And The Juno Nominees Are….

With all of this talk about the Grammys and people shunning and ignoring the Grammys, us Canadians can turn our focus to something equally cool (or perhaps cooler) – the 2012 Juno Awards. The Juno Awards will take place on April 1 (April Fools!) and the nominees were announced today. You can check out some of the nominees and begin setting up your dart board / drinking games / betting pools accordingly. Check out the CBC for the full list. 2 Christmas albums for Album of the year?! Half of this list makes me proud, the other half – ashamed to be Canadian.

Artist of the year: Drake, Feist, Michael Bublé, City and Colour, Deadmau5.

Album: Goodbye Lullabye, Avril Lavigne; Take Care, Drake; Under the Mistletoe, Justin Bieber; Christmas, Michael Bublé; Here and Now, Nickleback.

Single: Fragile Bird, City and Colour; Invincible, Hedley; Let’s Go Higher, Johnny Reid; When We Stand Together, Nickelback; I Don’t Know, The Sheepdogs.

Group: Arkells, Down With Webster, Hedley, Nickelback, Sam Roberts Band.

International album: 21, Adele; Mylo Zyloto, Coldplay; Born This Way, Lady Gaga; Sorry for Party Rocking, LMFAO; Loud, Rihanna.

New artist: Alyssa Reid, Dan Mangan, Diamond Rings, JRDN and Lindi Ortega.

New group: Braids, Hey Rosetta, Mother Mother, The Rural Alberta Advantage, The Sheepdogs.

Juno fan choice: Arcade Fire, Avril Lavigne, City and Colour, Deadmau5, Drake, Ginette Reno, Hedley, Justin Bieber, Michael Bublé, Nickelback.

Songwriter: Dallas Green, Dan Mangan, Feist, Jim Cuddy, Ron Sexsmith.

Alternative album: Native Speaker, Braids; Oh Fortune, Dan Mangan; Kaputt, Destroyer; David Comes To Life, F–ked Up; Creep On Creepin’ On, Timber Timbre.

Rock album: Michigan Left, Arkells; Lights of Endangered Species, Matthew Good; Collider, Sam Roberts Band; The Double Cross, Sloan; Learn & Burn, The Sheepdogs;

Rap recording: Handshakes and Middle Fingers, Classified; Jonestown 2: Jimmy Go Bye Bye, D-Sisive; Take Care, Drake; Anywhere (Ol’ Time Killin’ Part.2), Kardinal Offishall; Daggermouth, Swollen Members.

Dance recording: Brand New Chick, Anjulie; Aural Psynapse, Deadmau5; Barbara Streisand, Duck Sauce; Hello, Martin Solveig & Dragonette; Devotion, Mia Martina.

Video of the year: The Stand, Mother Mother; Rows of Houses, Dan Mangan; North Stamp, The Rural Alberta Advantage; Good Day At The Races, Hollerado; Outside Rumbleseat, The Sadies.

Music DVD: Feist: Look At What The Light Did Now; Tegan and Sara: Get Along; Rush: Time Machine 2011: Live In Cleveland; Peter Katz: Peter Katz Live At The Music Gallery; David Francey: Burning Bright.

Electronic album: A Little More Than Everything, Arthur Oskan; Feel It Break, Austra; Azari & III, Azari & III; It’s All True, Junior Boys; Ravendeath, 1972, Tim Hecker.