 Junos, she also leads the field with six nominations. The youngest host in Junos history is up for best album, single, artist, songwriter, pop album and Juno Fan Choice.
“This is really, really exciting ... My first reaction was: ‘Why?’ ” Cara said Tuesday with a self-deprecating laugh, joking that fans were probably hoping for fellow nominee Shawn Mendes to serve as host.
Other notable nominees include Tory Lanez in five categories (Juno Fan Choice, artist, rap recording and two in the R&b/soul recording); Alexandra Streliski in three categories (album, breakthrough artist and instrumental album); iconic rocker Bryan Adams (album, artist and adult contemporary album), bulow (single, songwriter, pop album), Loud Luxury (Juno Fan Choice, group and dance recording), NAV (Juno Fan Choice, album and rap recording), and pop sensation Shawn Mendes (single of the year for Senorita with Camila Cabello, artist of the year and Juno Fan Choice).
Cara said she did not expect to be nominated for so many awards.
“This is nuts,” she said in an interview with CBC, which will broadcast the Junos again this year. “There’s always, to me, something a little bit more special when you’re being honoured and acknowledged by your country. Just to know that your country is proud of you feels really great.”
Longtime star Avril Lavigne is nominated in two categories (Juno Fan Choice and pop album), while Justin Bieber and The Weeknd are up for Juno Fan Choice.
Saskatchewan nominees are Shaunavon’s Hunter Brothers (breakthrough group and country album); Regina’s Foxwarren (alternative album); Regina’s Terri Fidelak and Regina/saskatoon’s Carey Shaw (album artwork for Foston’s Belle Plaine); and Regina’s The Dead South (traditional roots album).
Among the notable omissions is Drake. The hip-hop star from Toronto, nominated recently for Grammys in the R&B and rap categories, is one of the world’s top-selling artists and a record-setter on Billboard and digital streaming platforms.
The 49th annual Junos are set for March 15 at Sasktel Centre, with Juno Week running from March 9-15. The Junos were last in Saskatoon in 2007, when Nelly Furtado hosted the ceremony while also winning album of the year and artist of the year.
The Juno announcement was made Tuesday in Toronto and simulcast at Prairieland Park, where city officials, organizers and volunteers gathered.
The first performers announced for the March 15 broadcast are Alessia Cara, Lennon Stella, Daniel Caesar, The Glorious Sons and Tory Lane. To celebrate her induction into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame, award-winning singer and songwriter Jann Arden is also scheduled to perform at the ceremony.