 | Tuesday, April 01, 2025 | |  | Tuesday, April 01, 2025 | | Hello, fellow music fan!
The Juno Awards have come and gone, and we are in recovery mode. It was a huge weekend for Canadian music, with multiple history-making wins and firsts, and an overall sense of pride in homegrown talent — whatever the definition of “home” might be to you.
We have all the recaps you’ll need: from the full list of winners, to the most memorable moments, to all the performances from both the Saturday night gala and Sunday night broadcast. And if those don’t satisfy your craving for all things Junos, head to CBCMusic.ca/junos for much more.
You’ve probably noticed that we’ve been on a different newsletter schedule the past few days. We promise this will only happen once a year — the Junos are our Super Bowl, if you will — and we’ll be back to our regularly scheduled program with the next newsletter: on Saturday, April 12. | | | | | | | | | |  | | | "There is no one like her," said Sarah McLachlan of fellow Nova Scotian Anne Murray in her speech last night, about to hand the Snowbird singer her Lifetime Achievement Award. Murray, who now holds 26 Juno Awards — still the most of anyone — got real about how hard she’s had to work to get her flowers — and in addition to her bedazzled patriotic jersey, had a message about her devotion to Canada. | | | | | | | | | |  | | | The Juno Songwriters' Circle is one of the week's most beloved events, and the 2025 edition did not disappoint. Hosted by Elamin Abdelmahmoud, it featured performances and stories in the first hour by Sarah Harmer, Lowell, Dylan Sinclair and Alexander Stewart, followed by an hour with Elisapie, Leif Vollebekk, Luna Li and Nemahsis. It wasn’t livestreamed anywhere, but you can listen to it all via CBC Listen. | | | | | | | | | |  | | | Host Michael Bublé opened the 2025 Juno Awards with help from a few of this year's nominees: Elisapie, Roxane Bruneau, Jonita Gandhi, plus 2024 Hall of Fame inductee Maestro Fresh Wes collaborated on a multi-lingual rendition of a Bublé medley that included his hits Feeling Good, Haven't Met You Yet and Home.
"I think [Home], that talks about going home, and also being an Indigenous Inuk woman who's been occupying what we call Canada for a very, very long time, it was a nice treat to finally get to put it in my words and in my world," Elisapie later said in the media room, of translating some of Bublé’s song into Inuktitut for the performance. | | | | | | | | | |  | | | First-time Juno winners Snotty Nose Rez Kids and first-time Juno nominee Tia Wood performed a medley of their songs including Red Future, Dirt Roads and their collaboration, Shapeshifter. It was a powerful, joyful performance laced with protest, as onstage, alongside their dancers, were signs that read "Say Their Names," "We Are Not Landfill" and "Emily Pike," referring to the 14-year-old Indigenous girl who was found dead and dismembered in Arizona last month. | | | | | | | | | |  | | | To finish off the Sunday night broadcast, Sum 41 performed the band's hits Landmines, Fat Lip, Still Waiting and In Too Deep to a raucous crowd — for what was their final performance as a band. | | | | | | | | | |  | | | Palestinian Canadian artist Nemahsis won her first two Juno Awards this weekend, and had her broadcast performance debut.
"Well well well. This is dedicated to all the hijabis that are," she said in her second acceptance speech. "I've been wearing hijab for 20-plus years and all I ever wanted was to turn on Family Channel, YTV and just see somebody that looks like me. I didn't think it would take this long, and I didn't think I'd be the one to do it, but I'm happy it got to this.” | | | | | | | | | |  | | | It wasn’t only a big night for music — it was also a big night for fashion. “Language is my favourite thing in the whole world and I think fashion and the way you dress speaks before your tongue speaks for you,” said Nemahsis in the media room. | | | | | | | | | |  | | | When the 2025 Juno Award nominations were first announced, there was a clear theme: South Asian music and artists are rising across Canada, particularly in B.C. AP Dhillon, who lives on Vancouver Island, as well as Karan Aujla, Jazzy B, Chani Nattan and Inderpal Moga, all four of whom are linked to Surrey, B.C., were up for South Asian music recording of the year — a brand new category.
"Surrey is like the backbone of my life," said Nattan, who performed on the Juno Awards broadcast and ultimately lost the Juno to first-time winner AP Dhillon. "I've seen a lot of artists come up from their hometowns, they don't receive as much love. Being part of this community from here, I feel like they've really embraced me." | | | | | | | Thanks so much for joining us for this issue of Listen Up! If you loved it, feel free to let us know at listenup@cbc.ca — and use the same email if you have questions or suggestions. Please share it with your friends, family and even enemies via cbc.ca/listenup. | | | |
