Canada AM has welcomed many top recording artists over the years. But when Royal Wood, Faber Drive and Dean Brody sat down together to discuss their 2011 Juno nominations on Friday one thing was clear: Thanks to technology, Canadian success stories no longer stop at the border.
They represent different styles of music: Canadian pop (Wood), alternative rock (Drive) and country music (Brody). And like so many artists topping today's global music charts, these Canadian success stories have been shaped by the times.
"YouTube is great. It's not the label that pushes you. It's the fans. It's a different time," said Drive, the B.C. punker who is up for Pop Album of the Year thanks to his release, "Can't Keep a Secret."
Those changing times have not been lost on Juno organizers.
Forty years after the Junos debuted in Toronto in 1971, the show and the nominees that it honours are viewed as bonafide players in the world's music industry.
The Junos ceremony has also gained new grandeur.
What started out as an insider's dinner show for 600 guests at Toronto's tiny St. Lawrence Hall has morphed into a slick spectacle that can pack thousands of fans into the city's Air Canada Centre.
Television viewers are also buying into the Juno spectacle in a bigger way.
In 2010, the Juno's overall ratings were up 59 per cent from 2009, earning a peak viewership of 2.1 million across the country. Those numbers could easily be topped given the global appeal of this year's nominees and presenters.
"People really respect what is coming out of this country. The world is getting better at recognizing our talent," said Wood, a Songwriter of the Year contender for his album "Tonight I will be Your Guide."
That recognition has been hard won.
Even Canadian artists have had a hard time giving the Junos their due. That includes 24-time Juno winner Anne Murray.
The Canadian songbird was one of the first stars to publicly criticize the show for its amateurish feel back in the 1970s.
"It was embarrassing, actually," the 65-years singer told reporters recently.
"At that time, it was ... kind of a dinner theatre. By the time the TV show came on, everybody was in their cups," said Murray.
"When (the Junos) first started, it was a bunch of stuffy old dumbs***s who sat in the audience in Toronto and kind of clapped but were really looking forward to having a martini," said eight-time Juno winner, Jann Arden.
Fast forward to 2011 and Sunday's Juno bash, which airs live on CTV, has little in common with its predecessors of years gone by.
The Junos ditched the homespun feel and got hot
What was once a non-televised get-together has become the biggest and glossiest TV tribute to Canada's growing music industry.
The talent that will appear at the 2011 Juno Awards also exemplifies a new breed of Canadian artist.
This year's 24-year-old Juno host, Drake, has six Grammy nominations and a No. 1 album under his belt.
Multiple Juno nominees Arcade Fire recently picked up Album of the Year at the 2011 Grammys, an award considered to be the top prize in today's global industry.
But the props don't stop there.
Juno nominees like Michael Buble and Broken Social Scene are now considered to be huge draws around the world.
Shania Twain, this year's inductee into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame, is one of the world's bestselling solo artists of all time.
Finally, 16-year-old Justin Bieber has become the world's poster boy for YouTube-made phenoms.
The Junos may be hitting middle age. But age has certainly given this show some new perspective and a talent pool to draw from that is as competitive as any in the world.
Thanks to its robust evolution, this weekend's Juno telecast will give stars old and new the chance to bring their glossy world stardom back home for a night of celebration.
And there is plenty to celebrate, according to singer Arden.
When Juno organizers and insiders were trying to create an industry in the early seventies, four stars defined Canada's music biz, says Arden: Leonard Cohen, Joni Mitchell, Anne Murray and Neil Young.
"The four of them were out there for 15 years. They were our industry," Arden recently told reporters.
Juno viewers may not agree with every win announced on Sunday night. But they're sure to agree on one point: Things have definitely changed in Canada's music biz -- and for the better.
