Alessia Cara Performs At Juno Awards In Calgary’s Saddledome
Alessia Cara was the opening act for the 2016 45th Annual Juno Awards Night, co-hosted by Canadian singer Jann Arden and Olympic gold medallist Jon Montgomery on Sunday night, April 3, 2016. Aired live from Calgary’s Scotiabank Saddledome on CTV and CTV GO at 7 p.m. ET/5 p.m. MT, the show spotlighted up-and-coming acts like The Weeknd, Shawn Mendes, and Cara.
Quipping that she was glad there was “no drug testing in music,” Arden performed a stilted comic dialogue with Montgomery, relying on sexual innuendo better suited for the canned laughter formula. Nevertheless, energetic performances like that of Alessia Cara, gave the show momentum that carried it gamely through to the end.
According to Exclaim, The Weeknd was the night’s big winner with five awards, while the achievements of Alessia Cara, Justin Bieber, Whitehorse, Dear Rouge, and Death From Above 1979 were also duly recognized.
Here’s the complete winning roster.
- Album of the Year: “Beauty Behind the Madness” – The Weeknd
- Fan Choice Award: Justin Bieber
- Canadian Music Hall of Fame: Burton Cummings
- Group of the Year: Walk Off The Earth
- Single of the Year: “Can’t Feel My Face” – The Weeknd
- Pop Album of the Year: Purpose – Justin Bieber
- Songwriter of the Year: The Weeknd – “Can’t Feel My Face”
- Alternative Album of the Year: Deep in the Iris – Brainds
- Rap Recording of the Year: “If You’re Reading This It’s Too Late” – Drake
- Rock Album of the Year: The Physical World – Death From Above 1979
- Alan Waters Humanitarian Award: Arcade Fire.
Just like it seemed unlikely that an average-looking girl like Alessia Cara would have a voice of gold, YouTube comedian Jus Reign and rapper/producer Kardinal Offishall, both inner city grunge-types, were oddly chosen to present the Country Music Album Award to Dean Brody for Gypsy Road. Reign, who looks like the poster-boy for diversity, made this comment onstage.
“When we were asked to present the award for Country Music Album of the Year, we were like, of course! You can tell obviously by looking at us that country music has been a huge part of our lives Who can deny the cultural impact of Straight Outta Camrose?”
Alessia Caracciolo, 19, aka Alessia Cara, who surprised the music world the previous summer with her R&B-fused pop hit “Here,” performed like a seasoned veteran at the live telecast. Nominated for four Junos this year, including breakout artist and the fan choice award, the 19-year-old singer from Brampton, Ontario, had this to say prior to the show.
“There’s nothing like being embraced from home.”
Following Alessia Cara’s lead, other performers at the Junos were Bryan Adams, Buffy Sainte-Marie, The Carpet Frogs, Coleman Hell, Dean Brody, Dear Rouge, LIGHTS, Scott Helman, Shawn Hook, The Tenors, and Whitehorse. Two big-name players unable to appear for awards because of commitments elsewhere, Drake and Justin Bieber, earned five nominations each in absentia.
“I wish my mother had lived long enough to see this. She would have been over the moon about it. I’ve received many acknowledgements through the decades, but truthfully, I cannot say that any of them outweighs this one.”
The 2016 Juno event was the first music awards ever telecast in 4K, a picture technology that quadruples the number of pixels found in a full HD picture. While some people viewed her as being part of telecasting history in the making, the Toronto Star reports Alessia Cara simply seeing her Juno experience as a “dream come true.”
[Photo via Facebook]
