Nadia Elkharadly: The Junos

Happy February DBAWIS!  It’s been a great start to 2014 so far, aside from a few blips here and there.  More than anything it’s shaping up to be an exciting year for music, but new and familiar, and you know how excited music gets me.

For those of you not in Canada, not into music or just not on twitter, the 2014 Juno Award nominations were announced this week.  That’s Grammy in Canadian for all of you unfamiliar with the national canuck music awards.  And like with any award show, with nominations come controversy, and this year’s Juno picks were not without their fair share.  Take a gander at the nominee list here, while I will mosey on down the page to ruminate on a particularly contentious nomination.

Apparently we can’t go a televised award session without having our eyes and ears assailed by the high voiced Canadian prodigal son Robin Thicke.  You’d think his days of twerking while imitating 90s horror comedy characters were behind him, but the Canadian music industry is welcoming him “home” with open arms.  Thicke is not only nominated for multiple awards, including Artist of the Year, he will also be one of the performers for the night.  The list of charges leveled against Thicke are numerous, including, and not exclusive to musical plagerism, inciting and encouraging rape culture and being a raging misogynist.  As a result the rage his nomination has incurred is understandable and expected.  But at the same time, his nomination and his performance invitation were, to me, somewhat understandable and definitely expected.

While Thicke may be controversial, tasteless, tacky or whatever expression of distaste you’d like to ascribe to him, there are a few undisputable facts that accompany the pouty pop star.  1) “Blurred Lines” was the standout song of the summer, like it or not.  2) that song and the rest of his album skyrocketed Thicke to hitmaker heaven and 3) he’s hugely famous.  Capitalizing on Thicke’s Canadian citizenship was a calculated move by the brains behind the Junos.  Despite what you may think about Thicke, his presence as a nominee and as a performer will pull more eyes on the broadcast, and therefore all the other nominees and performers.  I’m talking people we actually give a shit about, like Courage my Love, The Darcys, Lee Harvey Osmond, and so many more.  So while many of my cohorts in the Music journalism biz are still lamenting the Thicke-ining of our Juno Awards, I’d like to highlight some of the performances and nominations I’m excited about for 2014.

Courage My Love – Breakthrough group of the year

I’ll always have a special place for Courage My Love, since they’re the reason I met my dear friend Bobert, and subsequently why you lovely readers can cast your eyeballs on my words on his site RIGHT HERE RIGHT NOW!  But to see this talented trio recognized for their years of hard work and their skill on a stage is truly amazing.  Congrats gals and guy, best of luck!

July Talk – Breakthrough group of the year

This Toronto band was one of my favourite new discoveries of 2013.  With Peter Dreimanis making Tom Waits sound like he has the voice of an angel, and Leah Fay actually having the voice of an angel, and their quirky and passionate duets backed by some seriously awesome music, I just couldn’t help but fall in love with all of it.  I can’t believe I’m actually torn when it comes to the Junos.

Serena Ryder (multiple)

I said sometime last year that 2013 would be Serena Ryder’s year, and it really was.  She broke into the mainstream, got tons of radio airplay and had her music placed in hugely popular American TV shows. To have her recognized at home continually is a great thing.  Ryder has multiple nominations for the Junos this year, including Single of the Year, Album of the Year and Artist of the Year, and she truly deserves them.  I hope she continues to ride this wave and reaches new heights of music stardom!

Pink – International Album of the Year

If you’re going to force Robin Thicke upon me, thank you for softening the blow with Pink, Juno Awards.  Of all the pop/R&B/etc starlets, Pink is my favourite.  Tatted up like no body’s business, fit and sexy like nobody’s business and with pipes like nobody’s business, she just rocks my world.  Her nominated record The Truth About Love is beautiful and she wrote all of the songs herself (with help as is standard on the pop side).

The Darcys – Alternative Album of the Year

The Darcys’ latest effort Warring is probably their best yet, as many many journalists, reviewers, and music lovers will tell you.  Dark, angsty and complex, both musically and emotionally, Warring is, simply put, beautiful.  Knowing not only how far the band has come, but also how hard they’ve worked, it’s phenomenal that the rest of the music industry has caught up with the media, and that the Darcys and this record are getting the recognition they deserve.

Lee Harvey Osmond – Roots & Traditional Album of the Year (group)

I couldn’t leave off DBAWIS and Bobcast veteran Tom Wilson and company off this least.  The Folk Sinner  is a beautiful album full of musical gems, including a fantastic Gordon Lightfoot cover, “Oh Linda”, “Break your body” with Hawksley Workman, and many more.  And considering Lee Harvey Osmond is essentially a Canadian folk rock supergroup, it’s no wonder the Juno’s would recognize their talent and work. But even though it may have been expected, it’s great to see this record also get some well-deserved award action.

Have any Juno picks you want to talk about?  Take a wander down to that little comment section below and have at it!

And it wouldn’t be a DBAWIS column with my name on it if I didn’t do a little shameless self-promotion.  My bestie and partner in crime Mark Munroe has yet another cool project to add to his already impressive resume, but this one is for the ladies!  It’s called HiM: Evolution, and it’s a super hot, super sexy and super fun male revue and show.  Think Magic Mike but live and in front of you, and so much better.  I’m the troupe’s makeup artist and resident lady consultant, so I would LOVE to see some of you DBAWIS’s come on out to support this latest endeavor, and have a great time as well.  Ticket and show information can be found here: but feel free to get in touch with me directly if you want tickets or just have a question.

Until next time,

Xo

N

=NE=

Nadia’s column appears every Wednesday

Contact us at: dbawis@rogers.com

Nadia Elkharadly is a Toronto based writer with a serious addiction to music. Corporate drone by day, renegade rocker by night, writing is her creative outlet.  Nadia writes for the Examiner (.com) on live music in Toronto and Indie Music in Canada.  She has never been in a band but plays an awesome air guitar and also the tambourine.  Check in every Tuesday for musings about music, love, life and whatever else that comes to mind.