Grammy Award | Five Canadian moments to watch

(Toronto) Many facets of Canada’s diverse musical landscape will be represented at Sunday’s Grammy Awards gala.

From major international stars to classical artists and behind-the-scenes creators, Canadian nominees span a wide range of genres and styles.

Sound engineer and pop music mixer Serban Ghenea leads the pack with seven nominations, while rapper Drake and folk singer Allison Russell each have four.

Most of the 94 Grammy Awards, including many categories with Canadian nominees, are presented in a pre-ceremony that will be broadcast live on Grammy.com.

The main Grammy Awards gala, which will be hosted by Trevor Noah, will be broadcast on Citytv and CBS.

Here are five Canadian moments to watch.

The leader

Since Serban Ghenea already has an incredible 19 Grammys under his belt, he may need to invest in another shelf after this year’s ceremony. The Romanian-born, Canadian-raised pop wizard ended up competing against himself in several categories for different projects. In the record of the year, his work to achieve Anti-hero by Taylor Swift, Vampire by Olivia Rodrigo or Worship by Jon Batiste might be recognized. For album of the year, his name appears for Midnights by Taylor Swift and Guts, by Olivia Rodrigo. And in the category of best “pop dance” recording, he scored two hits with DJ and producer David Guetta which were nominated.

The surprise

With nine Grammy wins, it’s surprising that Joni Mitchell has never performed at the gala. But the 80-year-old singer-songwriter will soon be able to try this experience. There is much mystery as to whether other well-known musicians could join Mitchell on stage. Given that the Grammy prizes collaborations and she’s one of music’s most legendary living performers, there’s likely a long list of willing participants. Mitchell is also nominated in the category of best folk album for a live album recorded in June 2022 when she returned to the stage after years of health problems. He competes with Folkocracyby Montrealer Rufus Wainwright.

The rising star

Although Allison Russell has received critical acclaim and Grammy nominations in recent years, she has yet to take home one of the trophies. This could change since she holds four nominations for The Returner. His second album is notably in the running for best Americana album.

The return

It’s not exactly a full-blown return to the Grammys, but Drake is becoming more of a presence at the awards show again. After several years of boycotting, the Toronto artist received four nominations for songs from his 2022 album. But here’s the explanation: technically, these are all collaborations, since his album Her Loss was created in partnership with Atlanta rapper 21 Savage. The Drake nominations are in the categories of Best Rap Album, Melodic Rap Performance, Rap Song and Rap Performance. The real test of whether he and the Grammys will make amends will come next year, when For All the Dogshis latest solo album, will be eligible.

Others

Among the new Grammy contenders is Toronto band Alvvays, who nabbed a nomination for best alternative music performance with their indie hit Belinda Says. Montreal conductor and pianist Yannick Nézet-Séguin hopes to enrich his trophy haul with two other nominations in the classical categories.

There’s also Halifax native Henry Walter, known as producer Cirkut, who is aiming for his second trophy with Higher Than Ever Before by Disclosure, in the running for best “electronic dance” recording. Niagara Falls native Joel Zimmerman, nicknamed Deadmau5, shares his nomination with American producer Kaskade for their album Kx5which is in the running for best dance or electronic album.