Justin Bieber takes Fans' Choice at Juno Awards
Justin Bieber was voted Fans' Choice at the Juno Awards Sunday night in Regina, but was not there to accept the honours.
Leonard Cohen and Carly Rae Jepsen were both double winners at the annual awards for excellence in Canadian music.
Veteran singer Cohen was given the honours for songwriter of the year Sunday, with the award citing three songs from his latest album Old Ideas Amen, Going Home and Show Me the Place.
Cohen also was absent, but his son Adam Cohen accepted it on his behalf.
"I know he has a deep fondness for the love that Canada has always expressed toward him," Adam Cohen said. "He refers to Canada as the beating heart of his career."
On Saturday night, when the bulk of the prizes were handed out, Cohen scored another major prize artist of the year.
Singer Michael Bubl hosted the Juno gala Sunday, opening the show with a skit that saw comedian Russell Peters, Dr. Phil and other personalities cast doubts on his ability to host the gala. He repeatedly made light of his smooth image throughout the televised broadcast, but proved a genial host for an evening full of strong performances.
Serena Ryder started the evening's musical performances with her newest hit Stompa. Saskatoon's The Sheepdogs, Montreal's Metric, Billy Talent and David Myles and Classified also performed.
Hamilton, Ont.-based band Monster Truck were named breakthrough group of the year. The band, formed in 2009, are known for their single Seven Seas Tours.
The band made its name mainly through touring and live performances,
Deep Purple was huge, we played with Deep Purple a year and a half ago and thats pretty much as big as it gets, really, said singer Jon Harvey in a backstage interview. The band has a new album, Furiosity, out May 28.
Vancouver pop-emo band Marianas Trench won the award for group of the year, triumphing in a field that included Rush, who were inducted into the Rock n' Roll Hall of Fame just last week.
On Saturday, Jepsen won her first Juno for best pop album for Kiss, putting her ahead in a field that included Justin Bieber and Nelly Furtado. On Sunday she performed on the Juno stage and then her Call Me Maybe was named best single.
"Its crazy when you think one song can change your life, but its true," the Mission, B.C. singer said, before thanking a string of supporters, amond them Justin Bieber, who sealed her popularity when he promoted the video for Call Me Maybe to his legions of fans.
k.d. lang's heartfelt speech
Anne Murray gave a fond look back at k.d. langs career including when she accepted her first Juno in a wedding gown as she inducted lang into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame.
I loved her sense of fun, her spunk, her gumption, and she could sing, Murray said, recalling langs wild 1985 look. She went on to show that a great voice could singe anything it wants. She defies labeling.
Lang, whose 30-year career has ranged from country to pop to contemporary and back to country, accepted the honour wearing a black suit.
Thank you so much for all your support over the years.I think the fact that Im standing here receiving this award actually says more about Canada than it does about me, she said.
Only in Canada could there be such a freak as k.d. lang receivinng this award. Only in Canada could there be people like Stompin Tom Connors and Rita McNeil. I want to tell you my friends and my countrymen that it is OK to be you.
"It is OK to let your freak flags fly and embrace the quirkmeister that's inside of all of us. And I'm not even just talking artists, I'm talking every single person in this nation has the right to be themeslves, live life.... I love you Canada, thank you so! much."
The Weeknd the stage name for 23-year-old Toronto native Abel Tesfaye was a double winner at the non-televised event Saturday, winning both breakthrough artist of the year and R&B/soul recording of the year for his epic, ennui-steeped Trilogy. The album began life as three separately released free-to-download mixtapes yet still went gold in Canada and the U.S. upon its official commercial release.
The artist, known for shunning publicity, was not on hand to claim his award.