Carman's Faouzia, 2 U of M faculty among Manitoba artists nominated for 2022 Juno Awards

A pop singer from Carman whose star is steadily rising and two of the University of Manitoba jazz program's finest are among this year's Juno Award nominees. 

Faouzia Ouihya, mononymously referred to by her first name, is nominated for breakthrough artist of the year. 

The 21-year-old from Carman, Man., with a towering voice has steadily built her career over the last few years. She released a collaboration with Grammy-winning American artist John Legend and her debut EP, Stripped, in 2020, while working on her debut full-length album.

In spite of not yet having released a full-length, she's built a significant following online, including more than 312 million views of her videos on YouTube and nearly two million followers on Instagram.

Sean McManus, executive director of Manitoba Music, said it's exciting to see a Mantioban nominated in such a prestigious category for this year's Junos.

"There's a lot of competition in those categories, and it really recognizes an artist that has made significant waves on a national, really international, scale," he said.

Faouzia released a video for her single Puppet earlier this month, which has already been viewed 1.5 million times on YouTube.

Other Manitobans among the Juno nominees announced Tuesday include two Winnipeg-based artists in the jazz album of the year (solo) category — an award won last year by jazz guitarist Jocelyn Gould, who is also from Winnipeg.

Pianist Will Bonness and saxophonist Jon Gordon are both faculty members in the Desautels Faculty of Music at the University of Manitoba. 

Bonness's album Change of Plans features Gould on vocals, as well as fellow nominee Gordon on sax. It features five original compositions, as well as a version of the Smashing Pumpkins' Bullet with Butterfly Wings.

Bonness also plays piano on Gordon's album, Stranger than Fiction. 

"A lot of the jazz nominees for the Junos have come out of places like Montreal and Toronto and for us to have a win last year with Jocelyn Gould's record in jazz, and then to have two nominees this year is … really exciting for the for the jazz community and for the music community overall here in Winnipeg," said McManus.

In a non-musical category, Roberta Landreth picked up a nomination for her work on the cover of Winnipeg Christian musician Steve Bell's album, Wouldn't You Love to Know?

The two began working together on the album, which was released in 2020, in 2019.

"It was an interesting time for both of us,"  Landreth told host Faith Fundal in an interview with CBC Radio's Up to Speed.

"He had just lost his father, and I was pregnant with my son, so we were both at this interesting crossroad of life, this dichotomy of feelings, and that's a theme that ran through his album as well."

This is the second time Landreth's work with Bell has been nominated for a Juno. In 2015, she won the award for album artwork of the year for her work on Bell's 25th-anniversary box set, Pilgrimage.

Christian music group The Color, from Winkler and Plum Coulee, are also nominated for contemporary Christian album of the year for their album No Greater Love. They took that award home in 2018.

McManus expects this year to be a big one for musicians who have been unable to tour due to the pandemic, and instead spent the last two years writing and recording music.

"I think we're going to see a lot of music coming out this year, including a lot of Manitoba artists who have been writing and recording," he said.

The Juno Award ceremonies are set to take place on May 15 in Toronto.