Awards show a creative collaboration
When Alessia Cara hosts this year’s JUNO Awards on March 15, the 23-year-old will be one of the youngest hosts ever. The Moffats, made up of four brothers including triplets, were 17 and 18 when they hosted in 2000. This makes the Brampton, Ontario-raised singer-songwriter’s input into the awards show especially valuable, says executive producer Lindsay Cox.
“When we first started talking to her, her observations were really smart,” said Cox, from Insight Productions who produces The JUNO Awards Broadcast.
“She wasn’t going to just let the show happen around her, she was going to be a part of making it happen. The host has such an important role in setting the tone, and I think that mattered to Alessia. We wanted to know what her generation wants to see on television. So we really encouraged her to think that way. And she does think that way. She knows her audience.”
Cara performed on the awards show for the first time in 2016, the year she won her first JUNO Award for Breakthrough Artist of the Year Sponsored by FACTOR, the Government of Canada and Canada’s Private Radio Broadcasters, followed by Pop Album of the Year in 2017 for her debut full-length
Know-it-all and a GRAMMY for Best New Artist in 2018. “We’ve watched her grow up,” says Allan Reid, President & CEO of CARAS (The Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences)/the JUNO Awards & Musicounts.
This year, the young singer is the JUNOS’ most nominated artist, with her name appearing in six categories (including Album of the Year Presented by Music Canada for her second full-length, The Pains
of Growing). When Cara was booked to host the show, the fact that she would become the most JUNO nominated artist this year, was unknown.
“First, she’s an incredible musician, and very focused on what she’s doing musically,” Reid said. “But she’s also an incredibly smart as well as humble person. And in what she talks about, what she writes about, she’s become an incredible role model for young women.”
Cox and her team fielded suggestions from the young singer for the show. “When you think of how social media grabs people, it’s in little snippets, little bites, and she asked how could she do that, along with taking on a more traditional hosting role.”
Along with hosting, Cara is scheduled to perform. Other scheduled performers include JUNO Award nominees Daniel Caesar (R&b/soul Recording of the Year), The Glorious Sons (Rock Album of the Year), Lennon Stella (Breakthrough Artist of the Year Sponsored by FACTOR, the Government of Canada and Canada’s Private Radio Broadcasters and Single of the Year), Tory Lanez (five nominations, including twice in R&b/soul Recording of the Year), Jann Arden and more.
Arden, who hosted the program in 1997 and co-hosted alongside Jon Montgomery in 2016, will be inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame. This marks a milestone for not just the singer-songwriter but for CARAS’ Reid. Back when he was an A&R man for Universal Music Canada, Reid signed Arden to a record deal. She was his first signing. “To come full circle with her now, to see her go into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame almost 30 years later, is pretty special,” he said.
The show’s producers are looking at how they can create a unique look and feel for each performance.
“We were just talking to an artist who’s performing and we talked about what his performance should look like, who he could collaborate with, how do we create a new arrangement?” Cox said. “There’s a real excitement this year on the part of the artists to try something different, to go outside their comfort zone. Each performance is bespoke, and we work closely with the artist to give them what they want.”
Among the music headlines this year was the death of Neil Peart, drummer for one of the most successful Canadian rock bands of all time and Canadian Music Hall of Fame inductees, Rush. Classic-rock fans can rest assured. “There will be something on the broadcast for Neil, absolutely,” said Reid.
The JUNOS have evolved from an industry awards event to a weeklong festival in the host city. After a 13-year hiatus, the JUNOS are thrilled to be returning to Saskatoon.
“There’s always something about going to some of these smaller markets versus some of the major centres,” Reid said. “Whether it’s St. John’s, Newfoundland, or London or Saskatoon, it’s a big deal when the JUNOS come into town. There’s a level of excitement that is palpable.”
“You rarely see these artists all come through at one time in these smaller markets,” Cox said. “And that’s exciting. We’re finding such enthusiasm for supporting the show.”
Local talent up for awards this year include The Dead South (Traditional Roots Album of the Year) and Foxwarren (Alternative Album of the Year Presented by Long & Mcquade), both from Regina, and the Hunter Brothers. The latter are five siblings from the town of Shaunavon, and are nominated for Breakthrough Group of the Year Sponsored by FACTOR, the Government of Canada and Canada’s Private Radio Broadcasters and Country Album of the Year.
Once this year’s JUNOS are behind them, Reid, Cox and their respective teams will focus on 2021 and the show’s 50th anniversary, to be held in Toronto for the first time in a decade.
“The 50th will be a very special celebration, where we’re not just looking forward but looking back on decades of Canadian music,” Reid said.
This year’s fast-rising host, Alessia Cara, may be part of that celebration as well.