Through two nights of awards and performances, the 2019 JUNO Awards were presented in London, Ontario.
Though streamed to the world via CBC Music and YouTube, the JUNO Gala Dinner and Awards was primarily a closed industry event that featured the presentation of the majority of the awards and several key performances.
Hosted by Ben Kowalewicz, lead singer Billy Talent, and co-hosted by CBC Music’s Julie Nesrallah, the evening’s performances kicked off with an unapologetic performance by Francophone Album of the Year nominee, Hubert Lenoir; and was followed by 2019 Allan Slaight JUNO Master Class winners, Port Cities. Oshawa’s Dizzy’s performance came only minutes after their Alternative Album of the Year win, while Sarnia’s Donovan Woods’ lead the crowd through the In Memorandum tribute to lost colleagues in over the past year. The evening’s performance concluded with a love-filled performance by Reggae Album of the Year nominee, Exco Levi.
Surprise moments of the night included the one-night-only appearance of Michael Bublé; who made the trip to London to present producer, David Foster, with the Humanitarian Award, but also ended up accepting the award for Adult Contemporary Album of the Year. In addition, after Jeremy Dutcher’s acceptance speech was cut short, Max Kerman insured the Indigenous Album of the Year winner got to finish his speech during Arkells’ win for Rock Album of the Year.
Here’s the full list of winners from the JUNO Gala Dinner and Awards:
SINGLE OF THE YEAR “In My Blood” Shawn Mendes
INTERNATIONAL ALBUM OF THE YEAR beerbongs & bentleys Post Malone
ARTIST OF THE YEAR Shawn Mendes
BREAKTHROUGH GROUP OF THE YEAR The Washboard Union
SONGWRITER OF THE YEAR Shawn Mendes
ADULT ALTERNATIVE ALBUM OF THE YEAR Earthtones Bahamas
ALTERNATIVE ALBUM OF THE YEAR Baby Teeth Dizzy
POP ALBUM OF THE YEAR Shawn Mendes Shawn Mendes
ROCK ALBUM OF THE YEAR Rally Cry Arkells
VOCAL JAZZ ALBUM OF THE YEAR Laila Biali Laila Biali
JAZZ ALBUM OF THE YEAR: SOLO Old Soul Robi Botos
JAZZ ALBUM OF THE YEAR: GROUP The Seasons of Being Andy Milne & Dapp Theory
INSTRUMENTAL ALBUM OF THE YEAR China Cloud Gordon Grdina
FRANCOPHONE ALBUM OF THE YEAR Une année record Loud
CHILDREN’S ALBUM OF THE YEAR You, Me and the Sea Splash’N Boots
CLASSICAL ALBUM OF THE YEAR: SOLO OR CHAMBER The End of Flowers: Works by Clarke & Ravel Gryphon Trio
CLASSICAL ALBUM OF THE YEAR: LARGE ENSEMBLE Vaughan Williams Toronto Symphony Orchestra
conducted by Peter Oundjian featuring Louis Lortie, Sarah Jeffrey, & Teng Li
CLASSICAL ALBUM OF THE YEAR: VOCAL OR CHORAL Vienna: Fin de siècle Barbara Hannigan with Reinbert De Leeuw
CLASSICAL COMPOSITION OF THE YEAR Golden Slumbers Kiss your Eyes Ana Sokolović
RAP RECORDING OF THE YEAR LoVE me NOw Tory Lanez
DANCE RECORDING OF THE YEAR Body Loud Luxury
REGGAE RECORDING OF THE YEAR Sly & Robbie meet Dubmatix – Overdubbed Dubmatix
INDIGENOUS MUSIC ALBUM OF THE YEAR Wolastoqiyik Lintuwakonawa Jeremy Dutcher
CONTEMPORARY ROOTS ALBUM OF THE YEAR Both Ways Donovan Woods
TRADITIONAL ROOTS ALBUM OF THE YEAR Sweet Old Religion Pharis and Jason Romero
BLUES ALBUM OF THE YEAR Miles To Go Colin James
CONTEMPORARY CHRISTIAN/GOSPEL ALBUM OF THE YEAR Tired Of Basic LOVECOLLIDE
WORLD MUSIC ALBUM OF THE YEAR Rapadou Kreyol Wesli
JACK RICHARDSON PRODUCER OF THE YEAR Eric Ratz (“People’s Champ”, “Relentless” Rally Cry Arkells)
RECORDING ENGINEER OF THE YEAR Shawn Everett (“Slow Burn”, “Space Cowboy” Golden Hour Kacey Musgraves)
ALBUM ARTWORK OF THE YEAR Mike Milosh (Blood Rhye)
VIDEO OF THE YEAR “No Depression” Ali Eisner (Bahamas)
ELECTRONIC ALBUM OF THE YEAR Deception Bay Milk & Bone
METAL/HARD MUSIC ALBUM OF THE YEAR The Wake Voivod
ADULT CONTEMPORARY ALBUM OF THE YEAR Love Michael Bublé
COMEDY ALBUM OF THE YEAR Good Friend Bad Grammar Dave Merheje
HUMANITARIAN AWARD David Foster
WALT GREALIS SPECIAL ACHIEVEMENT AWARD Duff Roman
London continued the JUNO buzz into Sunday night with the JUNO Awards broadcast and the presentation of the remainder of the JUNO Awards.
Starting with a rousing performance by hometown heroes, Loud Luxury, that included the Western Mustang Marching Band and the Western University Cheerleaders that gave the country a grand welcome to the Forest City, the night’s performances ranged from party country from the Reklaws, to a taste of la Francophonie with Cœur de pirate and Loud, to the return of hip-hop to the JUNO stage with NAV, to a graceful performance of “Beautiful Girl” from host Sarah McLachlan; as introduced by MusiCount student, Meriel Reed. Arkells brought the house down with their latest, “Hand Me Down”, while Jeremy Dutcher brought his beautiful passion for his people to the national spotlight with “Sakomawit.”
In a lovely surprise, legendary rocker, Sting, who is currently in Toronto performing in his musical, The Last Ship, assisted Humanitarian Award recipient, David Foster, in presenting Jessie Reyez with the award for R&B Soul Recording of the Year.
Following his moving tribute to his family during his acceptance speech, ‘80’s heartthrob and the newest member of the Canadian Music Hall of Fame, Corey Hart, closed the exciting show, beginning with a stripped down performance of “Never Surrender” and, along with the entire audience, donned his shades for the fan favourite, “Sunglasses at Night”.
With the 2019 JUNO Awards at an end, the torch is now passed to Saskatoon, Saskatchewan; who will have the honour of hosting the 50th anniversary of the Canadian music awards. We will have to wait and see just what’s in store!
JUNO FAN CHOICE Avril Lavigne
ALBUM OF THE YEAR Shawn Mendes Shawn Mendes
GROUP OF THE YEAR Arkells
BREAKTHROUGH ARTIST OF THE YEAR bülow
COUNTRY ALBUM OF THE YEAR We Were That Song Brett Kissel
R&B/SOUL RECORDING OF THE YEAR Being Human In Public Jessie Reyez
CANADIAN MUSIC HALL OF FAME Corey Hart