PLACE YOUR BETS

ARTIST OF THE YEAR

Nominees: City and Colour, Drake, Deadmau5, Feist, Michael Bublé. Who will win: Bublé. Juno loves this man. Who should win: Drake. Take Care was a superior and hugely successful sophomore record. The dark horse: Leslie Feist. Metals was a challenging record and far from a hit, but Feist has received a lot of love from Juno voters in the past.

SINGLE OF THE YEAR

Nominees: City and Colour, “Fragile Bird”; Hedley, “Invincible”; Johnny Reid, “Let’s Go Higher”; Nickelback, “When We Stand Together”; The Sheepdogs, “I Don’t Know.” Who will win: Nickelback. The Alberta rockers are always good for a large Juno haul and, however dreadful it might be, this up-with-people folkrock ditty remains ubiquitous. Who should win: City and Colour. Dallas Green knows his way around a sensitive pop tune. The dark horse: City and Colour. Everybody else has a major label behind them.

SONGWRITER OF THE YEAR

Nominees: Dallas Green, Dan Mangan, Feist, Jim Cuddy, Ron Sexsmith. Who will win: Sexsmith. Long Player Late Bloomer was a proper comeback record and Sexsmith has long been considered one of Canada’s greatest songwriting treasures. He’s due. Who should win: Aw, hell, give it to Sexsmith. None of the other nominees would begrudge him the trophy. The dark horse: Dan Mangan. The Vancouver troubadour is on his way to being as respected as Sexsmith.

NEW ARTIST OF THE YEAR

Nominees: Alyssa Reid, Dan Mangan, Diamond Rings, JRDN, Lindi Ortega. Who will win: Dan Mangan. Mind you, last year’s Oh Fortune is his third album so he could hardly be considered “new.” Who should win: Diamond Rings. Former D’urbervilles frontman Jon O’regan got a lot of international mileage from his glitter-powered electro-pop alter ego. The dark horse: Everybody else.

DANCE RECORDING OF THE YEAR

Nominees: Anjulie, “Brand New Chick”; Deadmau5, “Aural Psynapse”; Duck Sauce, “Barbra Streisand”; Martin Solveig and Dragonette, “Hello”; Mia Martina, “Devotion.” Who will win: Deadmau5. Until Bublé and Justin Bieber’s Christmas albums came along, 4x4=12 was the only Canadian album to pass the platinum sales mark in this country. Who should win: Martin Solveig and Dragonette. I can’t get “Hello” out of my head. The dark horse: Duck Sauce.

ALBUM OF THE YEAR

Nominees: Avril Lavigne, Goodbye Lullaby; Drake, Take Care; Justin Bieber, Under the Mistletoe; Michael Bublé, Christmas; Nickelback, Here and Now. Who will win: I’m betting common sense prevails for once and the only decent album here actually wins. Who should win: Drake. Again, it’s the best album of the bunch. The dark horse: I dunno. Avril? Ben Rayner