Charlotte Cardin, Daniel Caesar, Talk lead 2024 Juno nominees

In an almost exact repeat of her showing in 2022, Montreal artist Charlotte Cardin leads the 2024 Juno nominations with six, with nods for artist, album, pop album, songwriter and single of the year, along with TikTok’s fan choice award, the show’s organizers announced on Tuesday. 

Cardin, who both hosted the event and won in four of those categories two years ago, was among a crop of somewhat newer artists following the 2023 ceremony, which seemed preoccupied with nostalgia.

Toronto’s Daniel Caesar has five Juno nominations this year, for fan choice, as well as single, album, artist and contemporary R&B recording of the year. Right alongside Caesar is Ottawa’s Talk, real name Nick Durocher, who also pulled in five nominations: album, alternative album, single, breakthrough artist and songwriter of the year.

The 28-year-old Caesar now has more career Juno nominations than Grammy noms. Caesar won his first Grammy, for best R&B performance, in 2019 and his first Juno, for best R&B/soul recording, the year before, for the breakout track Freudian.

Durocher’s career success is even more recent than Caesar’s. After spending the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic out of work and living in his parents’ basement, Durocher wrote and released the song Run Away to Mars in 2022. 

The TikTok virality of that track catapulted Durocher to talk show appearances and wider fame. His debut album, Lord of the Flies & Birds & Bees, was released in 2023.

Juno organizers also announced on Tuesday that the awards, which will be held in Halifax, would include performances by Josh Ross, Karan Aujila and Talk. Cardin had already been announced as a performer.  

Multi-platinum Canadian singer Nelly Furtado will host and perform.

While rockers Nickelback and Arkells are once again up for awards, musicians with a bit less gold on their shelves made up the bulk of the nominee list.

Nominees in key categories:

TikTok Juno fan choice: Charlotte Cardin, Daniel Caesar, DVBBS, Josh Ross, Karan Aujla, Shubh, Tate McRae, The Weeknd, ThxSoMch, Walk off the Earth.

Artist of the year: Charlotte Cardin, Daniel Caesar, Lauren Spencer Smith, Shania Twain, Tate McRae.

Album: Néo-Romance, Alexandra Stréliski; 99 Nights, Charlotte Cardin; Never Enough, Daniel Caesar; Mirror, Lauren Spencer Smith; Lord of the Flies & Birds & Bees, Talk.

Single: Confetti, Charlotte Cardin; Always, Daniel Caesar; Pretty Girl Era, Lu Kala; A Little Bit Happy, Talk; Greedy, Tate McRae.

Group: Arkells, Loud Luxury, Nickelback, The Beaches, Walk off the Earth.

Breakthrough artist: Connor Price, Karan Aujla, Lu Kala, Shubh, Talk.

Breakthrough group: Busty and the Bass, Crash Adams, Good Kid, Men I Trust, New West. 

Songwriter: Allison Russell; Aysanabee; Charlotte Cardin, Jason Brando & Lubalin; Nicholas Durocher & Connor Riddell; William Prince.  

Breakthrough fame

A number of musicians are tied for three nominations, including breakthrough artist nominee Connor Price. A former actor with guest spots on Chicago Med, Supernatural and The Rick Mercer Report, Price also found success on TikTok — particularly with his “Spin the Globe” series, later released as an album by the same name. 

The series, which saw the Toronto rapper choose artists from around the world to collaborate with at random, netted an album and rap single of the year nod for Spinnin, a collaboration with the Netherlands’ Bens. 

Alberta’s Tate McRae, who is quickly becoming a Juno mainstay, heads to the awards for the fourth year in a row since being nominated for breakthrough artist in 2021. Despite netting nine nominations from 2021 to 2023, she has yet to win. 

WATCH | Tate McRae rises to pop stardom: 

Juno nominee Tate McRae’s rise to pop stardom

Songwriter and dancer Tate McRae, 19, is on a roll this year, nominated for five Juno awards including Pop Album of the Year. She chats with Ian Hanomansing about her path from dancing on So You Think You Can Dance to becoming a pop star.

Six of the categories McRae’s been nominated in have also included the Junos’ second-winningest artist, The Weeknd. This year, for the first time since 2020, he is only up for one award — fan choice. 

Allison Russell, fresh off a Grammy win and performance alongside Joni Mitchell, is similarly up for three statues. She will compete for music video, songwriter and contemporary roots album of the year — the category for which she received her one prior nomination and win in 2022. 

Aysanabee, a first-time nominee and performer last year, repeats his nod for contemporary Indigenous artist of the year, while extending his nominations to songwriter and alternative album of the year for Here and Now. 

Record-breaking band of the year

Arkells continue their supremacy in the group of the year space. With this year’s nod, they are now tied with April Wine for the fourth-most nominated band (with eight nominations), putting them behind only the Tragically Hip, Blue Rodeo and Rush. In 2023, Arkells became the band to win the category the most times, beating Blue Rodeo’s record of five. 

They will be competing against Nickelback, Walk off the Earth, Loud Luxury and The Beaches — the last of which are also scheduled to perform.  

This year’s awards will take place on Sunday, March 24 and broadcast live on CBC. Tegan and Sara will be honoured with the 2024 Humanitarian award, presented by actor Elliot Page.

Rapper Maestro Fresh Wes will be inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame, while Halifax’s Chip Sutherland will receive the Walt Grealis Special Achievement award. 

Other nominees include: 

Country album of the year: The Compass Project – South Album, Brett Kissel; Right Round Here, Dean Brody; Do It Anyway, Jade Eagleson; Ahead of Our Time, James Barker Band; Spillin’ My Truth, Tyler Joe Miller.

Adult alternative album: Powder Blue, Begonia Birthday Cake; Multitudes, Feist; Are We Good, Hayden; Motewolonuwok, Jeremy Dutcher; Revolution, Shawnee Kish.

Alternative album: Here and Now, Aysanabee; Dizzy, Dizzy; Too Learn, Leith Ross; See You in the Dark, Softcult; Lord of the Flies & Birds & Bees, Talk.

Rap album/EP: Bag or Die, Bbno$; Spin the Globe, Connor Price; Crying Crystals, Haviah Mighty; Kaytraminé, Kaytraminé; Panic, Tobi.

Rap single: American Nightmare, Belly; Spinnin (feat. Bens), Connor Price; Honey Bun, Haviah Mighty; Minimum Wage, Pressa; Someone I Knew, Tobi.

Contemporary Indigenous artist or group: Here and Now, Aysanabee; Scream, Holler & Howl, Blue Moon Marquee; Inuktitut, Elisapie; Revolution, Shawnee Kish; Bekka Ma’iingan, Zoon.

Traditional Indigenous artist or group: Sing. Pray. Love., Joel Wood; LFS5, Nimkii & the Niniis; Mitòòdebi (For My Relatives), The Bearhead Sisters; Reverie, The Red River Ramblers; Drum Nation, Young Scouts.  

Pop album: 99 Nights, Charlotte Cardin; Mirror, Lauren Spencer Smith; Saturn Return, Rêve; Queen of Me, Shania Twain; Lost in Translation, Valley.

Francophone album: Zayon, Fouki; Dans la seconde, Karkwa; En concert avec l’Orchestre symphonique de Montréal (sous la direction du chef Simon Leclerc), Les Cowboys Fringants & l’Orchestre symphonique de Montréal; À boire deboutte, Salebarbes; Non conventionnel, Souldia.

Children’s album: Big Words, ABC Singsong; Going Back: REmembered and Remixed Family Folk Songs, Vol. 1, Ginalina; Love-a-By, Splash’N Boots; Welcome to the Flea Circus, The Swinging Belles; Maestro Fresh Wes Presents: Young Maestro Stick to Your Vision for Young Athletes.

Contemporary roots album: The Returner, Allison Russell; We Will Never Be the Same, Good Lovelies; Beyond the Reservoir, Julian Taylor; A Light in the Attic, Logan Staats; Stand in the Joy, William Prince. 

Traditional roots album: Paint Horse, Benjamin Dakota Rogers; The Breath Between, David Francey; Roses, Jackson Hollow; Second Hand, James Keelaghan; Resilience, Morgan Toney.

Contemporary R&B recording: For the Better, Aquila; Never Enough, Daniel Caesar; Heartbreak Hill, Jon Vinyl; When it Blooms, Nonso Amadi; Facets, Shay Lia.