March 14, 2023
Photo: The Canadian Press/Alamy Stock Photo
Nickelback And Michel Buble were among the winners of the 2023 Juno Awards on March 13 at Rogers Place in Edmonton with host Simu Liu. Nickelback was inducted into Juno’s Hall Of Fame on the big night, while Buble won Adult Contemporary Album of the Year with Higher.
Nickelback and Alexisonfire – whose album Otherness was named Rock Album of the Year at the 2023 Juno Awards – both performed at the ceremony, alongside AP Dhillon, Aysanabee, Banx & Ranx as well as Preston Pablo and Rêve , Jessie Reyez, Tate McRae and Tenille Townes.
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The Weeknd took home several awards on the night. He won Entertainer of the Year; Songwriter of the Year and Pop Album of the Year for Dawn FM; and Single of the Year for Sacrifice. The global superstar was not in the room to accept the awards, despite leading the Juno 2023 nominations with six nods. He had already been elected artist of the year in 2015, 2016 and 2021.
Tenille Townes, who won the night’s top prize — Country Album of the Year for Masquerades — spoke backstage, recalling when she first attended the Juno Awards 19 years ago as member of the public. She said she dreamed of being on stage one day.
“[I] watched and just dreamed how cool it could be to be on the show one day, so I feel all the vibes full circle,” she told CBC News.
Other early winners include Montreal singer-songwriter Rêve and producer duo Banx and Ranx. Rêve was backstage after winning Dance Recording of the Year when she found out that the latter duo – who she collaborated with last year – won Breakthrough Group of the Year. She let out an enthusiastic cry.
“I was waiting for this!” she says of her fellow Montreal musicians. “We are so proud of each other. And they just brought home a Juno. So we like, we like it.
Alexisonfire hadn’t made an album since 2009 until Otherness in 2022, which won rock band album of the year. While the rockers joked that they had indeed decided to make a Juno-winning album, the band’s bassist Chris Steele said Saturday’s victory was their most significant.
“We’ve been a band for almost 22 years and with the history, the depth and the emotional weight, I feel like we’ve always leaned on each other,” Steele said, noting that They had produced the album in Hamilton during a winter storm. “Through thick and thin, we’ve been through a lot together. And I think this record, Otherness, reflects that.