Junos to be awarded virtually on June 29

The Juno Awards are back on.

The prestigious Canadian music awards presentation, originally scheduled to take place in Saskatoon on March 15 but cancelled due to COVID-19, will bring the party to the virtual world on June 29.

The Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (CARAS), the organization that co-ordinates the Juno Awards, announced on Wednesday that a special virtual awards presentation will be streamed through CBC’S streaming services and social media platforms.

“We are thrilled to finally announce the 2020 Juno winners and recognize all of the incredibly talented artists who’ve been waiting patiently since we had to, unfortunately, cancel Juno Week in Saskatoon,” Allan Reid, president and CEO of CARAS and the Juno Awards, said in a statement.

The 2020 Juno Awards were originally scheduled to take place at Sasktel Centre in Saskatoon, hosted by Canadian pop music star Alessia Cara.

In the lead-up to the Juno Awards weekend, officials from around the city and the province were actively monitoring the spread of the COVID -19 virus, which had just recently begun to appear throughout Canada. After the first presumed case of COVID-19 was announced in Saskatchewan on March 12, the awards ceremony and all subsequent events were swiftly cancelled for public health reasons.

Cara, 23, is nominated in six categories — best album, single, artist, songwriter, pop album and Juno fan choice. She was also set to be the second-youngest host in Junos history behind pop-country band The Moffatts, who hosted as teenagers in 2000 in Toronto.

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).

Among the nominees performing during the online event are The Dead South, iskwē, and Neon Dreams. Presenters include Toronto Raptors forward Chris Boucher, actors Andrew Phung from Kim’s Convenience and Finn Wolfhard from Stranger Things, Canadian personality George Stroumboulopoulos and Minister of Canadian Heritage Steven Guildbeault.