From the hottest hip-hop out of Toronto, to deep, soulful Montreal jazz, to balls-to-the-wall rock and roll that would have fit nicely on any Edgefest lineup between 1995 and 2001, the 2021 Polaris Music Prize once again champions Canada’s diverse music scene.
Your 2021 Polaris Music Prize Short List nominees are:
Leanne Betasamosake Simpson Theory of Ice
Cadence Weapon Parallel World
DijahSB Head Above The Waters
Dominique Fils-Aimé Three Little Words
Mustafa When Smoke Rises
The OBGMs The Ends
Klô Pelgag Notre-Dame-des-Sept-Douleurs
TOBi Elements Vol. 1
The Weather Station Ignorance
Zoon Bleached Wavves
Due to ongoing COVID-19 concerns, the 2021 Polaris Music Prize will be a virtual celebration, beginning with the announcement of the 10 album Short List on July 15, and concluding with an online presentation on September 27. To celebrate each of the 10 nominated albums, CBC Music is presenting the Short List Summer, a season-long deep dive into the nominated albums and the artists who created them. This Short List Summer will include the Polaris Spotlight, an editorial series diving into each of the short-listed artists and their nominated albums, beginning Tuesday, July 20. and will be capped every Sunday with a one-hour CBC Music radio special called The Ten, starting Sunday, July 25.
The annual monetary award of $50,000 will be announced alongside a cinematic tribute to all ten nominees on October 19. The Prize goes to the artist that creates the Canadian Album of the Year, as judged by an independent jury of music journalists based solely on artistic merit and without consideration of genre or record sales. New for 2021, Polaris Music Prize has partnered with Play MPE to award the winning artist with a global music promotion distribution package for one release (single or album) worth up to $3,025. Play MPE will also gift all nine remaining Short List artists with distribution packages worth up to $1,000 CAD each.
Past winners of the Polaris Music Prize include Backxwash, Haviah Mighty, Jeremy Dutcher, Lido Pimienta, Kaytranada, and Buffy Sainte-Marie.
Fans are invited to follow CBC Music on Instagram, TikTok, Twitter, and Facebook for more Polaris Music Prize news and content that will explore the Short List albums.