Justin Bieber, Carly Rae Jepsen, and Leonard Cohen were the big name winners at Canada’s 42nd annual Juno Awards on Sunday night.
Held at Regina, Saskatchewan’s Brandt Center and hosted by Michael Buble, the Juno Awards are Canada’s equivalent to the Grammy Awards.
Raising a firm finger to Bieber’s recent negative press, Canadian fans voted the 19-year-old the winner of the Fan Choice award for the third year running.
Honors also came thick and fast for Carly Rae Jepsen. Mentored by Bieber and co-managed with Scooter Braun, the singer took the Album of the Year award for her gold-selling Kiss and also won Pop Album of the Year and Single of the Year for her smash hit “Call Me Maybe.”
Amazed at her wins, a stunned Jepsen accepted her Album of the Year award saying:
“Wow. I don’t even know what to say. There are so many people who deserve this, and what an honor. I want to thank all of you here tonight. Everyone! This is truly a dream come true for me. If I could only explain how I feel.”
“I’m sorta speechless. This is amazing. Thank you so much,” the 27-year-old added.
Backstage, Jepsen told waiting press that she expected Bieber would be pleased for her.
“I think in general [it’s] a shared success,” said Jepsen, excitedly.”The fact that he has really been my main supporter and he signed me, and because of that I was able to make the record Kiss and sort of be exposed to the world beyond Canada. So I have nothing to say to him other than thank you and I know he’s been rooting for me just as much as his own stuff.”
In fact, Bieber applauded Jepsen’s wins all the way from Europe, tweeting:
“hey if I’m gonna miss one at least it’s my own artist. Lol. Now bring out the @NICKIMINAJ song!,” wrote the “Boyfriend” singer.
The legendary Leonard Cohen won the Best Songwriter and Artist of the Year awards. Likewise with Jepsen’s Pop Album of the Year honor, Cohen’s Artist of the Year award was given on Saturday night at a pre-telecast prize giving.
Cohen’s son, Adam, accepted his father’s award for him.
Marianas Trench won for Best Group of the year while Monster Truck waltzed off with the Breakthrough Group of the year award.
Torch singer k.d lang was inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame and told the nationwide television audience:
“So I am here to tell you my friends and my countrymen that it is OK to be you. It is OK to let your freak flags fly and embrace the quirkmeister that’s inside of all of us. And I’m not even just talking artists, I’m talking every single person in this nation has the right to be themselves, live life… I love you Canada, thank you so much.”
Justin Bieber, Carly Rae Jepsen, Leonard Cohen and all the winners at the Juno Awards would surely agree. These people, not so much .
For a complete list of the winners, wander over to www.j noawards.ca .
[ Images via Joe Seer / Shutterstock.com and Route66 / Shutterstock.com ]