JUNO NOMINEES
Diana Krall, Nickelback and Bublé top the list, which doesn’t pretend to make a grand statement
GUY DIXON
Source : http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/LAC.20060216.JUNO16/TPStory/TPEntertainment/
Nickelback bassist Mike Kroeger once remarked that the band knows its core audience. It isn’t the downtown hipsters who get caught up in the critical politics of whether Montreal’s alt-rock heroes Arcade Fire are too derivative of early Talking Heads, or whether native-Calgarian, rock-cabaret chanteuse Feist relies too much on her French influences.
No, Nickelback knows who’s listening, those who want uncomplicated, straight ahead (and vaguely New Country-leaning) rock. The band freely admits it crafts songs with no pretensions to high art, but is simply fine-tuning its formula.
So it’s no surprise that Nickelback tops the lists with six nominations for this year’s Juno Awards, which were announced yesterday. Four of its six nominations aren’t even determined by voting members of the Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (CARAS), but by record sales.
True, the ultimate winner is then picked by different voting processes. But to get into the running for most of the Junos’ major categories, sales are what count.
The Juno Awards, like Nickelback, have no pretensions other than to cater to a wide audience. When the show airs March 31 from Halifax, the whole point will once again be to try to nurture the Canadian star system.
Critics and fans will, of course, disparage this emphasis on sales in the nomination process for the big categories, such as album of the year, group of the year, artist of the year, pop and rock albums of the year. This doesn’t happen with the Grammys. For all the Grammys’ faults, for all the nominations that go to the least interesting musicians, Grammy nominees nevertheless are determined solely by votes of the Recording Academy members.
In Canada, though, there’s a kind of two-track system, with the nominees for the big categories determined by sales, and less highlighted categories (such as songwriter of the year and the various classical, jazz and urban-music categories) determined by the presumably discerning expert panels or, with single of the year, CARAS members.
Take Vancouver crooner Michael Bublé. Four of his five nominations, including album of the year and artist of the year, are determined by sales. Bublé tied with jazz singer Diana Krall for the second-highest number of nominations, behind Nickelback’s six. However, three of Krall’s five nods are also given for sales.
And it gets even trickier. In most of the categories where nominations are determined by sales, the number of actual discs sold isn’t what’s measured, but the number of units shipped to retailers. This arguably puts a little more control in the hands of the record labels who can bombard stores with particular titles.
For instance, three of Nickelback’s six categories — group of the year, rock album of the year and album of the year — are determined by the number of units shipped by its record company, EMI, to retailers. The band’s nomination for the Juno Fan Choice category, though, is based on the actual number of discs sold as opposed to merely shipped. Only two of its nominations are voted on — single of the year, by a ballot of CARAS members, and producer of the year, by a panel of experts picked by the Juno organizers.
Then, there are Canadian Idol winner Kalan Porter and the legendary Neil Young, both with three nominations apiece. All three of Porter’s (album of the year and pop album of the year for his CD 219 Days, as well as artist of the year) are based on the number of units shipped to stores. All three of Young’s (adult alternative album, producer of the year, songwriter of the year) are chosen by appointed experts.
And yes, Arcade Fire is in with three expert-chosen nominations — songwriter of the year and, although it doesn’t have much to do with the music, two nominations for video of the year. Last year, the band lost with its nomination for alternative album of the year, another category not based on sales.
Feist is up for only single of the year, which is both nominated and voted on by CARAS members.
But should all the music bloggers and critics now go and rail against the Junos, simply because one set of nominations, albeit for the headline categories, are sales-driven and the rest aren’t?
Arguably, no. Again, remember that the ultimate winners in all categories come down to a vote. There are numerous voter-based or expert-chosen categories for artists such as Young and Arcade Fire to find sanctuary. Then there is the populist Juno Fan Choice award, which is decided by votes from the general public.
But what are we voting on here? They are the acts that have connected the majority of us. Even if it wanted to, Nickelback’s not going to go all high-minded and progressive. It’ll never have a Frank Zappa phase, bassist Kroeger once joked. And its huge-selling fourth album, All the Right Reasons, and its mega-single, Photograph, have obviously connected with thousands upon thousands of fans. If that’s what we’re awarding with the Junos, so be it.
Major nominees
The nominees for many major Juno categories are selected by sales criteria, including these:
Album of the Year
Christmas Songs, Diana Krall
219 Days, Kalan Porter
It’s Time, Michael Bublé
All the Right Reasons, Nickelback
Under the Lights, Rex Goudie
Artist of the Year
Boom Desjardins
Diana Krall
Kalan Porter
Michael Bublé
Rex Goudie
Group of the Year
Barenaked Ladies
Blue Rodeo
Nickelback
Our Lady Peace
Theory of a Deadman
Pop Album of the Year
Boom Desjardins, Boom Desjardins
Jann Arden, Jann Arden
219 Days, Kalan Porter
It’s Time, Michael Bublé
These Old Charms, Theresa Sokyrka
Rock Album of the Year
Hedley, Hedley
Jonas, Jonas
All the Right Reasons, Nickelback
Healthy in Paranoid Times, Our Lady Peace
Gasoline, Theory of a Deadman
For a complete list of Juno
nominees, visit
http://www.globeandmail.com/arts
