23 musicians who surprisingly haven't won any Juno Awards
Natalie Harmsen | CBC Music | Posted: February 6, 2024 4:45 PM | Last Updated: November 13
You might be shocked to discover these artists don't have Junos to their names
When it comes to the Junos, it's easy to think of some big names who have been adorned with numerous statuettes throughout the 54-year history of the awards. Icons including Céline Dion come to mind — she has 20 wins, making her the fourth most-awarded Junos artist — or the Weeknd, who has 22 Junos and currently holds the second spot.
But what about the artists who are statuette-less and no longer active, or those who have yet to win? Some of them might surprise you: Michie Mee, who was integral to building Canada's hip-hop scene, has never won a Juno; and Yannick Nézet-Séguin, the Grammy-winning superstar conductor who leads the Metropolitan Opera, Philadelphia Orchestra and the Orchestre Métropolitain, has yet to win.
Here are 23 talented groups and musicians who perplexingly do not have any Juno Awards.
Yannick Nézet-Séguin: 15 nominations
A prolific recording artist for both Deutsche Grammophon and ATMA Classique, and one of today's most prominent classical musicians worldwide, conductor Yannick Nézet-Séguin has somehow never won a Juno Award, despite receiving 15 nominations since 2004. He nabbed his first Grammy in 2022 for Florence Price: Symphonies Nos. 1 & 3, an album that also won a Diapason d'or, followed that up last year with two more and just won his fourth. He was named conductor of the year at the 2014 Echo Klassik Awards, and three years later won best opera recording for Mozart's Le nozze di Figaro with the Chamber Orchestra of Europe. He has two nominations this year in the large ensemble category.
Orchestre Métropolitain: 14 nominations
With a nomination for classical album of the year in the large ensemble category, Montreal's Orchestre Métropolitain brings its total number of nominations to 14. The orchestra received its first Juno nomination in 2000 in the best classical album category, and outside of Junos the group has won four Opus awards as well as a Felix prize.
Nav: 12 nominations
With previous nods in the rap categories as well as breakthrough artist and TikTok Juno fan choice, Grammy-nominated rapper and producer Nav is no stranger to the Junos. His 2022 album, Demons Protected by Angels, picked up three Juno nominations in 2023 for album of the year, rap album/EP of the year and rap single of the year.
Great Big Sea: 11 nominations
The Newfoundland folk group was nominated for 11 Junos during its tenure, including four nods for group of the year. Despite nine studio albums — many of which racked up gold and platinum album sales — Great Big Sea never took home any Juno hardware.
"The reason we haven't won a Juno is because it's hard to win a Juno, because there's a lot of good records," frontman Alan Doyle shared with CBC back in 2012. "There's times where I've felt like the records that won the awards that year, well, of course they were going to win — they're amazing."
The Reklaws: 8 nominations
The music from brother-sister country duo Stuart and Jenna Walker has been well received in the country music sphere, winning multiple Canadian Country Music Awards. The group has eight Juno nominations in total, including the three they received in 2023 for group of the year, TikTok Juno fan choice, and country album of the year for the 2022 album, Good Ol' Days.
Chromeo: 7 nominations
In 2007, it felt like Chromeo's aptly titled, danceable hit "Fancy Footwork" was everywhere, and in 2014 the duo of Dave 1 and P-Thugg took over the radio airwaves with another catchy track: "Jealous (I Ain't With It)." But despite those addictively funky songs, some big-name collaborations — Ezra Koenig, Solange and The-Dream, to name a few — and a Grammy nomination, Chromeo has yet to take home any Junos.
Angèle Dubeau: 6 nominations
Despite being among the most-streamed Canadian classical musicians, violinist Angèle Dubeau has yet to win a Juno. Dubeau has won 11 Felix Awards and is an Officer of the Order of Canada, but has yet to add a Juno trophy to her collection.
Pressa: 5 nominations
Rapper Pressa earned four Juno nominations in 2022, and this year, received his fifth nod for his recent single "Minimum Wage." Despite some impressive co-signs, including an opening slot for Drake in 2017 and a hit song with rapper Coi Leray, Pressa has yet to take home a Juno. However, he has not released a full studio album since 2021, so if he doesn't nab a win in 2024, a future project could potentially give him the chance.
Charlotte Day Wilson: 5 nominations
Charlotte Day Wilson's distinct, rich voice became music to our ears in 2012 when she released her very first EP, Palimpsest. From there, the R&B singer-songwriter went on to collaborate with Juno-winning musicians including BadBadNotGood, Daniel Caesar and Mustafa. Her second EP was longlisted for the Polaris Music Prize in 2017 and her debut album, Alpha, was shortlisted for the award in 2022. Day Wilson was nominated for three Junos for Alpha in 2022, including songwriter of the year and producer of the year. Given that she wrote, produced and independently released the album, it's a bit surprising she didn't win any Juno trophies for it, especially given the album's critical acclaim.
Hannah Georgas: 5 nominations
Singer-songwriter Hannah Georgas has been releasing poignant, well-crafted songs for more than a decade, resulting in five Juno nominations, including two nods for songwriter of the year. She was also longlisted for the Polaris Prize for her self-titled album, and her song "That Emotion" was named one of CBC Music's top songs of 2020.
Lisa LeBlanc: 3 nominations
With five albums in her catalogue, including her most recent Juno-nominated and Polaris Prize-shortlisted album, Chiac Disco, LeBlanc's distinct blend of folk, rock and now disco — and her fluidity between English and chiac, her Acadian French accent — has set her apart for years. She was nominated in 2023 for francophone album of the year, but did not win, so she now sits at three Juno nominations in total. Her previous two nominations include her 2013 nod in the francophone category for her self-titled debut album, and a 2017 nomination for contemporary roots album of the year for Why You Wanna Leave, Runaway Queen?
Destroyer: 3 nominations
Destroyer has been nominated thrice for the Juno Award for alternative album of the year, but has yet to win. The rock band — fronted by Dan Bejar, who has won a Juno as part of the New Pornographers — has released critically acclaimed work over the years: Destroyer's album Trouble in Dreams made the Polaris Music Prize long list in 2008 and its followup, Kaputt, was shortlisted in 2011. Labyrinthitis, the group's experimental, twisty 13th album, received critical acclaim in Pitchfork and made the 2022 Polaris short list, but didn't earn a Juno nomination in 2023.
Snotty Nose Rez Kids: 2 nominations
After an electrifying performance of "War Club" and "Uncle Rico" at the 2022 Junos, it's hard to believe that triple Polaris shortlisted duo Snotty Nose Rez Kids does not have any Juno wins yet. Two of of the group's albums, The Average Savage and Life After, were nominated in the Indigenous categories previously. The Rez Kids' December 2022 release, the vivid I'm Good, HBU?, earned a nomination for album artwork of the year at the 2024 Junos, but the group itself did not pick up any noms.
Michie Mee: 2 nominations
Known as the godmother of Canadian rap, Michie Mee scored two Juno nominations in the early '90s. She had a huge impact on the rap scene, becoming the first Canadian hip-hop artist to get signed by a U.S. label and paving the way for a number of other stars to follow in her footsteps and reach audiences beyond Canada. With that feat under her belt, in addition to three studio albums, some people may not realize that Michie Mee doesn't already have several Junos to her name.
Dvsn: 2 nominations
Although it's well-documented that Drake no longer submits to the Junos, that feeling has seemingly not been extended to one of his OVO signees, Dvsn. The Grammy-nominated R&B duo has collaborated with big names ranging from Drizzy himself to Future and Ty Dolla $ign. Dvsn earned a nomination in 2017 for R&B/soul recording of the year for the pair's polished and sultry album Sept. 5th and also competed in 2023 for contemporary R&B recording of the year with the deliciously toxic cheating anthem "If I Get Caught."
PartyNextDoor: 1 nomination
Another OVO artist, PartyNextDoor has penned some chart-topping bangers, including Rihanna's hit "Work," featuring Drake, and DJ Khaled's earworm "Wild Thoughts." PartyNextDoor earned a Grammy nomination for his song "Come See Me" in 2017 and his second album, PartyNextDoor 3, scored a Juno nomination the same year. He released a new song at the beginning of 2023, signalling that he's likely dropping a new album soon, which could mean he'd be eligible for a nomination next year if he chooses to submit.
Backxwash: 0 nominations
In 2020, the genre-defying rapper won the Polaris Music Prize for her self-produced album God Has Nothing to do With This Leave Him Out of It, but it didn't receive any Juno nominations. In December of that year, she addressed the snub in a tweet. Since then, she has released two more unique, experimental albums, neither of which have received any nods.
CBC Music wrote in 2022 that "the last three Polaris winners — Haviah Mighty (2019), Backxwash (2020) and Cadence Weapon (2021) — have all been snubbed the year of their Polaris win at the Juno Awards." Mighty won her first Juno in 2022 and made history as the first woman to win rap album/EP of the year, but Backxwash and Cadence Weapon are still waiting.
Cadence Weapon: 0 nominations
As mentioned above, rapper Cadence Weapon won the 2021 Polaris Prize but doesn't have any Juno wins — because he has never been nominated. With three mixtapes and five albums under his belt, three of which have landed on the Polaris short list, it's baffling to think he hasn't had a nod yet. He confirmed in 2022 that his next album will lean into hyperpop, so perhaps this experimentation will prompt the Junos to take notice.
The Band: 0 nominations
With a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award and an induction into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame, it might sound unfathomable that the Band doesn't have any Junos. However, it's worth noting that the Junos were established in the '70s — after the group had already released two of its iconic albums, Music From Big Pink and The Band. But despite no wins together, former lead guitarist Robbie Robertson won five Junos of his own as a solo artist.
Majid Jordan: 0 nominations
Toronto R&B duo Majid Jordan has never received a Juno nomination, despite several acclaimed albums, millions of streams, and tracks with Khalid, Drake and more. However, the pair are also signed to Drake's label, OVO, which does not always submit its artists for Juno contention. Last year's album, Good People, was released after the deadline for submissions for this year's Junos had passed, so it would be eligible for next year.
Roy Woods: 0 nominations
Similar to Majid Jordan above, Roy Woods is another OVO artist with millions of streams to his name who has not received any Juno nods. This, again, could be due to the label choosing not to submit him. Woods' most recent album, Mixed Emotions, would have been eligible as it was released in July.
Debby Friday: 0 nominations
Last year put electronic musician Debby Friday in the spotlight when she won the Polaris Music Prize for her album, Good Luck. But if her award-winning record was submitted to the Junos, it did not receive any nominations. However, Friday has a busy 2024 ahead of her as she's already working on her next album, and has lined up several festival slots including a performance at Pitchfork Music Festival in Mexico City.
Walter Ostanek: 0 nominations
Three-time Grammy winner Walter Ostanek, known as Canada's polka king, has never received a Juno nomination. "I'd be more than happy to receive one if they ever give me one, but I will not be negative about anything if I don't get one," he told CBC News in 2011. There has never been a polka category at the Junos, and the Grammy Awards no longer honours the genre as the Recording Academy removed the polka category in 2009. Ostanek is a member of the Order of Canada and won a SOCAN Lifetime Achievement Award in 2007.
Host Nelly Furtado is bringing the party to the 2024 Juno Awards on Sunday, March 24, at 8 p.m ET. Tune in on CBC-TV, CBC Gem, CBC Radio One, CBC Music and CBC Listen, and stream globally on cbcmusic.ca/junos.