OTTAWA -- Who's going to win a Juno on Sunday? Who cares! The real mystery surrounding this weekend's Canadian music awards is: Will Justin Bieber show?
Hopes that the reigning teen idol might grace the Junos with his presence were raised on Friday, thanks to a tweet sent Thursday by Bieber's pa Jeremy: "Montreal bound then Ottawa for junos."
Sure, that's a long way from anything resembling confirmation. And officially, Bieber is said to be attending the Kids Choice Awards in Los Angeles on Saturday. But that doesn't mean he can't be in Ottawa by Sunday. Should he not already have a ticket booked, he could charter a jet — or buy his own airline (BiebAir? It's got a ring, you have to admit.) The dreamy one is up for the Fan Choice Award and Album of the Year for (believe it or not) his Christmas disc Under the Mistletoe. He won the Fan Choice prize last year, along with Pop Album honours for My World 2.0.
Thankfully, there was also some non-Bieber news from Juno Land. Here's a roundup.
FIRST STAGE: Say what you want about the Junos, you can't accuse them of scrimping on the stage. "This is the most complicated set we've ever built," executive producer John Brunton said after showing off his fancy new toy at Scotiabank Place. "It's certainly the biggest set we've ever built." It's also one of the coolest — basically a giant, open square platform with video screens wrapping around the base, lights surrounding the top, a huge cube above that apparently raises and lowers, and a few dozen more video panels of all shapes and sizes scattered around the back and sides. It's crisp and clean, stylish and high-tech. On Friday, journalists got to watch crews putting some of those bells and whistles through their paces, as they rehearsed a "Mixed Tape" dance-music medley segment featuring Alyssa Reid, JRDN, Anjulie, Mia Martina and Dragonette, along with a string section and a dance troupe. It went off without a hitch. Now Brunton just has to make sure it goes that way on Sunday, when he'll be stageside for the live broadcast. Not that he's worried. "When you do what I do for a living," he said, nursing his fourth coffee of the morning, "this is as much fun as you can have." And just in case it's not, there's also plenty of pyro on hand, he promises.
BOOMING BUSINESS: Presumably, the fireworks are there for the boys in Nickelback, who are up for four awards this weekend and are slated to perform on the broadcast. Rumour is that they'll open the show — one would imagine with their latest single — and undoubtedly blow the roof off the dump. Of course, that could all still change by showtime. Even so, consider yourself warned. Also keep your eyes open for a production number involving host William Shatner, says Brunton, describing it as "not only hilarious but also exciting." The first adjective I get. As for the second, we'll see.
BOYS IN BLUE: One group whose presence at this year's Junos is no mystery: Blue Rodeo. The country-rock vets are this year's inductees into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame. But they got their award-winning weekend off to an early start at Ottawa City Hall, where Mayor Jim Watson declared Friday Blue Rodeo Day in front of a packed gallery. "At first, I thought there was a group of angry taxpayers waiting for the next city council meeting," he cracked to fans who gave the group a standing ovation. After the band accepted an official proclamation and a commemorative street sign, co-founder and spokesman Jim Cuddy made a short speech. "We've had an amazing career so far," he said. "Thank you for embracing us." Something tells me he's going to be saying that a lot this weekend.
FLYING SOLO: Speaking of Cuddy: He may not be the hardest-working man in show biz, but he could take that title at this year's Junos. On Thursday, the Blue Rodeo co-founder's schedule apparently included a practice for Friday's Juno Cup hockey game — he's the captain of the musicians' team — followed by a shmoozefest at a downtown bar, a small private gig with his son Devin and a Blue Rodeo radio performance — and that was just between 2 p.m. and 9 p.m. Imagine what else he accomplished while the rest of us were wasting our time sleeping.
STRIKE UP THE BANDS: The big show isn't until Sunday, but Ottawa is already rocking. The annual two-night JunoFest kicked off Friday with more than 50 artists — including punks F---ed Up, rappers Kardinal Offishall and Classified, metal gods Anvil and yes, the ubiquitous Cuddy — playing in 16 local venues. I was out making the rounds; take a look online to see how my night went. And follow me on Twitter for all the news from tonight's gala dinner, where the bulk of this year's Junos will be awarded — and where the artists often let their hair down.
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