In Canada: Juno Awards Backtrack on Dropping Reggae and Gospel Following Widespread Criticism

The 2025 Juno Awards will include awards for reggae recording, Christian/gospel album, and children’s album, after all.

CARAS, the Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (CARAS), has reportedly reversed a planned decision to put those three categories on hiatus, as well as the award for international album, the fate of which remains unknown.

Earlier in September, The Canadian Press obtained a letter which revealed the planned suspension of the four categories, part of a “broader set of updates” still to be announced.

Response was swift from the music industry and beyond, with many citing concerns that reggae recording and Christian/gospel album, especially, are categories that honour genres led by Black musicians.

“There’s a lot of anger among us reggae folks,” Juno nominee Jason Wilson told The Canadian Press, adding that the removal of the reggae award could only “ring alarms of racism.”

“While (the Junos) might be saying the right things about inclusion, in the very same breath they’re ditching reggae and gospel. How can this be reconciled?” Wilson said.

Politicians spoke out as well, with federal MP Michael Coteau — also the former Ontario Minister of Culture — advocating for the reggae, Christian/gospel, and children’s album categories to be reinstated. “Revisit this really bad decision,” Coteau said on X. City councillor Josh Matlow added his voice to the chorus as well.

Juno Awards president and CEO Allan Reid announced the decision to reinstate the categories on Tuesday, September 17.

“I want to personally address the recent discussions surrounding changes we were considering for the 2025 Awards,” Reid wrote on Instagram. “Over the course of last year, CARAS underwent an extensive process reviewing all Award categories, taking into consideration data such as consumption, number of submissions, and other metrics,” Reid explained. “Given the feedback from the community, CARAS will not put these three categories on hiatus this year.”

Speaking with the Toronto Star, publicist and cultural commentator Dalton Higgins (who previously called the decision to eliminate reggae “a slap in the face to…the Black community” and “a PR nightmare of epic proportions”) emphasized that CARAS shouldn’t have considered eliminating those categories without consulting the communities that contribute to them.

“To not engage the Jamaican community or the broader Caribbean community in a healthy two-way dialogue,” Higgins said, “it felt like we were taking 20 steps backwards.”

This isn’t the first time artists have called out the Junos on issues of recognition and representation, including previous boycotts by hip-hop artists Rascalz and Drake.

More information about the 2025 Juno Awards category changes will be announced on Sept. 23, Reid clarified in his post.

The 2025 Junos will take place in Vancouver. -Rosie Long Decter

Jeremy Dutcher Becomes The First Two-Time Polaris Music Prize Winner 

Jeremy Dutcher has won the Polaris Music Prize. Again!

The Indigenous singer-songwriter of Neqotkuk (Tobique First Nation) became the first two-time winner in the history of the music award, which celebrated its 19th edition this week (September 17) at Massey Hall in Toronto.

With the album Motewolonuwok, Dutcher beat nine other shortlisted albums: Cindy Lee’s Diamond Jubilee, NOBRO’s Set Your Pussy Free, TOBi’s Panic, DijahSB’s The Flower That Knew, Allison Russell’s The Returner, Bambii’s Infinity Club, Elisapie’s Inuktitut, The Beaches’ Blame My Ex and Charlotte Cardin’s 99 Nights.

Dutcher wins the $50,000 prize donated by the Slaight Family Foundation, which goes to the best Canadian album of the year, as determined by a jury of experts based solely on artistic merit.

“Six years ago, I put out my first record [and] this award changed my life,” he said. “I have unending gratitude to this music community. Not a single album on this list sounded like each other. That speaks to the breadth of music in this place.”

The night included performances by most of the nominated artists, with creative substitutions for those who couldn’t play: The Beaches’ Jordan Miller playing with teen band Thunder Queens, a string section playing along with a taped performance by Charlotte Cardin, a Cindy Lee video premiere, and a ballet inspired by Allison Russell’s “Eve Was Black.”

Read about the best moments of the the 2024 Polaris Prize gala here. -Richard Trapunski

Shaboozey Honoured at Toronto Concert as ‘A Bar Song (Tipsy)’ Hits 16 Weeks at No. 1 on Billboard Canadian Hot 100

Shaboozey has this year’s longest-running No. 1 hit on the Billboard Canadian Hot 100 with “A Bar Song (Tipsy), and last week he got to celebrate it in a big way.

At his concert at Danforth Music Hall on Friday (Sept. 13), he welcomed Billboard Canada‘s Richard Trapunski, Mo Ghoneim and Jackson Turner onstage to present him with a plaque for the achievement.

“This is crazy man, this is nuts,” he said, raising the plaque triumphantly as the crowd cheered. “Y’all did it first!”

Shaboozey played the hit three times a row during his encore, with the crowd clearly loving every second of it.

The song has now spent 16 weeks atop the Canadian Hot 100, surpassing last year’s 15 weeks for Miley Cyrus’s hit “Flowers.” Lil Nas X has the current record at 19 weeks for “Old Town Road.” Shaboozey only needs three more weeks to tie it and four more to beat it.

“Let’s see if we can do it,” said the country star in his green room before the show, sitting backstage next to a portrait of Charley Crockett.

“A Bar Song (Tipsy)” hit No. 1 in Canada before the U.S. Hot 100, where it currently sits at 10 weeks at No. 1.

“I guess you guys got a lotta drinkers here, huh?” he joked, when asked why the song was resonating in Canada. “It just shows that you guys love to have fun. Every day is a celebration when people are listening to this song.”

The song is an ode to forgetting your troubles with a double shot of whiskey that interpolates rapper J-Kwon’s 2004 song “Tipsy.” An addictive country song that plays with elements of hip-hop and is easy to sing along to, “A Bar Song (Tipsy)” has shown to unite different kinds of listeners and get airplay in a variety of different radio formats. 

Evidently, it also has a lot of staying power. -R.T.

Lisa Grossi Named Director of National Radio Promotion & Media Relations at Warner Music Canada

Warner Music Canada has announced the appointment of Lisa Grossi to the position of director, national radio promotion & media relations.

Grossi joins the company from Bell Media, where she served as the national music director for Virgin Radio & Move Radio, as well as music director & assistant program director for CHUM 104.5. She becomes the first woman ever to lead Warner Music Canada’s promotion department.

“Music is my passion. I live and breathe it,” Grossi says. “Growing up, it was my dream to work for a record label and I am so excited that this is now a reality. I’m thrilled to join Warner Music Canada to help break new artists and have continued success with their roster of established artists.”

Grossi has over 18 years of experience as a radio programmer, and the label heralds her appointment as a step to bring “Warner Music Canada’s radio team into the future.”

Madelaine Napoleone, vp of marketing, says “Lisa is a highly respected leader in the radio industry, bringing a fresh perspective on how we can enhance our partnership with radio both now and in the future. I’m also proud to share that with her appointment, we are the only major label in Canada to have an all-female radio team.”

Lisa Grossi was recently celebrated in the Industry Spotlight of Billboard Canada Women in Music. She gave this advice to the next generation of women in the industry: “Trust your gut. Speak your truth. Be authentic. Always give your honest opinion even if it’s not the popular opinion.”

That advice has led her into new terrain as she moves into the new role at Warner. –Kerry Doole

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