 Prior to all the major American awards ceremonies, foreign countries on this side of the world and in Europe have awards of their own whether it’s for film, television or music. Our northern neighbors from Canada just released the list of nominees for their 37th annual Juno Awards, which will take place on Sunday April 6 at the Pengrowth Saddledome in Calgary, Alberta. It was until recently that the Juno Awards began to get a hold of the American audience, to be exact since the beginning of their partnership with CTV, which allowed them to have a more international approach to it.
A weekend of celebrationFor some odd reason there seems to be a feud of some sort between Canadians and Americans- quite similar to the one between Mexicans and Salvadorians and the media omits all kinds of events going on at the northern side of the border. For once try to stick it to the man and give the Juno Awards a chance.
This year van a echar la casa por la ventana, making a weekend worth of celebrating out of this one-day event. It will all begin Friday April 4th with the 2008 Juno (hockey) Cup in support of musicians (CARA’s music education program), followed by the Juno Awards Welcome Reception and the Junofest- a two day music festival (April 4th and 5th)with performances by many local and national Canadian acts as well as a number of Juno nominees, and other events such as the Songwriter’s Circle. Celebrating the best (and the rest) Some of the nominees have proven at an international level to be extremely talented and deserving of any nominations they receive (Feist), others are just a marketing mess that will crash and burn sooner than later (Avril Lavigne). The main category nominees are as follows: Juno Fan Choice Award (presented by Doritos):
Avril Lavigne
Celine Dion
Claude Dubois
Michael Bublé
Nelly Furtado Single of the Year:
“Girlfriend” by Avril Lavigne
“1234” by Feist
“Paralyzer” by Finger Eleven
“Seven Day Fool” by Jully Black
“Everything” by Michael Bublé International Album of the Year:
“Lost Highway” by Bon Jovi
“The Dutchess” by Fergie
“Noël” by Josh Groban
“Good Girl Gone Bad” by Rihanna
“Shock Value” by Timbaland Album of the Year:
“The Best Damn Thing” by Avril Lavigne
“D’elles” by Céline Dion
“Taking Chances” by Celine Dion
“The Reminder” by Feist
“Call Me Irresponsible” by Michael Bublé Artist of the Year:
Avril Lavigne
Celine Dion
Feist
Michael Bublé
Pascale Picard Group of the Year:
Arcade Fire
Blue Rodeo
Finger Eleven
Hedley
Kaïn Disques New Artist of the Year:
Belly
Jeremy Fisher
Justin Nozuka
Serena Ryder
Suzie McNeil New Group of the Year:
Dragonette
Faber Drive
illScarlett
State of Shock Cordova
Wintersleep Songwriter of the Year:
Avril Lavigne for- “Girlfriend” | “Keep Holding On” w/Lukasz Gottwald | “When You’re Gone” w/Butch Walker
Daniel Bélanger for- “La Fin de l’Homme” | “Télévision” | “Sports et Loisirs”
Feist for- “My Moon My Man” | “1234” | “I Feel It All”
Joel Plaskett for- “Fashionable People” | “Nothing More To Say” | “Face Of The Earth”
Rufus Wainwright for- “Going To A Town” | “Release The Stars” | “Do I Disappoint You” Adult Alternative Album of the Year:
“Small Miracles” by Blue Rodeo
“Goodbye Blue Monday” by Jeremy Fisher
“Chrome Dreams II” by Neil Young
“Release The Stars” by Rufus Wainwright
“No Stranger” by Tom Cochrane Alternative Album of the Year:
“Neon Bible” by Arcade Fire
“LP” by Holy Fuck Young
“Close To Paradise” by Patrick Watson
“The Con” by Tegan and Sara
“Welcome To The Night” by Sky Wintersleep Pop Album of the Year:
“Duets: Friends & Legends” by Anne Murray
“Street Gospels” by Bedouin Soundclash
“Taking Chances” by Celine Dion
“The Reminder” by Feist
“Call Me Irresponsible” by Michael Bublé Rock Album of the Year:
“Them Vs. You Vs. Me” by Finger Eleven
“Hospital Music” by Matthew Good
“The Lucky Ones” by Pride Tiger
“Underclass Hero” by Sum 41
“The Saint Alvia Cartel” by The Saint Alvia Cartel Vocal Jazz Album of the Year:
“Destination Moon” by Deborah Cox
“The Very Thought of You” by Emilie-Claire Barlow
“Holly Cole” by Holly Cole
“Days Like These” by Michael Kaeshammer
“Make Someone Happy” by Sophie Milman Instrumental Album of the Year:
“Foley Room” by Amon Tobin Ninja
“Snake Road” by Bob Lanois Cordova
“The Utmost” by Jayme Stone
“Jalopy” by Joey Wright
“Kensington Suite” by Richard Underhill | 
