JUNO – Canadian Music Awards are presented annually to Canadian musicians to celebrate their achievements in the music industry. New members of the Canadian Music Hall of Fame are introduced during the show as well.

The Juno Awards have been taking place since 1970 and this year are being held back in Toronto, hosted at the Air Canada Centre, home to the Toronto Raptors and the Toronto Maple Leafs as well as many musical events.

The winners of the many different categories are chosen by the Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences and depending on the category by the panel of experts.

This year the nominee list includes:

For the Artist of the Year it is going to be a choice between Drake, Justin Bieber, Johnny Reid, Sarah McLachlan and an absolute veteran on the music stage, one of the most influential musicians of his generation: Neil Young. Can a wildly popular clean-cut newbie to the international music stage, Justin Bieber, beat the ‘Godfather of Grunge’ for the title? We shall see.

The battle for the International Album of the Year will be settled between Eminem for his excellent album ‘Recovery’, California girl Katy Perry for ‘Teenage Dream’, Ke$ha for ‘Animal, Taylor Swift for ‘Speak Now’ and very successful this year Lady Antabellum for ‘Need You Now’. Will Lady Antabellum repeat their Grammy success and show Eminem that country music can be more popular than contemporary hip-hop?

Drake, Justin Bieber, Michael Buble and others are nominated for the Juno Fan Choice Award given to the most popular artist by the public.

Awards will also be give for Single of the Year, Canadian Album of the Year, Group of the Year and many, many more.

This year Canadian Hall of Fame will be joined by country pop singer from Timmins, Ontario: Shania Twain.

For more details go to Juno’s official website at: http://junoawards.ca

Mat Kolodziejski