TORONTO - This could be the year of the Deadmau5-peat.
Yes, the Niagara Falls, Ont., electronic producer otherwise known as Joel Zimmerman has a shot at winning his fifth straight Juno Award for dance recording of the year, a category he's dominated since claiming his first trophy back in 2008.
For his part, Zimmerman doesn't think the nearly half-decade run is all that strange.
"It's not really weird when you're only one of like five Canadians making dance music these days," he said when Juno nominations were announced last month.
"I'm sure a lot more (actually) are, and that just kind of paves the way for a lot more to be recognized."
In fact, this year's dance recording of the year category could be the most competitive it's been in ages.
Among Deadmau5's competition? There's DJ duo Duck Sauce -- composed of Armand Van Helden and Montrealer A-Trak -- whose house jam "Barbra Streisand" was a Top 10 hit around the world and already earned a Grammy nomination.
Then there's "Hello," the collaboration between Toronto's Dragonette and French DJ Martin Solveig, a ubiquitous earworm that has managed platinum certification in Australia, Germany, Belgium, Italy, Switzerland, New Zealand and the U.S.
Mia Martina's nominated album, "Devotion," also featured a Top 10 single in Canada, while pop songstress Anjulie's in-the-running tune "Brand New Chick" (a sanitized version of an originally naughty title) provided a long-awaited breakthrough for the Oakville, Ont., artist, racking up platinum sales in Canada.
Still, some nominees figure they'll be overshadowed by the man in the mouse helmet.
"I'm not expecting to win against Deadmau5," Anjulie said down the line from Los Angeles, where she's based.
"I'm just excited to be in a situation where we're both equals, and I'll take that for (a few) more days, and then he takes over."
Martina is similarly enthused to just be in the same category as the four-time Grammy nominee, and the New Brunswick native says she wouldn't mind at all if he were to claim his fifth straight Juno.
When it comes to the Canadian dance scene, this mouse looms large.
"You know what, it's Deadmau5 -- he's the king of dance," Martina said in a recent telephone interview.
"I think every artist looks up to him in that category because he really does pave the way. And I know for me, he just inspires me."
