The 2024 Juno Awards were a night to remember for Canadian music fans across the country.
Held on March 24, this year’s Juno Awards took place in Halifax, Nova Scotia. The show, hosted by singer-songwriter Nelly Furtado, ran for nearly two hours, and only handed out six awards, with previous awards honoured in an earlier telecast.
While the choice to only broadcast a handful of awards is slightly unusual, especially for a smaller award show, this decision maximized the show’s time for nostalgic performances, powerful ballads, heartwarming speeches, and inspiring protests.
Kicking off the ceremony, Furtado launched into an electrifying performance of some of her hits—”Maneater,” “Promiscuous,” and “I’m Like a Bird”—all of which transported audiences back in time as they danced and sang along. From her showstopping sci-fi-inspired outfit to the dazzling lights, every detail of the performance highlighted Furtado’s remarkable impact on Canadian music and left audiences energized.
Furtado has been a revolutionary figure within the music scene—apart from creating catchy and freeing club songs. She has brought attention to Canadian artists on a global scale. Her music and career have allowed Canada to be viewed as an artistic commons within the industry and paved the way for up-and-coming artists—many of whom were winners this evening.
There was palpable excitement as the first award category was announced: Group of the Year. This award went to Toronto-based band The Beaches; with three albums under their belt and a unique blend of edgy lyrics and soft indie-rock beats, it’s no wonder these women won the award.
In their speech, they said, “To all the young girls watching, go start bands with your best friends!” before leaving the stage. Not only is this band a representation of alternative genres, but they’re representative of female empowerment within the industry.
Their active call for women in the music industry will undoubtedly inspire many young women and girls to join the arts. Their Juno win served as an excellent forum for the call for a musically female future.
Another crucial event at the awards was the celebration of diversity, not only racial or gender diversity—which was evident by the various Indigenous, Black, Asian, Hispanic and 2SLGBTQIA+ artists nominated—but also linguistic diversity.
Throughout the evening, performances ranged from English to Indigenous languages. There was even a performance of Karan Aujla and Ikky’s “Softly” sang entirely in Punjabi. This language diversity is a staple of the Juno Awards and marks a commendable celebration of diversity unfortunately absent from many other award shows. It was truly refreshing to witness an active recognition and appreciation of this rare and valuable aspect of Canadian culture.
Calgary native Tate McRae walked away with two awards this evening, including Single of the Year with her smash hit, “greedy.” This was the lead single off her latest album, Think Later, which blended indie pop sounds, electronic beats, and introspectively suggestive 2000s it-girl lyrics. This album undoubtedly led to her second win, Artist of the Year.
McRae draws lots of parallels to Furtado. They both have a knack for socially conscious lyrics, complex emotions, and infusing personal experiences in their music alongside infectious rhythms and catchy hooks. It’s no wonder the chorus of “greedy” is in a constant loop on both radio stations and in my head.
McCrae’s music feels simultaneously fresh and nostalgic at the same time—the similarity between her and Furtado immediately drew me back to singing “Maneater” at the grand age of six, with no clue what any of the words meant.
If this year’s Juno Awards are any indication of what the future holds for Canadian musicians, then we have a lot to look forward to.
Tags
Canadian Excellence, Juno Awards, Music
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