Artist wins, challenges, diversity and representation at the 2023 Juno Awards

The JUNOS shines a spotlight on red-hot talent and representation.

On March 13, Edmonton, Alberta became a hotbed for Canadian talent, with some of the biggest names in the country’s music scene in town for the 52nd annual JUNO Awards. This meant famous faces like Avril Lavigne, Nickelback, Jessie Reyez, Kardinal Offishall, and Haviah Mighty – just to name a few – who united for a high-energy affair hosted by renowned Shang Chi actor Simu Liu (AKA one of Canada’s current biggest bragging rights). The vibe was an uplifting and inspiring one; it was the first time the high-profile Canadian awards show had been on the road since 2019.

Back with a Bang and Representation

The 2020 JUNOS show was cancelled practically at the 11th hour when the pandemic had other plans. After the cancelled show, an online show in 2021, and a scaled-down show in 2022, the 2023 JUNO Awards came back on a high note – no pun intended – with the return of regular programming and events, and a slew of the country’s top talent.

“Obviously the pandemic wreaked havoc on the live music scene as well as CARAS and the JUNOS with our cancellation in 2020,” says Allan Reid, President and CEO of the Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Science (CARAS), the umbrella not-for-profit organization of the JUNO Awards. “We had a virtual JUNOS for our 50th anniversary and returned with a live show last year at Toronto’s outdoor Budweiser Stage, which was fantastic. But to be back on the road with the entire industry was incredible; Edmonton also just did a fantastic job of hosting us. The city really, really turned up in a big way which was also great. It was just nice to be back with JUNO Fest, JUNO Cup, Fanfare, and Junior JUNOS along with all of our other major events, like the broadcast, and Songwriters’ Circle, and the Opening Night awards.”

The second-time host Liu sat down with Q’s Tom Power at the JUNOS’ Songwriters’ Circle in Edmonton on Sunday, March 12, where he revealed that he was shifting gears on the career front. At almost 34 years old, the actor is about to release music for the first time. “I’ve always wanted to be a musician,” Liu told Power. “I was a part of a boy band when I was 12. I mean, nothing ever happened. It was called LX4 because all of our names started with L…. I’m about to turn 34 and putting out music for the first time. It’s a bit of an interesting feeling. But, you know, age is just a number you guys! People can have career changes or new careers.”

Liu credited the sacrifices of his parents for his career success. “I truly believe that I would not be where I am were it not for the sacrifices of my parents,” he said. “For the doors that they opened up, the opportunities that I’m now able to have because of them — because of their hard work and sacrifice — I owe them my eternal gratitude. I realized I owe them my love, but I don’t owe them my future … because if I remain indentured to them, and in gratitude and in service of them, then I will never do what it is that they originally set out to give me in the first place. I will never be able to embrace my destiny and be able to follow my path.”

Liu also expressed his excitement to host the awards for the second year in a row. “I am truly ecstatic to be back again this year hosting The 2023 JUNO Awards,” said Simu Liu. “There are no words to describe the incredible energy that took over Toronto last spring and I can’t wait to help bring that to Edmonton. If you thought my rendition of ‘Complicated’ was good, just wait until you hear my Nickelback cover.”

View the Vibe was there for all the action, hosting an exclusive, talent-packed portrait studio. Here, some of the biggest names in the Canadian entertainment industry stopped by to have their photo taken by our very own celebrity photographer, Nick Merzetti – some, with their shiny new hardware. This meant everyone from Liu, to rising stars – and JUNO award-winners – Preston Pablo and Rêve.

One of the most refreshing elements of this year’s JUNO Awards, however, was the diversity reflected in the award winners and performances.

The Big Winners

This year’s winners include both famed names and soon-to-be famed names. Though he wasn’t in attendance, Toronto singer The Weeknd became the second-most Juno awarded artist of all time, after winning Album of the Year for Dawn FM. The artist also won four other awards at the opening night ceremony. The Weeknd has now amassed 22 wins in just a decade breaking his tie with Canadian legend Bryan Adams. Anne Murray currently holds the top spot, with 25 awards. “I’m so honoured to be recognized in my home country that I love so much. I’m so humbled by this and could never thank fans enough,” said the no-show singer in a statement.

Toronto artist Jessie Reyez, who has become a household name across the country, was recognized with the R&B award for her album YESSIE. “It’s an honour to be recognized at home,” said Reyez during her acceptance speech. She said she was honoured to be nominated in the same category as DVSN and Savannah Ré. After her earlier win, Reyez took the stage to perform her song “Mutual Friend.”

The award for Breakthrough Artist of the Year went to rising pop star Preston Pablo. The 21-year-old Timmins, Ontario native is known for his mega hit, “Flowers Need Rain” (and yes, just its mention means the song will be stuck in your head all day). Another celebrated first-time winner was Banx & Ranx, who were crowned Breakthrough Group of the Year.

The 2023 Rap Album of the Year was awarded to TOBi, who took home the award in this category for the second time. Montreal’s Rêve, who is currently dominating playlists with her hot track “Whitney,” took home Dance Recording of the Year for “CTRL + ALT + DEL.” On the country music front, Tenille Townes was recognized with the Country Album of the Year award.

When it comes to more established Canadian talent, long-time Canadian music royalty Avril Lavigne took home the award for the TikTok JUNO Fan Choice, marking the fourth time she’s won the award. Fan favourite Alexisonfire won Rock Album of the Year, while Hamilton natives The Arkells were the 2023 Group of the Year.

The full list of winners can be found here.

Show Highlights

In addition to an inspiring awards ceremony, the audience was treated to an unforgettable concert, thanks to the show’s memorable performances. Kicking it off, the JUNOS opened with an energetic performance from Calgary’s Tate McRae. The five-time Juno nominee had the crowd moving with her pop-punk hit, “she’s all i wanna be.”

The broadcast also featured Nickelback’s induction into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame. The famed band that fellow Canadians love to hate (but many secretly love) was introduced in a pre-taped by famed Vancouver native actor Ryan Reynolds. “Having Nickelback going to the Hall of Fame in their home province of Alberta was pretty amazing,” says Reid. “The guys were so humble and thrilled about just receiving this honor from the industry. It was just so great to see them be so excited, just enjoy it for what it is and see some real Nickelback love back home, which was, which was awesome.” Nickelback later closed out the show with a performance of the band’s hits “Rockstar,” “How You Remind Me,” and “Animals.”

From industry veterans to organizations and music legends, Canada’s flourishing hip-hop community came together for a collaborative performance shining a spotlight on the 50th anniversary of the genre. With involvement from ADVANCE, Canada’s Black Music Business Collective, and the JUNO Rap Music Advisory Committee, the four-song medley was written and produced by award winning artist and four-time JUNO Award Winner Kardinal Offishall, who hosted the segment alongside 2022 JUNO Award winner Haviah Mighty. The tribute featured a history of the genre over the past 50 years, recognizing trailblazers who put hip-hop on the map.

“It was really cool to take the stage at the awards this year, especially because it was a part of the hip-hop tribute,” says Mighty. “As an artist that participates in the hip-hop, R&B, and rap landscape, it’s not only important for me to be part of those discussions, but I also learned things I didn’t know about, the history in Canada and the things that I’d like to learn a little bit more about. So, it was educational for me to be immersed with some of the legends from the hip-hop landscape here in Canada and also just being immersed in the script also helped me understand a little bit of that journey that leads to where I am in my career today.”

Renowned recording artist Rich Kidd mixed the medley track, while veteran entertainer DJ Mel Boogie added her own unique spin to the music live on stage. The performance kicked off with Kardinal Offishall and hip-hop pioneer Michie Mee performing her hit “Jamaican Funk,” before launching into Dream Warriors’ “My Definition of a Boombastic Jazz Style.” Four-time JUNO Award winner Choclair followed with his famous beat “Let’s Ride” and the showcase ended with TOBi serenading audiences with his lyrical rap single “Flowers,” before his big win.

Like many of us, Mighty grew up listening to artists Kardinal Offishall and Choclair. “Hosting with Kardinal was amazing,” says Mighty. “I grew up on his music, as well as Mee, who have had the pleasure of doing some work with in the past. But having her be there and also just seeing her be acknowledged is, you know, incredible.”

Another crowd-pleasing element was a performance by Canadian-Punjabi singer, songwriter, and musician AP Dhillon. The artist made history as the first solo artist to sing entirely in Punjabi on the JUNOS Awards stage, performing his chart-topping hit “Summer High” to a cheering crowd. “Dhillon is already world recognized global Punjabi artist,” says Reid. “Our friends at Live Nation made us aware of his success and to have him on our stage in Edmonton was so fantastic. He’s an incredible young artist that so many people who are maybe not in that community, would not know otherwise. And that’s a really important part of what CARAS did. We make sure that we are a platform for music discovery that, you know, Canadians when they tune into that TV show are going to discover somebody they may not already be aware of.”

Adding to the rich cultural diversity factor, Aysanabee in collaboration with Traditional Indigenous Artist or Group of the Year nominees Northern Cree, performed a moving and choral rendition of “We Were Here.”

The Challenge for Canadian Artists

It’s not easy to be an up-and-coming recording artist. One of the best parts of the JUNO Awards is that it provides a platform to highlight once undershadowed Canadian talent – one that industry execs globally have their eyes on. At a time when Canadian musicians are still feeling the pinch of the pandemic ramifications – which impacts everything from performance venues to touring costs – this is as important as ever.

On the JUNOS red carpet, mental health was front and centre in conversations with our affiliate outlet, Gentleman’s Post, had with talent. In their subsequent podcast, names like Nickelback, Jessie Reyez, Haviah Mighty, Kardinal Offishall, actor Andrew Phung, and hockey player Connor McDavid got real about their mental health challenges and ways they manage these stresses in fast-paced and relentlessly competitive industries.

“I feel like I’m constantly educating people by existing and I feel like it’s like a shock to people what it is I consider a normalcy; so it’s a very interesting conflict to communicate,”

Haviah Mighty

For Mighty, any countless other BIPOC artists, one of the greatest issues she’s faced as an artist is having to educate people on her representation. “I feel like I’m constantly educating people by existing and I feel like it’s like a shock to people what it is I consider a normalcy; so it’s a very interesting conflict to communicate,” says Mighty. “The idea is that I live and the experiences I have may be seen as impactful, but it’s really just my life. And I think it’s really recognized in some avenues because it’s like a first, but there’s so many doors for new narratives. And so I think in Canada, we’re not ready for the new narratives in a really real way and I think that that education is actively happening right now. So, it’s an interesting balance of doors opening for the first time and doors remaining closed because they don’t make sense yet. I know that I represent something that isn’t maybe normal to what you expect from the landscape and I’m told this all the time. So, it’s an interesting place to be and to know that what you’re doing is like amazing to some and then unconsequential to some.”

Looking Ahead

For those in the dark, Mighty won Best Rap Album/EP of the Year at the 2022 JUNO Awards, three years after taking home a Polaris Music prize in 2019 for her album 13th Floor. She credits the wins for facilitating her own recognition as an artist and praises the organizations for being on the right path representation-wise.

“I definitely have seen some shifts with the JUNOs specifically in the past couple of years, where the representation I’m starting to see involves more peers from the genre of music that I do getting acknowledged for the art that they make,” says Mighty. “And I’m starting to see just more people in all the different parts of the Canadian industry, be part of the JUNOS where, you know, before it felt like hip-hop wasn’t as included and, there were the artists that participated in the R&B world, but that wasn’t really as included. I’m starting to see more of that and I’m also seeing wider representation in general at the JUNOs specifically.”

Mighty hopes this will continue. “I’ve been hearing about the jury painting and different representation being involved on the backend,” she says. “So, they’re trying to outsource to artist that maybe don’t get those nods. And for the past couple of years, I have noticed that with the JUNOs specifically. So I’m hoping that will help, you know, shift some of the overall Canadian landscape about it and that it translates to beyond the awards but also, you know, the labels and the festival bookers and just all of the people that can open the doors for a different musicians who are just trying to make their ends meet.”

Looking forward, next year’s JUNO Awards will head over to the east coast, to Halifax. “Much like Edmonton, we’re going back to Halifax,” says Reid. “We hadn’t been to Edmonton in 19 years; it was 2006 that we were last in Halifax and everyone there is so supportive. They’re so excited to host the JUNOS – from the provincial government, to the mayor, to the host committee. It’s East Coast hospitality and no one does it better. And they certainly prove that during the world Juniors. They really did an amazing job of hosting a major event like that, so we can’t wait to get back out to Halifax. It’s a great music city to the East Coast is it’s, you know, music is in, is in their DNA.”

JUNOS hardware at our 2023 Juno Awards x View the VIBE Exclusive Portrait Studio, shot by Nick Merzetti. Styled, directed and produced by Steven Branco. With furniture provided by our official furniture partner, Leon’s; with Benjamin Moore’s Colour of the Year Raspberry Blush splashed across the backdrop; and decor curated from our official decor partner, HomeSense. (Photo: Nick Merzetti for View the VIBE / CARAS).

The 2024 Juno Awards will take place in Halifax on March 24.