Recapping the 2025 Juno Awards
If you somehow missed it, this weekend was the 54th annual Juno Awards, taking place in Vancouver, Canada to honour the best of Canada’s most successful artists of 2024 across various categories and genres. It took place across Saturday and Sunday, 29-30 March 2025, the main televised ceremony taking place in the 19,000-capacity Rogers Arena, as well as other events like the Songwriters Circle also taking place alongside the big show, featuring spectacular live productions and performances, a who’s-who of current Canadian music including award presenters The Beaches and Jessie Reyez, and host Michael Bublé.
In short, it was a night recognising and celebrating the artists who have been working tirelessly for years and are finally enjoying a moment in the spotlight. Albertan singer and dancer who took the world of pop by storm with her hit single ‘Greedy’, Tate McRae was one of the biggest winners at this year’s JUNOs, winning artist of the year, while single ‘Exes’ won Pop Song of the Year and her subsequent album Think Later won Pop Album of the Year, although she wasn’t at the ceremony to collect her awards in person.
The Beaches continued the dominance they have had upon guitar- and rock music by winning Group of the Year, retaining the award they had won last year on the back of the success of their single ‘Blame Brett’, and following that, of the whole album Blame My Ex. If things continue as they are right now for the Beaches, they could rival Arkells for the continuous run of three Group of the Year wins. Arkells’ frontman and singer Max Kerman was at the ceremony as well, to announce that next year’s JUNOS will be hosted in their hometown of Hamilton, ON.
Torontonian poet and folk singer Mustafa, who won praise from critics the world over for his debut album Dunya, which was also featured in many year-end ‘Albums of 2024’ lists, picked up Songwriter of the Year, and Palestinian-Canadian pop singer Nemahsis won Breakthrough Artist of the Year for her debut album Verbathim.
Nemahsis performing at the Juno Awards in Vancouver. Image: CBC.
It was a special moment for Nemah Hasan, who had initially gained attention for her artistry through TikTok and had been signed by a Los Angeles-based record label. As she was working on her album in 2023 however, she was dropped by her label because she was Palestinian. Disheartened but supported by fans and family, Nemahsis went on to independently release what would become the Juno winner for Alternative Album of the Year. She also performed a breakthrough single from the album, ‘Stick of Gum’.
Cree musician Sebastian Gaskin took home Indigenous Artist of the Year for his single ‘Brown Man’. Snotty Nose Rez Kids made history in becoming the first Indigenous artists to win Rap Album of the Year for 2024’s RED FUTURE. The duo also delivered another powerful, high-energy and evocative performance of songs from the album, last having performed at the 2022 edition of the JUNOS, when they were nominated for their fourth album, Life After.
Montreal hard rock and punk band NOBRO, who lit up the Massey Hall stage last year when performing songs from their Polaris-shortlisted 2024 album, Set Your Pussy Free, won Rock Album of the Year and performed at the JUNOS, which means we got to hear the sentence ‘I always knew that singing about my pussy and doing drugs would get me somewhere, and I’m so happy I got to prove that tonight!’ on national television. A much-needed shot in the collective national arm! NOBRO follow on from The Beaches and JJ Wilde winning for the best rock album in recent years, a heartening increase in the focus on women in rock music. (Before JJ Wilde led the way in 2021, the last woman to win Best Rock Album was Alanis Morissette in 1996.)
Pop musician and rising star Aqyila performed her 2024 single ‘Bloom’ on a meticulously, beautifully set up floral stage in keeping with the theme of the song, winning Contemporary R&B/Soul Recording of the Year. Josh Ross won Country Album of the Year for his album Complicated, performing his TikTok hit ‘Leave Me Too’.
Aqyila performing at the Juno Awards on Sunday. Image: CBC.
Vancouver local and electronic musician bbno$ (pronounced ‘Baby No Money’) arrived on the JUNOS orange carpet on Sunday elaborately dressed as a toilet bowl, and won the TikTok Fan Choice Award, voted by fans either through TikTok or the JUNOS website. Later in the evening, with a fresh change of wardrobe, he was presented his award by The Beaches and performed his song ‘It Boy’ at the ceremony. Fellow Vancouver locals Peach Pit also made an appearance on Sunday to perform their song ‘Magpie’.
No comment.
Boi-1da (pronounced ‘Boi Wonder’) was celebrated with the International Achievement Award for the part he played over the years as a songwriter behind international popstars and hit songs by artists like Drake, Rihanna, Eminem, Jay-Z, Nicki Minaj, Nas and Kendrick Lamar, amongst others. Singer Anne Murray, the most awarded artist in Juno history with 25 Juno wins, was celebrated with only the second-ever Lifetime Achievement Award, which was previously awarded just once: to Pierre Juneau in 1989, after whom the JUNOS were named.
Canadian pop-rock band Sum 41 closed out Sunday night’s ceremony by performing for the last time on stage at the Rogers Arena, formally wrapping up their farewell tour and hanging up their boots for good as a band. They were inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame by members of the American pop punk band Good Charlotte, who are friends of the band and toured with them in 2004.
Sum 41 closing out the 54th Juno Awards on Sunday night. Image: CBC.
Reflecting on the this year’s award show, CBC Radio hosts Tom Power (of acclaimed art, music, film and pop culture podcast, Q fame) and Elamin Abdulmahmood (host of CBC culture show Commotions) noted that this year’s JUNOS felt bolder and more political, perhaps a reflection of the times we live in. Even as Canadians have reckoned in recent years with the country’s own history of racism, misogyny, violence and discrimination against minorities and systemic issues still ingrained into the inner workings of Canadian life, performing to 19,000 people and broadcasting to the nation of 40 million behind their televisions and laptops, many artists took the opportunity to send a message, of hope, of resistance and resilience, to Canada and the world.
The JUNOS are often dubbed ‘the biggest night in Canadian music’. Given that they are hosted, and many categories are presented, by public bodies: the CBC, various other Canadian art councils and government funding bodies, corporate sponsorships are key to putting on an event of this scale. Having it in a stadium like Rogers Arena and broadcasting it nation-wide often requires the sort of money you need to rely on the private sector for.
But Canadian artists haven’t held back this year, nor have they been asked to tone down by the JUNOS for the sake of sponsors. In her acceptance speech picking up Breakthrough Artist of the Year, Nemahsis spoke about waiting her whole life to see hijabi women on screen in a normal, non-politicised setting. She noted, she hadn’t thought it would only be when she herself was the woman on the screen that she would finally see girls like her represented. This comes as we pushback on the Quebec government’s bill C-21 banning ‘religious symbols’ in public services (a bill many detractors have deemed racist for targetting minorities, as often workers wearing hijabs, turbans, etc. have been reprimanded, whereas those sporting Christian symbols like crosses have not). Further, Nemahsis won at the Junos for an album her label were unwilling to market as it was made by a Palestinian Canadian. Her literal existence on that stage before the nation was a win and testament to Canada’s strength as a nation of multiple cultures, and she just made the best Canadian alternative album of 2024.
Michael Bublé’s opening performance and monologue included the line ‘Canada is not for sale’. Bublé, the adult contemporary staple of the moms’ and Christmas record collections, is not usually known as a political man. This comes as Canada puts together a united front against US President Donald Trump’s attacks on Canadian sovereignty.
Leandra Earl of The Beaches stood before the nation and said, ‘Ladies, Canada, I am single.’ At a time whem homophobia has been on the rise and is becoming more naked across the continent (particularly south of the border), that again sends a strong message about Canada’s tolerance and inclusivity, even as ‘DEI’ becomes a villainised concept in the United States.
2025 Group of the Year, The Beaches.
Bbno$ is an artist who came up largely through the internet, and won the Juno TikTok fan choice award, the fan vote, in the face of much more famous pop artists like the Weeknd, Tate McRae and Shawn Mendes. His last statement of the night was ‘Elon Musk is a piece of garbage’ (the television-friendly version of what you can surely complete on your own). Max Kerman—Max Kerman of Arkells, Canada’s Coldplay—echoed this statement seconds later. Arkells are one of the biggest, most decorated band in Canada. A band that indeed reaches a wide audience.
(Max, if you’re reading this, I apologise in advance for the comparison. Arkells are an incredible live band in their own right that give their shows every inch of their energy and heart, and then some more, as I can attest from having seen them play a spellbinding and immersive show in Kingston, ON last year. An Arkells show is an experience for a lifetime. The comparison is neutral and only for our international readers, who may not know the six-time Juno-winning pop rock band.)
Arkells in Kingston last year. Photo: me, I was there.
Country artists like Josh Ross, who made his big break by relocating to Nashville, Tennessee, USA, were quick to establish how important home in Canada was to them in their speeches. It was all pretty much laid out in the open.
While I doubt a significant number of Americans were actually watching the Junos, or even know what they are, I think these shows of support and defiance were more about sending a message to Canadians, about who we are: defining ourselves in opposition to the values the current US administration is pretending are ‘American’. It was more about saying that we have free speech, we have tolerance (more than the US anyway), it was about saying on national television to potentially 40 million Canadians, that we have people that will stand up for Canadians of all strokes and that we defy any attempts to paint the culture of this country with the same colours as America’s.
Which is good. Every exercise in free speech is a test of the strength of democracy. I hope like hell we hang on despite the long shadow cast by our American neighbours.
Watch the 2025 Juno Awards full show on the CBC Music YouTube page.
