The Weeknd, Justin Bieber and Shawn Mendes were the top winners on Sunday’s JUNO Awards broadcast – but fans didn’t hear from any of them.
Bieber’s performance of “Somebody,” pre-taped in Los Angeles, opened the show but the singer wasn’t around to accept the JUNO for Pop Album of the Year (for Changes).
Similarly, The Weeknd didn’t deliver acceptance speeches for Artist of the Year or Album of the Year (After Hours) and Mendes was a no-show to claim the Fan Choice Award.
The night’s only live acceptance speeches – from Savannah Ré (Traditional R&B/Soul Recording of the Year) and JP Saxe (Breakthrough Artist of the Year) – were virtual and dogged by audio syncing issues.
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Despite being the 50th edition of the JUNO Awards, the show was decidedly not celebratory. Instead, it was a sombre affair that included multiple mentions of the recent discovery of what is believed to be the remains of 215 Indigenous children.
The pre-taped live performances were largely gloomy, including JP Saxe and Julia Michaels doing “If The World Was Ending,” Jann Arden revisiting her 1995 ballad “Good Mother,” and Jessie Reyez singing “Do You Love Her” and “Before Love Came to Kill Us.”
The show ended with a low-key rendition of The Tragically Hip’s “It’s a Good Life if You Don’t Weaken” with guest vocalist Leslie Feist.
Winners in most categories were announced during a virtual presentation on Friday. The Weeknd lead the way with three and there were wins for Arkells, KAYTRANADA, Alanis Morissette and July Talk.