The Starboy Scores a Perfect 10

The Weeknd cleaned up at the 2021 Billboard Music Awards winning 10 trophies out of 16 nominations. He led the pack in nominations and came away with more hardware than any other artist.

His ten awards are as follows:

1. Top Artist
2. Top Male Artist
3. Top Hot 100 Artist
4. Top Radio Songs Artist
5. Top R&B Artist
6. Top R&B Male Artist
7. Top R&B Album (After Hours)
8. Top Hot 100 Song (“Blinding Lights”)
9. Top Radio Song (“Blinding Lights”)
10. Top R&B Song (“Blinding Lights”)

Regarding the six awards for which The Weeknd was nominated but came up empty, he lost out to his fellow Canadian Drake in the Top Streaming Songs Artist. The Top Song Sales award went to BTS. The Top Billboard 200 Album was Pop Smoke’s Shoot for the Stars, Aim for the Moon. “Rockstar” by DaBaby ft. Roddy Ricch was named Top Streaming Song, “Dynamite” by BTS the Top Selling Song, and “Dákiti from Bad Bunny & Jhay Cortez, the Top Latin Song. Regarding the latter category, The Weeknd was nominated via his collaborative effort with Maluma in “Hawái”. He does not appear to speak any Latin.

The award mentioned above for Drake was his only win of seven nominations. However, he was also presented the special award of Artist of the Decade thereby extending his record as the award show’s most decorated victor to 29 wins.

Justin Bieber was nominated for five BBMAs but won none this year.

It is important to note that The Billboard Music Awards reflect performance on the charts of a foreign country, namely The United States, and the musical tastes of that nation differ from ours.

Three Canadians Shine at the 2020 AMAs

It was Canadians who hijacked the 2020 American Music Awards both in terms of performances and awards. The show, a 1973 creation by Dick Clark, opened with superstar Justin Bieber performing two of his recent hits, “Holy” and “Lonely”, and then fellow Canuck Shawn Mendes joined him in a performance of new hit “Monster”. (Mendes later returned to deliver his song “Wonder”.) The Sunday, November 22 event was held from the Microsoft Theatre in Los Angeles. Covid-19 protocols were in place, and some portions of the broadcast were pre-recorded. There was no live audience, but some seats contained cut-out posters of various stars. The evening’s host was American actress Taraji P. Henson. The Weeknd performed at the shindig as well, offering two songs: “In Your Eyes” and “Save Your Tears”.

And it was The Weeknd won the first award of the night: Favourite Soul/R&B Album for his After Hours. He accepted the trophy with a head wrapped up in surgical gauze. He dedicated it to the late Prince who had presented it to him the last time he won the same award. The Weeknd won two further awards in the Soul/R&B category: Favourite Male Artist and Favourite Song (“Heartless”). The aforementioned Justin Bieber won three awards as well. Two were as a featured artist in Dan + Shay’s “10,000 Hours”: Collaboration of the Year and Favourite Song Country. The Biebs also nabbed the statuette for Favourite Male Artist in the Pop/Rock category. The Weeknd and Justin Bieber both lost to Taylor Swift who was named Artist of the Year. The Pennsylvanian holds the record for most AMA career wins by a single artist with 32.

Canadians Pick Up Hardware at the 2020 MTV VMAs

Three trophies were given to Canadian recording artists at the annual MTV Video Music Awards, held in New York August 30, 2020. The event was hosted by American entertainer Keke Palmer and was dedicated to Chadwick Boseman, who died of colon cancer two days before the ceremony. US recording artist Lady Gaga was the big winner with five.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the gala was orchestrated at various outdoor spots across the city. Canadians who offered performances were Calgary’s Tate McRae, Toronto’s The Weeknd, and JP Saxe (with US singer Julia Michaels). Presenters included some big names: Drew Barrymore, Kelly Clarkson, Bella Hadid, and Bebe Rexha.

Justin Bieber took home a trophy he shares with Ariana Grande for “Stuck with U” which won in the category of Best Music Video from Home. The Weeknd snatched a pair including the biggest award of the night. His MV for “Blinding Lights” not only won in the Best R&B category but for the overall Video of the Year.

17-Year-Old Calgarian Nominated for a 2020 VMA

Touted as Canada’s answer to Billie Eilish (then again Billie was sort of the United States’ answer to Bülow), Calgary’s 17-year-old Tate McRae is nominated for a 2020 MTV Video Music Award. This year’s awards are scheduled to take place August 30, 2020 at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York, USA which is set to become the first event to be held at the venue since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. Nominations for the 37th annual ceremony were unveiled today and appear below. The Weeknd, thanks to “Blinding Lights”, is up for Video of the Year, Best Direction, Artist of the Year, Best Editing, Best Cinematography, and Best R&B. Justin Bieber gets a wink for Artist of the Year, Best Pop for “Intentions”, and Best Collaboration (“Stuck with You”) with Ariana Grande. Drake snatches three as a featured artist, as Future’s “Life Is Good” is up for Video of the Year, Best Collaboration, and Best Hip Hop. His “Toosie Slide” receives a nod for Best Music Video From Home. Tate McRae has been nominated for Push Best New Artist.

Tate’s 2017 single “One Day”, has proved a sleeper hit. It evaded the charts and yet was certified GOLD by Music Canada in 2020. Domestic and international chart success has graced her 2020 singles “Stupid” and “You Broke Me First”. “Vicious” is currently moving up the CHR chart. The MV for “Stupid” has attracted 4.6 million views to date.

Find nominations in all categories below with Canadian artists in red. Visit the official website where you can vote for your favourites at this LINK.

VIDEO OF THE YEAR
Billie Eilish — “Everything I Wanted”
Eminem (featuring Juice Wrld) — “Godzilla”
Future (featuring Drake) — “Life Is Good”
Lady Gaga and Ariana Grande — “Rain on Me”
Taylor Swift — “The Man”
The Weeknd — “Blinding Lights”

ARTIST OF THE YEAR
DaBaby
Justin Bieber
Lady Gaga
Megan Thee Stallion
Post Malone
The Weeknd

SONG OF THE YEAR
Billie Eilish — “Everything I Wanted”
Doja Cat – “Say So”
Lady Gaga and Ariana Grande — “Rain on Me”
Megan Thee Stallion — “Savage”
Post Malone – “Circles”
Roddy Ricch — “The Box”

PUSH BEST NEW ARTIST
Doja Cat
Jack Harlow
Lewis Capaldi
Roddy Ricch
Tate McRae
YUNGBLUD

BEST COLLABORATION
Ariana Grande and Justin Bieber – “Stuck with U”
Black Eyed Peas (featuring J Balvin) – “Ritmo (Bad Boys for Life)”
Ed Sheeran (featuring Khalid) – “Beautiful People”
Future (featuring Drake) — “Life Is Good”
Karol G and Nicki Minaj – “Tusa”
Lady Gaga and Ariana Grande — “Rain on Me”

BEST POP
BTS — “On”
Halsey – “You Should Be Sad”
Jonas Brothers – “What a Man Gotta Do”
Justin Bieber (featuring Quavo) — “Intentions”
Lady Gaga and Ariana Grande — “Rain on Me”
Taylor Swift — “Lover”

BEST HIP HOP
DaBaby — “Bop”
Eminem (featuring Juice Wrld) — “Godzilla”
Future (featuring Drake) — “Life Is Good”
Megan Thee Stallion — “Savage”
Roddy Ricch — “The Box”
Travis Scott — “Highest in the Room”

BEST R&B
Alicia Keys – “Underdog”
Chloe x Halle — “Do It”
H.E.R. (featuring YG) – “Slide”
Khalid (featuring Summer Walker) – “Eleven”
Lizzo – “Cuz I Love You”
The Weeknd — “Blinding Lights”

BEST K-POP
BTS — “On”
Exo – “Obsession”
(G)I-dle – “Oh My God”
Monsta X – “Someone’s Someone”
Red Velvet – “Psycho”
TXT – “9 and Three Quarters (Run Away)”

BEST LATIN
Anuel AA (featuring Daddy Yankee, Ozuna, Karol G and J Balvin) – “China”
Bad Bunny – “Yo Perreo Sola”
Black Eyed Peas (featuring Ozuna and J. Rey Soul) – “Mamacita”
J Balvin – “Amarillo”
Karol G and Nicki Minaj – “Tusa”
Maluma (featuring J Balvin) – “Qué Pena”

BEST ROCK
Blink-182 – “Happy Days”
Coldplay – “Orphans”
Evanescence – “Wasted On You”
Fall Out Boy ft. Wyclef Jean – “Dear Future Self (Hands Up)”
Green Day – “Oh Yeah!”
The Killers – “Caution”

BEST ALTERNATIVE
The 1975 – “If You’re Too Shy (Let Me Know)”
All Time Low – “Some Kind Of Disaster”
Finneas – “Let’s Fall in Love for the Night”
Lana Del Rey – “Doin’ Time”
Machine Gun Kelly – “Bloody Valentine”
Twenty One Pilots – “Level of Concern”

VIDEO FOR GOOD
Anderson .Paak – “Lockdown”
Billie Eilish – “All the Good Girls Go to Hell”
Demi Lovato – “I Love Me”
H.E.R. – ”I Can’t Breathe”
Lil Baby – “The Bigger Picture”
Taylor Swift – “The Man”

BEST MUSIC VIDEO FROM HOME
5 Seconds of Summer – “Wildflower”
Ariana Grande & Justin Bieber – “Stuck with U”
Blink-182 – “Happy Days”
Drake – “Toosie Slide”
John Legend – “Bigger Love”
Twenty One Pilots – “Level of Concern”

BEST QUARANTINE PERFORMANCE
Chloe & Halle – “Do It” from MTV’s Prom-athon
CNCO – Unplugged At Home
DJ D-Nice – Club MTV presents #DanceTogether
John Legend – #togetherathome Concert Series
Lady Gaga – “Smile” from One World: Together At Home
Post Malone – Nirvana Tribute

BEST DIRECTION
Billie Eilish – “Xanny” – Directed by Billie Eilish
Doja Cat – “Say So” – Directed by Hannah Lux Davis
Dua Lipa – “Don’t Start Now” – Directed by Nabil
Harry Styles – “Adore You” – Directed by Dave Meyers
Taylor Swift – “The Man” – Directed by Taylor Swift
The Weeknd – “Blinding Lights” – Directed by Anton Tammi

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
5 Seconds of Summer – “Old Me” – Cinematography by Kieran Fowler
Camila Cabello ft. DaBaby – “My Oh My” – Cinematography by Dave Meyers
Billie Eilish – “All the Good Girls Go to Hell” – Cinematography by Christopher Probst
Katy Perry – “Harleys In Hawaii” – Cinematography by Arnau Valls
Lady Gaga with Ariana Grande – “Rain On Me” – Cinematography by Thomas Kloss
The Weeknd – “Blinding Lights” – Cinematography by Oliver Millar

BEST ART DIRECTION
A$AP Rocky – “Babushka Boi” – Art Direction by A$AP Rocky & Nadia Lee Cohen
Dua Lipa – “Physical” – Art Direction by Anna Colomé Nogu ́
Harry Styles – “Adore You” – Art Direction by Laura Ellis Cricks
Miley Cyrus – “Mother’s Daughter” – Art Direction by Christian Stone
Selena Gomez – “Boyfriend” – Art Direction by Tatiana Van Sauter
Taylor Swift – “Lover” – Art Direction by Ethan Tobman

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS
Billie Eilish – “All the Good Girls Go to Hell” – Visual Effects by Drive Studios
Demi Lovato – “I Love Me” – Visual Effects by Hoody FX
Dua Lipa – “Physical” – Visual Effects by EIGHTY4
Harry Styles – “Adore You” – Visual Effects by Mathematic
Lady Gaga with Ariana Grande – “Rain On Me” – Visual Effects by Ingenuity Studios
Travis Scott – “Highest in the Room” – Visual Effects by ARTJAIL, SCISSOR FILMS & FRENDER

BEST CHOREOGRAPHY
BTS – “On” – Choreography by Son Sung Deuk, Lee Ga Hun, Lee Byung Eun
CNCO & Natti Natasha – “Honey Boo” – Choreography by Kyle Hanagami
DaBaby – “Bop” – Choreography by Dani Leigh and Cherry
Dua Lipa – “Physical” – Choreography by Charm La’Donna
Lady Gaga with Ariana Grande – “Rain On Me” – Choreography by Richy Jackson
Normani – “Motivation” – Choreography by Sean Bankhead

BEST EDITING
Halsey – “Graveyard” – Edited by Emilie Aubry, Janne Vartia & Tim Montana
James Blake – “Can’t Believe the Way We Flow” – Edited by Frank Lebon
Lizzo – “Good As Hell” – Edited by Russell Santos & Sofia Kerpan
Miley Cyrus – “Mother’s Daughter” – Edited by Alexandre Moors, Nuno Xico
Rosalía – “A Palé” – Edited by Andre Jones
The Weeknd – “Blinding Lights” – Edited by Janne Vartia & Tim Montana

Shawn Mendes Wins a Pair at the 2019 VMAs

Canadian recording artist Shawn Mendes picked up a pair of MTV Video Music Awards last night at the ceremony in the US state of New Jersey. The trophies were for the music video for “Senorita” with Cuban singer Camila Cabello in the Best Cinematography and Best Collaboration categories. The MV has accumulated more than half a billion views and shows Mendes in a Fonzarelli outfit on a motorcycle and Cabello in Terminator waitress attire. The two performed the song at the gala, while Mendes also performed his Yvonne Elliman namesake “If I Can’t Have You”. “You Need to Calm Down” by US singer Taylor Swift was named Video of the Year. Since the annual gala’s launch in 1984, only one Canadian has won the latter award: Neil Young for “This Note’s for You” (1989).

The number of viewers of the VMAs has plummeted from a peak in 2011 of 12.4 million to only 2.25 million in 2018 with this year’s numbers not yet released. The yearly Much Music Video Awards (MMVAs) in Toronto were not held in 2019, and it is unclear whether they have been put to permanent rest.

Drake Receives Seven US Grammy Nominations

Yesterday morning, Alessia Cara, the first Canadian ever to win a Best New Artist US Grammy award, joined fellow Canuck Shawn Mendes, American singer Janelle Monae, and Apple Music host Zane Lowe to announce nominations for the 2019 installment of the annual gala. Californian rapper Kendrick Lamar leads with eight nods, while Canada’s Drake comes in second place with seven. Cara did not receive any nominations this year but Mendes was given a pair. Not having released any new music this year per se, Justin Bieber is not up for a trophy. Though his EP topped the US album chart and one of its tracks cracked the Top 5 there, The Weeknd was snubbed by the recording academy this season. Vocal jazz superstar Diana Krall, however, received two nominations for her collaborative efforts with New York’s Tony Bennett. Rising R&B star Daniel Caesar was given a thumbs up via his feature in H.E.R.’s “Best Part” (Best R&B Performance).

Several Canadians are up for awards in classical music: Marc-André Hamelin, James Ehnes, Peter Oundjian and the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, Gerald Finley, and Les Violons du Roy. Canada’s Boi-1da is up for the Producer of the Year, Non-Classical award and a couple of Canadian artist albums receive nominations for Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical – discs from Bahamas and Chromeo.

Drake, who has already won three Grammy awards, was left off the slate last year because he did not submit album More Life for consideration stating in an interview that he was tired of being pigeonholed as a rapper. With his seven nominations this year, he has obviously patched things up with the American recording academy. The 2019 gala will determine whether he takes home the trophies for Best Rap Performance (“Nice for What” and, as a featured artist, “Sicko Mode”), Best Rap Song (“Sicko Mode” and “God’s Plan”), Record of the Year (“God’s Plan”), Song of the Year (“God’s Plan), and Album of the Year Scorpion.

Shawn Mendes’ nominations are for Song of the Year (“In My Blood”) and Best Pop Vocal Album (Shawn Mendes). Diana Krall (with Tony Bennett) receives the honours for Best Pop Duo/Group Performance (“S Wonderful”) and Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album (Love Is Here to Stay).

Canada Represented at ACM Awards

Canadian country is beginning to infiltrate the United States, and one of the more recent signs could be seen at the 2018 Academy of Country Music Awards which went down tonight. Albertan duo High Valley was nominated for an award – New Vocal Duo or Group of The Year. Although HV lost out to Midland, the duo’s song “She’s with Me” is big news in the Republic, reaching #7 at US Country Airplay. The song is from album County Line released way back in 2014. Amazingly, then, it took four years for the song to make it big in the States. The MV has over 4 million views.

Calgary’s Lindsay Ell was not nominated; however, she was present at the gala with her #1 Canadian Country hit “Criminal” at #20 Stateside. Lindsay revealed major news – that she will be featured in a track on Keith Urban’s upcoming album. She will be playing Canadian arenas with the Kiwi slayer in the fall.

JUNOs Gear Up Amidst Grammys Backlash + Charts and Other News

Shawn Hook Reaches a New Plateau

First off, some very good news concerning British Columbian singer and songwriter Shawn Hook. Music Canada has certified his hit “Sound of Your Heart” a DOUBLE PLATINUM single elevating his rank to a multiplatinum recording artist. Huge congrats to the gentleman.

Alessia Cara … Shouldn’t Have to Defend Herself

Honours, as we previously reported, have also been given to Ontarian Alessia Cara who, on Sunday, became the first Canadian ever to win a Best New Artist Grammy. Unfortunately, a handful of vocal naysayers attempted to rain on her parade calling into question whether or not she should be considered new since she has been releasing music since 2015. Cara took to social media having to defend herself.

She pointed out that she did not submit her music for contention and does not make the Grammy Award rules. We point out that her fellow nominees with the exception of only one have been releasing music since before her: Lil Uzi Vert since 2014, Sza since 2012, and Julia Michaels since 2010.

We also call into question the motivations of the naysayers given that Alessia Cara was the only female who accepted an award onstage during the three-plus-hour live broadcast.

Grammys So Male

The above phenomenon caused hashtag #GrammysSoMale to trend on Twitter for hours following the telecast compelling Recording Academy president Neil Portnow to respond, saying that if women want to win Grammy Awards, they need to “step up”. This resulted in a huge backlash. Platinum, multiple JUNO winner LIGHTS pointed out that women have been stepping up for years, working tirelessly and that “power and talent oozes from every woman I know in this industry”. Of the 84 Grammy awards, only 11 went out to women. The New York Times determined that in the last six years only 9 percent of Grammy Awards have gone to women.

Grammy Ratings Tumble

Perhaps due to the large gender imbalance on Sunday, ratings for the show tumbled. While 26.1 million tuned in last year, the numbers fell to 19.8 million this year, a drop of 24%. Billboard suggested another reason may be the over emphasis on rap music, which is only the tenth most popular at radio in The United States. The lacklustre audience is the lowest in numbers since 2009.

JUNO Awards Gear Up

The JUNO Awards have their work cut out for them if they want to impress following on the heels of this. Nominations will be announced Tuesday, February 6.

The JUNOs also announced that the 2019 awards will be held in London. This year’s awards will be held March 25 in Vancouver and hosted by the king of swing, Michael Bublé.

This Week’s Charts

Last week we reported that Logan Staats failed to make the Billboard Hot 100 despite reaching #1 at iTunes. Drake, however, sees better luck on the Hot 100, as “God’s Plan” crowns it. B-side “Diplomatic Immunity” finishes the week at #6. Staats fellow The Launch victor Elijah Woods x Jamie Fine squeaks into the Top 40 with “Ain’t Easy”. The latter tops the Emerging Artists chart. The three new tracks save the Top 40 from an annihilation of CanCon which charred last week’s chart. Bahamas scores the first Top Ten 2018 Canadian artist album as Earthtones debuts at #5.

Alessia Cara Becomes the First Canadian Ever to win a Best New Artist Grammy

January 28, 2018, New York City – Brampton, Ontario Italian Canadian R&B singer Alessia Cara wins the United States’ Grammy Award for Best New Artist over other nominees Khalid, Lil Uzi Vert, Julia Michaels, and SZA. She is the first Canadian ever since the inception of the awards ceremony in 1959 to win the trophy in the category. “Holy cow,” she remarked upon taking the Madison Square Garden stage, “I’ve been pretend-winning Grammys since I was a kind in my shower. You think I’d have the speech thing down, but I absolutely don’t.”

Other Canadians who won Grammy Awards were The Weeknd whose album Starboy was named Best Urban Contemporary Album. It is the Toronto native’s third trophy. The deceased Leonard Cohen picked up the award for his song “You Want It Darker,” a bit misplaced in the category Best Rock Performance. He had previously received a Lifetime Achievement Grammy.

Nova Scotian soprano Barbara Hannigan won the award for Best Classical Solo Vocal Album thanks to Crazy Girl Crazy, and Burlington, Ontario’s Charles Moniz, co-nominated for his work on Bruno Mars’ 24K Magic, won a Grammy for Best Engineered Album.

The Grammy Awards Show Alessia Cara the Love

The United States’ flagship of music award galas – The Grammy Awards – unmasked nominations for the 2018 ceremony which will take place January 28 in New York City. A number of Canadian acts have been given nods as follows:

Alessia Cara – 3 nominations – Song of the Year “1-800-273-8255” (as a featured artist), Best New Artist, Best Pop Duo/Group Performance “Stay” (as a co-credited artist).

Alex Cuba – 1 nomination – Best Latin Pop Album Lo Unico Constante.

Arcade Fire – 1 nomination – Best Alternative Music Album Everything Now.

Daniel Caesar – 2 nominations – Best R&B Album Freudian and Best R&B Performance “Get You”.

Jane Bunnett & Maqueque – 1 nomination – Best Latin Jazz album Oddara.

Justin Bieber – 3 nominations – Record of the Year, Song of the Year, and Best Pop Duo/Group Performance “Despacito” (as a featured artist).

Leonard Cohen – 2 nominations – Best Rock Performance “You Want It Darker” and Best American Roots Performance “Steer Your Way”.

Michael Bublé – 1 nomination – Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album Nobody but Me.

Northern Cree – 1 nomination – Best Regional Roots Music Album Miyo Kekisepa, Make A Stand [Live].

Sarah McLachlan – 1 nomination – Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album Wonderland.

The Weeknd – 1 nomination – Best Urban Contemporary Album Starboy.

Also of note, Rose Cousins‘ Natural Conclusion is nominated for Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical. Glenn Gould‘s The Goldberg Variations – The Complete Unreleased Recording Sessions June 1955 is nominated for Best Historical Album. Director Andy Hines is nominated in the best video category for 1-800-273-8255 by Logic. David Hein & Irene Sankoff‘s Come From Away is up for Best Musical Theatre Album. Under Best Choral performance is Handel: Messiah by the Toronto Symphony Orchestra and Toronto Mendelssohn Choir.

As far as the snubs go, there is Drake. He did not submit album More Life to the Grammys as we reported earlier. Shawn Mendes, while racking up nominations and winning awards at just about every other music awards ceremony. is passed over by the Grammys.

Canadians Take Home American Music Awards

On the day that Toronto beat Saskatchewan and Calgary defeated Edmonton in the CFL semifinals, The American Music Awards took place south of the border, and Canadian recording artists took home some hardware.

Shawn Mendes was named Favourite Artist – Adult Contemporary.

Drake took Favourite Artist – Rap.

As a featured artist, Justin Bieber helped ”Despacito” win Favourite Song – Pop/Rock.
He also helped “I’m the One” snatch Favourite Song – Rap.

In the one category in which she was nominated (Favourite Female Artist – Pop/Rock), Alessia Cara lost to Lada Gaga; however, Moana was named Top Soundtrack, and the album contains a track from her (“How Far I’ll Go”).

The Weeknd had five nominations but failed to snag a win in any of them. You can bet he’ll be cheering on the Argos at the Grey Cup.

Shawn Mendes Wins 4 MTV EMAs, Breaks Billboard Record

The lad from Pickering, Ontario is really on a roll. Teen superstar Shawn Mendes was the lone Canadian performing at this year’s MTV Europe Music Awards, and he won four trophies – Best Song “There’s Nothing Holdin’ Me Back”, Best Artist, Best Canadian Act, and Biggest Fans.

Mendes recently made Billboard history setting a new record. At just 19-years-old, he has scored three number one songs on the Billboard U.S. Adult Contemporary chart before turning the age of 20. No other artist in history has accomplished this.

The 2017 MTV EMA Best song winner has been certified triple platinum in Canada. A JUNO award winner, Shawn Mendes has a following of 14.9 million on Twitter, and both of his albums have achieved platinum sales.

American Music Awards Nominate The Furious Five

The furious five are back in the nominations spree. This time it is the American Music Awards which might as well re-christen itself The Canadian Music Awards. Find nominations by artist below. The gala will take place Sunday, November 19. Drake and The Weeknd have 5 nominations each. Alessia Cara and Shawn Mendes have 1 apiece. The Biebs has 4. The Americans seem to have lost sight of genre. Drake’s More Life is considered a pop/rock album in addition to a rap one, as it is nominated in both categories. Something tells us Drake won’t have a problem with that though.

Justin Bieber

– Collaboration of the Year x2 (“I’m the One” + “Despacito”)
– Favourite Song Pop/Rock (“Despacito”)
– Favourite Song Rap/Hip-Hop (“I’m the One”)

Drake

– Artist of the Year
– Favourite Male Artist Pop/Rock
– Favourite Album Pop/Rock (More Life)
– Favourite Artist Rap/Hip-Hop
– Favourite Album Rap/Hip-Hop (More Life)

The Weeknd

– Collaboration of the Year (“Starboy”)
– Favourite Album Pop/Rock (Starboy)
– Favourite Male Artist Soul/R&B
– Favourite Album Soul/R&B (Starboy)
– Favourite Song Soul/R&B (“Starboy”)

Alessia Cara

– Favourite Female Artist Pop/Rock

Shawn Mendes

– Favourite Artist Adult Contemporary

Canadians Populate 2017 MTV VMA nominations

The Fantastic Four – Mister Fantastic (Shawn Mendes), Invisible Woman (Alessia Cara), Human Torch (The Weeknd), and Thing (Justin Bieber) have populated the MTV Video Music Award nominations for 2017. Nine of the 15 categories have a Canadian artist nominated, whether as the main or featured artist. Mendes receives 1 nomination, Cara 4, The Weeknd 5, and the Biebs 2.

Shawn Mendes’ “Treat You Better” is nominated for Best Pop Video.

Alessia Cara’s “Scars to Your Beautiful” is up for Video of the Year, the peculiar category of Best Fight Against the System, and Best Direction. Her “Stay” with Zedd is nominated for Best Dance Video.

The Weeknd is nominated for Artist of the Year. His “Reminder” receives nods for Video of the Year, Best Direction, Best Art Direction, and Best Editing.

Justin Bieber is nominated as a featured artist in both DJ Khaled’s “I’m the One” (Best Rap Video) and Major Lazer’s “Cold Water” (Best Dance Video).

Viewership of the MTV VMAs has tanked over the last few years, as the gala has become barely watchable with its irresponsible promotion of drug smoking and cringe-worthy displays of lechery, involving twerking, foam fingers, and the like. Katy Perry as this year’s host has her work cut out for her if things can be turned around.

Music videos were initially the #1 vehicle that converted underground artists, ignored by radio, to make it to the mainstream. This was especially true of British new wave acts in the early 80s. Nowadays, making music videos is par for the course for any artist who has the budget to make them.

BBMAs 2017: My Drake Will Go On

Nominated for 21 Billboard Music Awards, Toronto rapper Drake was the champion of this year’s affair taking 13 trophies back to his crib. This is a new record. He won Top Artist, Top Male Artist, Top Billboard 200 Artist, Top Billboard 200 Album (Views), Top Hot 100 Artist, Top Song Sales Artist, Top Streaming Artist, Top Streaming Song Audio (“One Dance”), Top R&B Song (“One Dance”), Top R&B Collaboration (“One Dance”), Top Rap Artist, Top Rap Album (Views), and Top Rap Tour.

The performances at the show had some major wow factors. Two of them were by Canadians: Céline Dion and yes Drake.

In 1997, Canadian director James Cameron launched Hollywood motion picture Titanic (Paramount). It had cost $200 million making it the most expensive in the history of cinema. The film had an international cast including Canadian actor Victor Garber. Parts of it were shot in Vancouver and Halifax. From December 19, 1997 to April 2, 1998, Titanic was the number one movie at the US box office, a new record at 15 weeks. It was so popular that Paramount had to send out replacement reels to cinemas which had literally worn out their copies.

Titanic became the first movie in history to pull in a billion dollars. Global box office totals eventually reached $1.8 billion USD, and Titanic captured the title of the most successful movie released in the 20th Century. The film’s theme song was performed by Canadian singer Céline Dion. “My Heart Will Go On” was the biggest song of 1998 and sold an estimated 15 million copies. The song was all over the airwaves that year, and just about everyone went to see Titanic. It was a phenomenon.

To celebrate its 20th anniversary, Dion performed the song at the 2017 Billboard Music Awards. She sang from inside a sky-high chandelier that hung from the venue’s ceiling. As it elevated, so did Dion’s vocals. While she sang the heart-tugging lyrics, scenes from the movie played on the screen behind her. And as the song reached its emotional climax, shimmering lights fell over the crowd.

Canadian rapper Drake delivered a memorable performance as well. He did the honours from inside the Bellagio Fountains in Las Vegas. The selection was “Gyalchester” from his 2017 album More Life. Surrounded by water, fire, and dressed all in white, Drake did his duties while fireworks exploded and blended with the fountain’s geysers above him.

According to Billboard, Drake now has the most U.S. Hot 100 hits by a solo artist in the history of the chart at 154.