A Canadian guide to the 2023 Grammy Awards this weekend
Several Canadians could walk out of the Grammy Awards on Sunday with an armful of trophies, but most of them aren’t household names.
While Bryan Adams, Drake and Michael Bublé are all contenders this year, many of the other homegrown nominees on the leaderboard are behind-the-scenes pros who added pop and fizz to some of last year’s biggest records.
They include Winnipeg-born mixer Jesse Ray Ernster whose work on Doja Cat’s Female is nominated for Record of the Year, and Bragg Creek, Alberta-raised music engineer Shawn Everett who contributed to Adele’s 30one of the contenders for album of the year.
There’s also Tobias Jesso Jr. from North Vancouver, a musician who found success writing songs for others including Adele and Harry Styles which together earned him three nominations, including one for Songwriter of the Year.
Adele also proved to be a good luck charm for visual maestro Xavier Dolan, the acclaimed Montreal filmmaker who directed Easy for mewhich garnered a nomination for the best music video.
Most of the 91 Grammy categories will be awarded Sunday in an industry pre-air ceremony. The premiere ceremony, as it is called, will be streamed live on the Grammys website, hosted by American comedian Randy Rainbow, who is up for Best Comedy Album. The 65th Annual Grammy Awards will be broadcast on Citytv and CBS.
Beyoncé leads the 2023 Grammy nominations ahead of artists such as Adele, Kendrick Lamar, Harry Styles and Lizzo. Others like The Weeknd, Drake and Silk Sonic to name a few have had issues with the organization not submitting their music for consideration.
Here are five other Canadian highlights to watch on Sunday:
Nominees for multiple awards
Audio engineer and mixer Serban Ghenea isn’t as recognizable as the pop stars he helps to sound their best, but you’ve probably heard some of his work. This year’s six-time nominee was born in Romania before moving to Canada. And he’s named no less than four projects in the album of the year category – Coldplay’s Music of the spheresfrom Lizzo SpecialAdele’s 30 and that of Mary J. Blige Good morning beautiful.
His studio time with Blige also secured a slot for record of the year. The Grammys recently added Ghenea to the list of names in the running for best dance/electronic recording of David Guetta and Bebe Rexha’s chart-topping I’m good (blue). Those nominations gave him an edge over Montreal classical conductor and pianist Yannick Nézet-Séguin, who has five this year.
Quadruple Drizzy
Drake’s plan to sit out the Grammys hit a snag when his collaborations with other artists earned him four nominations. Even though the rapper from Toronto has not submitted his own album from 2022 Frankly, never mindin line with his Grammys boycott of recent years, he couldn’t ignore the accolades.
He earned two spots in the Best Rap Songs category for his collaboration with Jack Harlow Churchill Downs and his role in Futures Wait for you. He is also a contender for Album of the Year for his contributions to the song Heated to Beyoncé’s Renaissance, and up for best melodic rap performance for Wait for you.
Miracle of Toronto
Speaking of Beyoncé, she’s just one of many musicians who have benefited from the magic touch of Toronto producer Boi-1da, born Matthew Samuels. He has four nominations this year, including two in the album of the year category for Bey’s Renaissance and Kendrick Lamar’s Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers.
He also received a nomination as part of the Drake and Harlow nomination for Best Rap Song, and his prolific work landed him in the Producer of the Year category.
Recognizable faces
Justin Bieber’s concert film Our world and Neil Young’s documentary A band A brotherhood A barn both are chasing the prize for best musical film. Both already have two Grammys to their name.
Four-time Grammy winner Michael Buble’s Higher is ready for a traditional pop vocal album, while Bryan Adams has a best rock performance for his song So glad it hurts.
And The Weeknd’s tour opener Kaytranada, a two-time Grammy-winning DJ and producer, could snag a third for intimidatedwith HER, who goes for best dance/electronic recording.
Up-and-coming Montreal star Allison Russell, who played alongside Joni Mitchell at the Newport Folk Festival performance last summer, is looking for her first win with a nomination for Best American Roots Performance for lost daughternext to Aoife O’Donovan.
Surprise nods
The Montreal band Arcade Fire’s We landed among the top contenders for alternative music albums, sparking a stir in some circles as lead singer Win Butler faced multiple allegations of sexual misconduct last year that he has denied.
While those allegations led to some radio stations pulling the band’s music off the air, Arcade Fire’s nod appears as a show of support from the music industry. Arcade Fire has also been nominated at the 2023 Juno Awards for group of the year.
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