The 2011 Junos

There are 82 first-time Juno nominees this year. They range from Vancouver-based indie sweetheart Hannah Georgas to electronic/hip-hop/jazz Quebecois group Misteur Valaire to Toronto-rockers Die Mannequin, and represent a new generation of Canadian music, one with big talent and strong messages.


The most iconic members of this new wave of Canadian musicians are superstars Drake and Justin Bieber. Drake, who is hosting this year’s Junos, has earned an impressive six nominations, including Album of the Year and Single of the Year. Bieber follows close behind, racking up a total of four nominations.


While it’s hard to believe now (especially with Bieber’s new 3-D movie playing in theatres across the nation), two years ago, 24-year-old Drake and 17-year-old Bieber were virtually unknown, which begs the question – who will be the next Canadian artists to rise to stardom?


“I’m falling in love with a lot of new Canadian music,” says Vancouver singer-songwriter Hannah Georgas, who’s been nominated for New Artist of the Year and Songwriter of the Year. “I’ve just recently been turned onto Rae Spoon’s new record. And I’m a big fan of Chad Vangaalen.”


When asked which new artists will come out ahead in 2011, Georgas predicts her friends Yukon Blonde and Mother Mother will be topping the charts later in the year, then adds, laughingly, “I’m putting out a new record too. Hopefully I’ll be on people’s IPods!”


Like every other new musician, Georgas’ ultimate goal is to be heard. She wants her fans to listen to her lyrics and understand her point of view. 


In Canada, emerging artists have a history of making statements through music. This was evidenced last February, following a devastating earthquake in Haiti, when 50 or so musicians banded together to form Young Artists for Haiti, and recorded their own version of K’naan’s Wavin’ Flag. Sales from the song were donated to earthquake relief. Both Drake and Bieber participated in the compilation.

 

Image courtesy of Eric Cayne

Also active with Haiti are indie-rockers Arcade Fire, who visited the country over the summer. On the Arcade Fire website – alongside their bio and information on their critically acclaimed album, The Suburbs – are blogs about Haiti and links to organizations they support.


Drake also has his own message to spread. Before making it big as a rapper/singer, he played Jimmy Brooks, a wheelchair-bound character on Degrassi, The Next Generation. In an interview with The Canadian Jewish News back in 2006, Drake told the reporter that being different as a kid made him stronger, and that he tried to channel that into his onscreen character.


Bieber, meanwhile, sends message about determination. His new movie, Never Say Never, aims at motivating millions of tween fanatics to pursue their dreams, and has been hailed by critics at the Vancouver Sun as, “a smart story about the makings of a superstar.” The main point of the film is that if hard work and talent can pluck a suburban boy out of his single-mother’s Ontario home and place him in the centre of masses of screaming girls, then anything is possible. Georgas goes as far as calling Bieber “an inspiration for the new generation.”


Georgas’ message, however, is somewhat simpler. “I’m just trying to write music that’s true to me and that’s honest. I just want to put out music that I’m excited about and that I love. And I just want to continue doing that, following my heart in that regard.”


Whatever their motivation or message, Canada’s new generation of artists is poised to make a huge statement, both at home and internationally. In fact, in addition to being Juno nominees, Drake, Bieber and Arcade Fire all earned themselves Grammy nominations with Arcade Fire taking home the coveted trophy for Album of the Year. “There’s a lot of good stuff that’s coming out of Canada,” says Georgas. “And so I hope that’ll shine through… I think it does. I think that the music sort of speaks for itself.”


With that in mind, it’s safe to say that Canada – and the rest of the world – can expect a great deal of talented musicians to emerge from the Great White North in the near future.



Watch the 40th annual Juno 
Awards Sunday, March 27th on CTV.