The Quebec contingent on the Polaris Prize short list, unveiled Thursday, is impressive. Of the ten nominees, five are familiar names to fans of Quebec music, whether sung in French, English or Inuktitut.
Charlotte Cardin, Allison Russell, Elisapie Isaac, Jeremy Dutcher and the group NOBRO are on it. To complete this high-profile list, we add the names of TOBi, a rapper by trade, as well as DijahSB, also present on this list, from the group The Beaches, DJ BAMBII, and that of the drag queen rock Cindy Lee.
Unusually, seven of this year’s nominees have previously won a Juno Award, the country’s top music honour.
Last year, the Polaris Prize was awarded to Debby Friday for her album Good Luck. The 2024 winner will be announced on September 17. An amount of $50,000 will also be awarded to the artist who created “the Canadian album of the year, judged solely on its artistic merit and without consideration for musical genre or commercial popularity,” emphasize the prize officials.
Cultural impact
Several of the albums nominated for the Polaris this year have already had a cultural impact.
99 Nights Charlotte Cardin presents her pop radio hit Confetti and won the Juno for album of the year, while Blame My Ex The Beaches is highlighted by the hit song Blame Brettvery popular on the social network TikTok before finding itself in the charts.
The album The Returner by Allison Russell includes Eve Was Blackwhich earned the musician her first Grammy, while Inuktitut Elisapie Isaac’s album features covers of Metallica, Cyndi Lauper and Blondie, among others, in her native language.
Motewolonuwok Jeremy Dutcher’s follows his Polaris Award-winning debut, sung entirely in the Wolastoqey language.
Panic Nigerian-Canadian TOBi mixes hip-hop beats with social commentary and personal confessions, while The Flower That Knew non-binary rapper DijahSB’s album sees them collaborating with a handful of other Toronto artists.
BAMBII is known as part of Toronto’s “underground” electronic music scene and their EP Infinity Club captures the energy of his club concerts.
Diamond Jubilee by Cindy Lee is a sprawling two-hour collection of 32 songs concocted as the alter ego of musician Patrick Flegel. The concept album revives the spirit of 1970s lo-fi pop-rock music with a psychedelic twist.
Finally, the name of the fierce punk album by rockers NOBRO, Set Your P***y Freewas inspired by a show they performed hours after the U.S. Supreme Court struck down abortion rights.
Gala
Most of the selected artists will perform on the evening of the gala. Tickets for the event are available on the Massey Hall website and at the venue’s box office.
The Beaches will be absent as a band, but lead singer Jordan Miller is scheduled to perform with the Thunder Queens, an all-girl teen punk band from London, Ontario.
With The Canadian Press