Shawn Mendes was the man of the hour accepting the International Achievement Award, Deborah Cox made history as the first Black woman inducted into the Canadian Hall of Fame and Charlotte Cardin finished the weekend with a victory lap collecting four trophies at the 51st annual Juno Awards. The event took place in person, for the first time in three years, on Sunday (May 15) at Budweiser Stage in Toronto, Canada.
Hosted by “Shang-Chi” star Simu Liu, Canada’s equivalent to the Grammys featured performances from Avril Lavigne and Arcade Fire, group of the year winners Arkells, Tesher, and more in a joyous evening celebrating the diversity of Canadian music and a return to live events since COVID-19 shut the world down.
“Crazy energy, Toronto,” Liu said. “It’s almost as if you’ve been cooped up for two years.”
That energy was unleashed for Lavigne’s dynamic performance of a medley of hits. Introduced by indigenous artist Tia Wood, Lavigne opened with “Complicated “and also delivered “Skr8Boi” and “I’m With You” to an enthusiastic crowd.
The elation continued for Mendes, who was noticeably moved accepting as the youngest Canadian to win the international achievement award, and then later taking the stage to accept the Juno TikTok Fan Choice award.
“I feel super overwhelmed and honored,” the 23-year-old Mendes said from the stage. “When I was younger, I used to think if I could write one big hit song people would like me and that would be enough. I was enough before anybody knew my name. I am not here to tell you to give up on your dreams. I’m just here to tell you that while you care chasing them, don’t forget to enjoy the process and remember, you are already enough.”
The show opened with a cute video chat between Liu and Michale Buble, who advised Liu never to look Mendes “in the eyeballs.” Liu amped the crowd with an “I am Canadian” monologue that referenced the Maple Leafs, the CN Tower, indigenous cultures, Bubble Tea and a country where “a woman always has the right to choose.”
A history-making win for rapper Havia Mighty, the first woman in Canadian history to win best rap album of the year for her “Stock Exchange,” set the tone early in the night, with Mighty hoisting her Juno victoriously exclaiming, “This one is for women in hip-hop.”
Retired NBA star Chris Bosh was on hand to do honor Cox, who was celebrated with a video including appearances by Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, Clive Davis and more. Cox took the stage later for a performance of “Beautiful U R.”
“It wasn’t easy to leave my home but it was necessary,” Cox said in her speech. “I’m not sure I’d be standing here this evening. Those rejections became my redirection and only added fuel to my fire.”
In the press room, Liu took questions from reporters clutching a water bottle “like it’s an Oscar.” Also there, Arkells lead singer Max Kerman revealed the band had a rough soundcheck before the evening’s performance, and Mighty embraced her historic win in the rap category, saying “I knew going into it that there is a possibility this would be a bit of history.” Breakthrough artist Jessia talked about the TikTok success of “I’m Not Pretty” and the dance it inspired.
The Junos are, in fact, a two-day affair, and started on Saturday (May 14) with Cardin and The Weeknd taking top honors — the former took home pop album of the year, while the Weeknd, who was not in attendance, won his third Juno for songwriter of the year. Olivia Rodrigo took home top honors for International album of the year, accepting via video.
Nominated for six awards, singer-songwriter Cardin, who released her debut album “Phoenix” last April, bested veterans Justin Bieber and Mendes in a tough category for pop album of the year and taking top prizes for Single of the Year for her single, “Meaningless”–which she performed accompanied by a string arrangement– and Artist of the Year.
“I was not expecting this,” a shocked Cardin — she placed fourth on the Canadian version of “The Voice” in 2013 — said in her acceptance speech after winning for single of the year.
“I feel like I am a different person, a different artist than I was 10 years ago when I was on that reality show,” said Carden when asked about her journey to the Junos as the most nominated artist of 2022. “I feel like I’ve grown so much as an artist. I feel like I discovered myself in so many ways. The journey has been incredible, It’s a huge honor to even be nominated alongside artists that I love and admire and listen to, but to win those prizes is just fucking amazing.”
She continued: “It was such an honor for a Quebec-based project. It’s so nice that new territories are being explored. It’s always been a goal for us to share music with as many people as possible, and obviously my music is in English so it felt natural to be able to share that music with the rest of Canada. To win is just icing on the cake.”
Of her decision to perform “Meaningless” at the piano, joined by strings and a full band at the end, Cardin told reporters she “wanted to do a version that was slightly different than what people could hear on the album. … I wanted to start with an intimate moment, because I felt for me that performance was an introduction to my music for a lot of people who were going to be watching in Canada that had no idea who I was.”
History was also made by WondaGurl, producer of records by Drake, Fair Trade (featuring Travis Scott), and others, who won the Jack Richardson producer of the year Award for the second year in a row. In 2021, she was the first woman of color to win the award in Junos history.
Elsewhere, Hill Kourkoutis won recording engineer of the year for her work on Tania Joy’s “The Drought” and SATE’s “Howler,” which she also produced and co-wrote. “I do believe that we are in an immense period of transition right now,” she told reporters. “In the last five years, the conversation has grown around this issue. I am seeing so many young folks and even artists that have been established for a while entering the production profession, so I am hoping personally in 10 years we are not going to have to talk about women producers. We are just going to call them producers, and we are going to reach that gender equality that we are trying to reach right now.”
To that end, 13-year old Kairo McLean won his very first Juno Award for reggae recording of the year for “Easy Now.” Asked about his age. McLean beamed, “My plan is to keep recording and keep getting better from here, this is only the beginning. … It’s such a major milestone.”
Saturday night’s show, hosted by CBC’s Angeline Tetteh-Wayoe and “The Great Canadian Baking Show” star Ann Pornel, included performances by nominees Allison Russell, Roxane Bruneau, Ruby Waters, Valley and Jesse Gold. Multiple Juno winner Dallas Green was also honored, receiving MusiCounts Inspired Minds Ambassador Award, presented by Ontario Creates. And Inuk singer-songwriter Susan Aglukark received the Humanitarian Award at the 2022 Juno Awards for her work providing after-school programs for Indigenous youth.
Here is the complete list of 2022 Juno Awards winners:
POP ALBUM OF THE YEAR
Phoenix Charlotte Cardin Cult Nation*The Orchard
REGGAE RECORDING OF THE YEAR
Easy Now Kairo McLean Willow Records*Independent
JAZZ ALBUM OF THE YEAR (GROUP)
Worldview Avataar InSound*Independent
ALBUM ARTWORK OF THE YEAR
Mykaël Nelson (Art Director, Designer, & Illustrator), Nicolas Lemieux (Art Director & Designer), Albert Zablit (Photographer)
HISTOIRES SANS PAROLES – HARMONIUM SYMPHONIQUE – Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal, conducted by Simon Leclerc GSI Musique
CONTEMPORARY R&B RECORDING OF THE YEAR
Take My Breath The Weeknd XO*Universal
CONTEMPORARY INDIGENOUS ARTIST OR GROUP OF THE YEAR PRESENTED BY INDIGENOUS TOURISM ASSOCIATION OF CANADA
War Club DJ Shub Shub Music*The Orchard
JAZZ ALBUM OF THE YEAR (SOLO)
Change of Plans Will Bonness Independent
CLASSICAL ALBUM OF THE YEAR (SOLO ARTIST)
enargeia Emily D’Angelo Deutsche Grammophon*Universal
JACK RICHARDSON PRODUCER OF THE YEAR PRESENTED BY AUDIO-TECHNICA
WondaGurl
“Fair Trade (feat. Travis Scott)” (co-producers Jahaan Sweet, OZ, Patron, Travis Scott)
CERTIFIED LOVER BOY – Drake OVO/Republic*Universal
“Made a Way (feat. Lil Durk and Future)” (co-producers Allen Ritter, FaZe Kaysan)
MADE A WAY (FEAT. FUTURE & LIL DURK) – FaZe Kaysan FaZe Clan*Universal/Sony
BREAKTHROUGH GROUP OF THE YEAR PRESENTED BY FACTOR, THE GOVERNMENT OF CANADA AND CANADA’S PRIVATE RADIO BROADCASTERS
MONOWHALES TRUE Records*ADA
CONTEMPORARY CHRISTIAN/GOSPEL ALBUM OF THE YEAR
No Greater Love The Color Dream Records*Universal
CLASSICAL ALBUM OF THE YEAR (LARGE ENSEMBLE)
Solfeggio L’Harmonie des saisons, conducted by Eric Milnes ft. Hélène Brunet ATMA*Naxos
SINGLE OF THE YEAR PRESENTED BY LIVE NATION
Meaningless Charlotte Cardin Cult Nation*The Orchard
COMEDY ALBUM OF THE YEAR PRESENTED BY SIRIUSXM CANADA
Grandma’s Girl 姥姥的孩子 Andrea Jin 金玉琪 604*Fontana North
DANCE RECORDING OF THE YEAR
Caution Kaytranada Sony
CHILDREN’S ALBUM OF THE YEAR
Falling in Africa Garth Prince Prince Garth Music*Independent
INSTRUMENTAL ALBUM OF THE YEAR
That Tall Distance David Myles Little Tiny Records*Fontana North
ALTERNATIVE ALBUM OF THE YEAR PRESENTED BY CBC MUSIC
When Smoke Rises Mustafa Regent Park Songs*Pirates Blend
CLASSICAL COMPOSITION OF THE YEAR
Arras Keiko Devaux Analekta*F.A.B./The Orchard
TRADITIONAL R&B/SOUL RECORDING OF THE YEAR
24hrs Savannah Ré 1Music*Universal
ROCK ALBUM OF THE YEAR PRESENTED BY LONG & MCQUADE MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS
Sisters Not Twins (The Professional Lovers Album) The Beaches Universal
VOCAL JAZZ ALBUM OF THE YEAR
Now Pronouncing: Caity Gyorgy Caity Gyorgy La Reserve*Independent/The Orchard
INTERNATIONAL ALBUM OF THE YEAR
SOUR Olivia Rodrigo Universal
GLOBAL MUSIC ALBUM OF THE YEAR
Kalasö Afrikana Soul Sister Les Faux-Monnayeurs*Propagande/Believe
ADULT ALTERNATIVE ALBUM OF THE YEAR PRESENTED BY SONOS
Inwards & Onwards Half Moon Run Crystal Math*Universal
COUNTRY ALBUM OF THE YEAR
What Is Life? Brett Kissel Warner
ALBUM FRANCOPHONE DE L’ANNÉE
Impossible à aimer Cœur de pirate Bravo Musique*Propagande/Believe
TRADITIONAL ROOTS ALBUM OF THE YEAR
Joyful Banner Blazing Maria Dunn Independent*Outside/Believe
ADULT CONTEMPORARY ALBUM OF THE YEAR
The Art of Falling Apart Serena Ryder ArtHaus*Warner
BLUES ALBUM OF THE YEAR
Open Road Colin James Stony Plain*Fontana North/IDLA
CLASSICAL ALBUM OF THE YEAR (SMALL ENSEMBLE)
Beethoven: Sonates pour violon et piano / Violin Sonatas Nos. 1, 2, 3 & 5 Andrew Wan and Charles Richard-Hamelin Analekta*F.A.B./The Orchard
RECORDING ENGINEER OF THE YEAR
Hill Kourkoutis
“Howler”
HOWLER – SATE CLK*IDLA
“The Drought”
THE DROUGHT – Tania Joy Independent
RAP SINGLE OF THE YEAR PRESENTED BY ADVANCE, CANADA’S BLACK MUSIC BUSINESS COLLECTIVE
BOLD Charmaine Warner
METAL/HARD MUSIC ALBUM OF THE YEAR
Bleed the Future Archspire Season of Mist*The Orchard
ELECTRONIC ALBUM OF THE YEAR
Oasis Sky TOR Independent
MUSIC VIDEO OF THE YEAR
Easy On Me Xavier Dolan Adele Columbia*Sony
SONGWRITER OF THE YEAR PRESENTED BY SOCAN
Abel “The Weeknd” Tesfaye
Publisher – CIRCUIT BREAKER / KOBALT MUSIC PUBLISHING
“Hurricane” – co-songwriters Albert Daniels, Cailin Russo, Charles Njapa, Christopher Raelas, Cydell Young, Daniel Seeff, Dexter Mills, Dominque Armani Jones, Henry Walter, Jahmal Gwin, Josh Mease, Kanye West, Khalil Abdul-Rahman, Malik Yusef, Mark Mbogo, Mark Williams, Mike Dean, Nasir Pemberton, Raul Cubina, Ronald Oneil Spence, Jr., Sam Barsh, Tobias Smith, orlando wilder
HURRICANE FEAT. LIL BABY – Kanye West and The Weeknd Getting Out Our Dreams II/Def Jam*Universal
“Moth To A Flame” – co-songwriters Axel Hedfors, Carl Nordström, Sebastian Ingrosso, Steve Angello
MOTH TO A FLAME – Swedish House Mafia and The Weeknd SSA Recording/Republic Records*Universal
“Take My Breath” – co-songwriters Ahmad Balshe, Max Martin, Oscar Holter
TAKE MY BREATH – The Weeknd XO*Universal
CONTEMPORARY ROOTS ALBUM OF THE YEAR
Outside Child Allison Russell Fantasy Records*Universal
UNDERGROUND DANCE SINGLE OF THE YEAR
Shadows In The Dark ft. Elliot Moss HNTR mau5trap*AWAL
TRADITIONAL INDIGENOUS ARTIST OR GROUP OF THE YEAR
Kakike Fawn Wood Buffalo Jump*Amplified/Drumbeat/A-Train
ARTIST OF THE YEAR PRESENTED BY SIRIUSXM CANADA
Charlotte Cardin Cult Nation*The Orchard
RAP ALBUM/EP OF THE YEAR
Stock Exchange Haviah Mighty Mighty Gang*Foundation Media
GROUP OF THE YEAR PRESENTED BY SIRIUSXM CANADA
Arkells Arkells Music*Universal
CANADIAN MUSIC HALL OF FAME
Deborah Cox
INTERNATIONAL ACHIEVEMENT AWARD
Shawn Mendes
BREAKTHROUGH ARTIST OF THE YEAR PRESENTED BY FACTOR, THE GOVERNMENT OF CANADA AND CANADA’S PRIVATE RADIO BROADCASTERS
JESSIA Republic*Universal
ALBUM OF THE YEAR PRESENTED BY MUSIC CANADA
Phoenix Charlotte Cardin Cult Nation*The Orchard
TIKTOK JUNO FAN CHOICE
Shawn Mendes
MusiCounts TEACHER OF THE YEAR
Darren Hamilton
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