Toronto’s The Weeknd leads Juno Awards with 6 nominations
Posted March 9, 2021 4:00 am.
Last Updated March 9, 2021 11:43 am.
The Weeknd is leading this year’s Juno Award nominees.
The Toronto-raised singer, born Abel Tesfaye, picked up six nods in some of the top Junos categories.
Among them, he grabbed a single of the year nod for his chart-topping hit “Blinding Lights,” album of the year with “After Hours” and artist of the year.
He’s also nominated for contemporary R&B recording of the year and the fan choice award, which is voted on by viewers.
Other major contenders include Toronto pop songwriter JP Saxe, whose breakout duet “If the World Was Ending” with Julia Michaels became a pandemic hit. He picked up five nominations.
Fellow five-time nominees this year are Jessie Reyez, once the Juno winner for breakthrough artist, and international pop superstar Justin Bieber.
Single of the year nominees include the Weeknd and JP Saxe’s tracks, as well as”Drink About Me” from Flat Lake, Alta. country singer Brett Kissel, and “Intentions” by Justin Bieber and Quavo. Rounding out the category is “Kissing Other People” by Oshawa, Ont.-raised singer and former “Nashville” TV star Lennon Stella.
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It will take place about a month and a half after Juno organizers originally planned to toast the anniversary. Allan Reid, head of the Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences, has said they hoped pushing the event into late spring would offer more possibilities for outdoor gatherings that still abide by COVID-19 precautions.
However, since the Junos postponement, the City of Toronto has cancelled all city-permitted outdoor events until at least July, raising new questions about how the music event will take shape in the pandemic.
Other changes are being introduced as part of the Junos anniversary, including three new looks for the award statuette inspired by designer Shirley Elford’s human-shaped molten-glass award, first handed out in 2000.
A gold Juno will be given to Juno Award winners, while a silver version is for recipients of a special Juno prize, and a gold and silver variation goes to Canadian Music Hall of Fame inductees.
