There Are Still Plenty Of Icons Attending The JUNOs, Thank You Very Much

The 55th Annual JUNO Awards take place this Sunday in Hamilton, Ont., and there’s been a lot of buzz about who won’t be attending Canadian music’s biggest night.

Tate McRae, The Weeknd and Justin Bieber are all nominated in various categories this year, including in the Fan Choice and Album of the Year slots, but none will reportedly be performing or attending the ceremony. Their absence will be hard to miss in the Artist of Year category, as it means three out of the five nominees are no-shows. (BBNO$ and Daniel Caesar are also up for the award.)

McRae and Bieber lead the nominations with six each, with the awards ceremony broadcast live on CBC TV and CBC Gem at 8 p.m.

For some critics, the boldface no-shows feel like an Elbows Down-style dig at a homegrown cultural celebration, and one that’s coming at particularly low morale point for Canadians, who’ve been churned up and batted around by 51st state rhetoric for over a year.

And while no performer is obligated to attend an awards show as a compensation for the breakdown of the geo-political order—that feels like a big ask, frankly—their individual and collective absences mean some of Canada’s lesser-known talents may not get a boost from the greater viewing numbers that typically come from fans who tune in to see big names.

Sure, it’s a bummer. But the schedules (and egos) of certain talents aside, there will still be plenty of Canadian musical talent in attendance on Sunday night. The show, which will be hosted by actor and comedian Mae Martin, will feature performances from Alessia Cara, Arkells, Daniel Cesar and Tanya Tagaq, to name a few.

Nelly Furtado is also slated to appear as she’s being inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame.

The evening’s highlight, however, will undoubtedly be Joni Mitchell. The 82-year-old singer-songwriter is confirmed to be in attendance, and she’ll be receiving a Lifetime Achievement Award following a musical tribute performed by none other than Sarah McLachlan and Allison Russell. We don’t know about you, but that's definitely enough star power to have us tuning in.