9:32 pm: That’s it for the JUNO Awards from me! Hope everyone enjoyed the show and the live blog. It’s always wonderful to see how many talented artists we have in this country so thanks for sticking around and supporting great Canadian musicians. Now to go find some books to read from the Hamilton Public Library…
9:25 pm: Hoggard tells the media that his comfort zone is performing and was a great way to break the ice during the JUNO Awards.
9:23 pm: “Over before beginning.” – Jacob Hoggard on his JUNO Award hosting experience.
9:15 pm: We’re waiting for Jacob Hoggard to show up and answer questions. I didn’t get a chance to see much of his hosting duties, but it seemed entertaining enough! Maybe!
9:06 pm: Alanis Morissette is here now, talking about the virtues of Canadian music and songwriters. She starts out by telling the press: “I love Justin.” (Bieber, of course.)
9:05 pm: The Weeknd is in and out like a flash! He thanks the JUNO Awards, the fans, and tells the press to watch out for his new album. Then he disappears off into the night.
9:03 pm: The Weeknd is coming in to make a statement. We’re not allowed to ask him questions. We’re just supposed to listen to his statement.
9:01 pm: “Some people are playing it at their weddings, which makes absolutely no sense.” – Magic! on “Rude”
8:59 pm: “We are serious songwriters.” – Magic! explaining their reggae direction for “Rude”.
8:58 pm: Jacob Hoggard ends the JUNOS broadcast with a stage dive. Meanwhile, Magic! talk about touring with Maroon 5 and how they’re picking up tips by watching Adam Levine every night.
8:53 pm: Magic! are only on the third Canadian single (and second international single) from their first album. So expect a whole lot more Magic! beyond “Rude”. Even they seem a little tired of their breakout.
8:51 pm: Magic! enters the room. They’re all dressed alike. Four times the Magic!
8:50 pm: And the final award of the night for Artist of the Year goes to Toronto’s own The Weeknd. He beats out Bryan Adams, deadmau5, Leonard Cohen, and Sarah McLachlan for the accolade. Somewhere out there (probably during a break from running through the 6 with his woes), Drake is smiling.
8:43 pm: The JUNO Awards sold a whole bunch of tickets this year – over 11,000 for a 12,000-capacity venue. Your move, Calgary…
8:39 pm: We’ve been informed that the JUNO Fan Choice Award went to Michael Buble. The media was too busy listening to Kiesza back here to realize. Now Lights and Sam Roberts are collaborating. I thought gratuitous collaborations was a Grammys shtick (though that said – it’s an enjoyable mix.)
8:38 pm: Kiesza’s long-term plan involves writing a musical film. Maybe the Genies and the Canadian Screen Awards are up next for her?
8:35 pm: Kiesza is singing the virtues of Shawn Mendes back here – and also Canada. “It’s really exciting… I remember I went to L.A. and someone said, ‘Oh, you’re Canadian? Canadians are so cool in L.A. right now.'”
8:31 pm: “I only expected my Facebook friends to see the video.” – Kiesza on “Hideaway”
8:30 pm: Kiesza’s been found! Electro-pop crisis averted. Maybe the delay was caused by her getting distracted by this “Seeya” performance by deadmau5 and Colleen D’Agostino?
8:25 pm: Back on the broadcast, we’re hearing about MusiCounts. Say what you will about Magic! (if you’re me: that’s not a whole lot of nice things), but it’s very cool of them to have donated $100k to the organization.
8:24 pm: I fear Kiesza has gotten lost amongst the stack of books in the Hamilton Public Library. Sending out a search party.
8:21 pm: Kiesza is on her way back here. We’re told she’s currently traveling by golf cart.
8:15 pm: If Magic! asked to marry my daughter, I would probably say no. I don’t have a daughter, but I still think that in this hypothetical situation it would really be the best decision.
8:12 pm: Kiesza offers a heartfelt congratulations to all the other nominees in the category – Glenn Morrison, Jess Moskaluke, Mac DeMarco, and Shawn Mendes.
8:11 pm: Leah Faye from July Talk rocks a lady-tux. But more importantly: congratulations to the multi-talented Kiesza. Her big year culminates with a shiny JUNO trophy for Breakthrough Artist of the Year.
7:58 pm: Sexiest JUNOS ever! Aka The Weeknd is here for “Earned It”.
7:55 pm: Alanis Morissette picks up the Canadian Music Hall of Fame award. My dad loves Alanis Morissette.
7:52 pm: The Arkells are trying to answer more questions but they’re being dragged off-stage.
7:48 pm: I have no idea what’s happening in the JUNO broadcast right now. We’re busy listening to Arkells. And by Arkells I mostly mean Max Kerman. He’s the official band spokesperson, it would seem.
7:46 pm: (He was joking about the retirement, by the way, but he noted that Broken Social Scene have a good marketing strategy down.)
7:44 pm: “We’re going to retire right now.” – Max Kerman, Arkells
7:42 pm: The media feed keeps breaking up so we’re getting a really choppy rendition of Mendes’ “Life of the Party”. That or it really sounds like this. Again, I’ve never listened to this before. Oh well. That’s okay. Arkells are heading in for a Q&A now.
7:42 pm: Full disclosure: I don’t think I’ve ever listened to a Shawn Mendes song before.
7:41 pm: It seems really early in the night to be giving out the award for Album of the Year, but we don’t mess around in Canada. The winner is the iconic Leonard Cohen for Popular Problems, by the by.
7:30 pm: Arkells are on now with “Come to Light”. It seems like just yesterday they were winning Breakthrough Group at the JUNOS… now they’ve got an orchestra accompanying them. Not a bad career trajectory.
7:29 pm: Single of the year goes to Magic! for “Rude”. I feel like it’s a song that’s been on the radio for at least four years. Just me? Okay.
7:20 pm: And there’s the dancing. Of course! Kiesza’s up for Breakthrough Artist of the Year and Single of the Year. Will she be dancing her way home with two awards in hand? Stay tuned…
7:19 pm: Kiesza’s serenading everyone with a song that isn’t “Hideaway”. Still sounding great but we’re waiting for the dancing to kick in.
7:18 pm: Every award show needs more Ben Mulroney! Right? Hahaha. Good joke, me. (That said: Hoggard calling Mulroney a daddy’s boy landed really well in the media room.)
7:16 pm: Remember when Jacob Hoggard was on Canadian Idol? He’s come a long way to dropping F-bombs on the broadcast. Sam Roberts seems game.
7:15 pm: Jacob Hoggard is back. “Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, welcome to the very last JUNOS ever.”
7:14 pm: Backstage microphone checks. Everything is a-okay.
7:09 pm: Arkells’ Max Kerman is sure to drop in a lot of Hamilton references in his acceptance speech. McMaster and The Casbah both get shout-outs.
7:07 pm: USS show up in fancy outfits to present Rock Album of the Year to Hamilton’s very own Arkells for High Noon. Well-deserved and everyone in the stadium is super excited, naturally.
7:05 pm: Hedley have opened the show with an energetic performance of “Anything”. Nice drum work there, Hoggard. Looks like he’s swinging for a guest spot in Imagine Dragons.
7:01 pm: Michael Buble, Prime Minister Stephen Harper, The Trailer Park Boys have all made appearance in Hoggard’s star-studded video intro. Hedley, too. Of course.
7:00 pm: And we’re off! With Sam Roberts asking Jacob Hoggard for the WiFi password. A question we’re all wondering back in the media room, too.
6:47 pm: We’re getting an announcement from the nice media people from Holmes PR. Media rundowns are being handed out. It’s all very covert stuff. Also, the cake has been eaten.
6:33 pm: Alert: Tiana Feng of Ride The Tempo managed to drop cake all over the library floor. Everything is all right, but the poor cake has seen better days.
6:20 pm: How do you think host Jacob Hoggard (of Hedley) fame is going to do? Better than Drake, circa 2011? I feel like he’s going to end up sitting on someone’s lap or kissing someone. High hopes, guys. High hopes.
6:13 pm: Oh yeah, I should probably mention the fact that the JUNOS gave out a whole whack of awards last night to bands and artists like Magic!, Kiesza, Arkells, Bahamas, and July Talk. You can find the full list of Gala recipients here.
6:05 pm: Hello from the media room at the Hamilton Public Library. I’m seated here amongst the best and the brightest of Canadian music journalism (or at least that’s what I like to tell myself) and we’re all waiting for The JUNO Awards broadcast to begin. Nominees, performers, presenters, and attendees are filing in on the red carpet right now and I am nowhere near said red carpet, but that’s okay. Probably for the better, really. I wouldn’t want to get in Mac DeMarco’s way down there. Anyway! Stay tuned because I’ll be updating this post for Live in Limbo throughout the night and we’ll keep you posted on all the winners, scandals, and everything else JUNOS. You can also follow along on Twitter, if you’re into that sort of thing.
