The Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (CARAS) and CBC celebrated Canada’s Biggest Night in Music this evening at The 53rd Annual JUNO Awards Broadcast. Hosted by legendary singer, songwriter and pop superstar Nelly Furtado, the awards were broadcast from Scotiabank Centre in Halifax on CBC TV, CBC Gem, CBC Radio One, CBC Music, CBC Listen, and globally at CBCMusic.ca/junos and CBC Music’s YouTube page.
JUNOS’ most decorated artist and Nova Scotian Anne Murray took to the stage to present the Group of the Year Presented by SiriusXM Canada to The Beaches. Following their win, The Beaches also took to the stage with a dynamic performance to cap off a stellar weekend for the band, winning Rock Album of the Year the previous night as well.
Two other performers went home with JUNO Awards this evening, TALK with Breakthrough Artist of the Year Presented by FACTOR, The Government of Canada and Canada’s Private Radio Broadcasters and Charlotte Cardin won Album of the Year Presented by Music Canada for her hit album “99 nights.” Charlotte also went home with Pop Album of the Year the previous night.
Fans around the world were given the option to vote for the TikTok JUNO Fan Choice, which was awarded to Karan Aujla.
The evening’s broadcast included the induction of Maestro Fresh Wes to the Canadian Music Hall of Fame, his Induction was Presented by JUNOS Premier Sponsor, TD. The honour was presented to him by Kardinal Offishall who also introduced Maestro Fresh Wes ahead of his incredible performance.
The MusiCounts Teacher of the Year Award, presented by Anthem Entertainment, was awarded to, Stephen Richardson (École St. Joseph School, Yellowknife, NT) not only for his impact on students in kindergarten through to grade 12 but also his dedication to the Yellowknife community and the music education field. He is the first educator from the Northwest Territories to win this award and has been nominated for this award three times before.
The 2024 JUNO Awards Broadcast featured additional performances from some of Canada’s brightest stars. Host Nelly Furtado took to the stage to wow the crowd with her performance followed by Karan Aujla (2024 Breakthrough Artist of the Year Presented by FACTOR, The Government of Canada and Canada’s Private Radio Broadcasters nominee) and Ikky who impressed the audience with their performance. A powerful performance from Jeremy Dutcher & 2024 JUNO Award winner Elisapie ft. the fiery Mi’kmaq fiddler Morgan Toney and artistic creator Sarah Prosper. A double award winner from the JUNO Opening Night Awards Presented by Music Canada, Songwriter of the Year Presented by SOCAN and Alternative Album of the Year, Aysanabee joined Alexandra Stréliski and Allison Russell, winner of the 2024 JUNO Award for Music Video of the Year. Country artist Josh Ross took to the stage to put on an exhilarating performance.
The evening’s star-studded roster of presenters included CBC’s This Hour Has 22 Minutes and Best in Miniature host, Aba Amuquandoh, Two-Spirit nurse practitioner and talented drag artist Anita LandBack, Canadian music legend Jim Cuddy, co-founder and executive director of the Wabanaki Two-Spirit Alliance John R Sylliboy, actor/comedian Jonny Harris from CBC’s Murdoch Mysteries and Still Standing, 2024 Single of the Year and Breakthrough Artist of the Year Presented by FACTOR, the Government of Canada and Canada’s private Radio broadcasters nominee and pop singer/songwriter LU KALA, R&B/dancehall fusion and 2024 Reggae Recording of the Year nominee Omega Mighty, Minister of Canadian Heritage The Honourable Pascale St-Onge and JUNO Award winner and 2024 nominee William Prince. Crash Adams were the 2024 TikTok JUNO Fan Choice Award presenters and CBC Music’s Odario Williams brought this Afterdark groove to the JUNO party as the Broadcast announcer.
Fans can rewatch every performance and memorable moment from the 53rd Annual JUNO Awards broadcast, on CBC Gem, CBCMusic.ca/junos and The JUNO Awards social channels.
The 2024 JUNO Awards Broadcast was produced by Insight Productions (a Boat Rocker company in association with CBC and The Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (CARAS).
Trailblazing Punjabi lyricist, rapper and singer Karan Aujla makes history as his album Making Memories debuted at #5 on the Billboard Canadian Albums chart, the highest charting Punjabi album debut ever. In its first week, Making Memories earned 7.5 million streams in Canada alone, while globally it garnered over 24 million streams. What’s more, each of the eight songs from Making Memories charted in the Top 200 in both India and Canada.
Making Memories was executive produced by Ikky, and debuted at #3 on the Spotify Global Top Albums chart and hit #1 on the Apple Music charts in India and Canada.
The album’s lead single “Admirin’ You” welcomed another historic moment as Aujla became the first Indian artist to cover Apple Music’s New Music Daily global playlist with an exclusive interview on the Zane Lowe show. Aujla also became the first artist to get a #1 track placement and cover simultaneously on Spotify’s biggest Punjabi playlist Punjabi 101 on day of release.The single became the #1 trending track on Instagram Reels globally within the first week; inspiring over one million creations on Snapchat in less than two weeks. The success expanded to TikTok and landed on the platform’s viral charts. The official music video surpassed 11.3 million views in 24 hours, reaching #1 trending on YouTube in Canada and Australia and hit the top 20 trending chart in the United Kingdom, New Zealand, Pakistan, and the UAE.
Making Memories is available as a special limited-edition, orchid purple vinyl now on sale here.
Next up for Aujla is his Making Memories headlining tour in October with eight stops across the United States – get your tickets here.
Making Memories Tour
Oct 13 – New York , NY
Oct 15 – Washington , DC
Oct 20 – San Francisco , CA
Oct 22 – Los Angeles , CA
Oct 24 – Houston , TX
Oct 26 – Atlanta , GA
Oct 27 – Indianapolis, IN
Oct 29 – Chicago , IL
About Karan Aujla
Karan Aujla was born and raised in the village of Ghurala in Northern Punjab amidst the rural and farm lifestyle. At a young age, both of Aujla’s parents passed away and creating rhymes and writing was a pacifier and escape for Karan. When he discovered Punjabi folk music after his parent’s death, he was ultimately inspired to delve into the world of songwriting and realized that he had a unique talent with the pen. Karan Aujla relocated to British Columbia, Canada and during his high school years, he was sought out by many Punjabi artists as a songwriter and would go on to write several singles for the most prominent Punjabi artists at the time. With fate at work, one of Karan’s songs as a full-fledged artist rather than writer garnered international buzz in the Punjabi community worldwide. His debut album, BacTHAfuKUP (B.T.F.U.), released in 2021, highlights his vocal prowess in unison with trance-like Punjabi folk production. This album solidified his place as a global ambassador of Punjabi music worldwide, with a hundred million streams across streaming platforms, and #6 placement on Spotify’s Global Chart. That same year, Karan was dubbed India’s most prominent artist as he was ranked #38 on the Global Digital Artist Ranking. Karan has over 3 billion official video views, has garnered over 1 billion audio streams and 13 million followers across his channels. Equipped with a love of traditional folk Punjabi music and an affinity for melodic hip-hop and trap R&B from moving to Canada – Karan’s sonic essence elevated to uncharted heights. His cumulative musical experience has resulted in a fusion of Punjabi and North American sounds, where Karan serves as a cultural bridge.
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