Nickelback, Michael Buble Among Winners At 2023 Juno Awards
Nickelback and Michael Buble were among the winners at the 2023 Juno Awards on March 13 at Edmonton’s Rogers Place with host Simu Liu. Nickelback were inducted into the Juno’s Hall Of Fame on the big night, while Buble won the Adult Contemporary Album Of The Year Award with Higher.
Nickelback and Alexisonfire – whose album Otherness was named the 2023 Juno Awards Rock Album of The Year – both performed during the ceremony, along with AP Dhillon, Aysanabee, Banx & Ranx together with Preston Pablo and Rêve, Jessie Reyez, Tate McRae and Tenille Townes.
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The Weeknd took home multiple awards on the night. He won artist of the year; songwriter of the year and pop album of the year for Dawn FM; and single of the year for Sacrifice. The global superstar wasn’t in the room to accept the awards, though he lead the 2023 Juno nominations with six nods. He previously won artist of the year in 2015, 2016 and 2021.
Tenille Townes, who won the evening’s first award — country album of the year for Masquerades — spoke backstage, recalling the first time she attended the Juno Awards 19 years ago as an audience member. She said she dreamt of being onstage one day.
“[I] watched and just dreamed of how cool it could be to be a part of the show someday, so I’m feeling all the full-circle vibes,” she told CBC News.
Other early winners included Montreal singer-songwriter Rêve, and producer duo Banx and Ranx. Rêve was backstage after winning dance recording of the year when she found out that the latter duo — who she collaborated with last year — won the award for breakthrough group of the year. She let out an enthusiastic shriek.
“I was waiting for that!” she said of her fellow Montreal musicians. “We’re so freaking proud of each other. And they just took home a Juno. So we love, we love that.”
Alexisonfire hadn’t made an album since 2009 before 2022’s Otherness, which won the band rock album of the year. While the rockers joked that they had indeed set out to make a Juno Award-winning album, the band’s bassist Chris Steele said Saturday’s win is their most meaningful.
“We’ve been a band for almost 22 years and with the history and the depth and the emotional weight, I feel like we’ve always had each other to lean on,” Steele said, noting that they produced the album in Hamilton during a winter storm. “Through thick and thin, we’ve been through a lot together. And I think this record, Otherness, is a reflection of that.”
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