Hometown victory for Curran at Junos

Comparing life to a fairy tale may be a cliché, but in Amelia Curran's case, the slipper sure seems to fit.

Consider the facts: Curran picked up her first-ever Juno Award on Saturday, after five albums and a decade of making music.

She was the only St. John's native up for an award at her hometown show, according to Juno organizers. And her winning album, Hunter, Hunter (up for roots and traditional album of the year), was the first she'd ever recorded entirely in St. John's, with local St. John's musicians.

"This is very Cinderella," Curran said in an interview conducted before the Junos.

"I mean, I've been at it for over 10 years now, and I've been such an indie kid, going to something as big and glamorous as the Junos — I'm giggling into my sleeve a little bit.

"It really does feel like an honour. It really does feel like a big deal."

Curran has had the support of her family — in addition to the whole of a windswept island city deep in the throes of Juno-mania.

She conceded that she felt "a bit of pressure" as the only rocker from the Rock to receive a nomination. But she can be comforted that she didn't let the town down.

"There's nothing in the world I love more than my hometown," she said, visibly emotional, as she was accepting the award Saturday at a ceremony where the bulk of the Junos were handed out ahead of Sunday's televised gala.

"And I wanted to say: 'Welcome to St. John's.'"

A Juno award wasn't something Curran ever dreamed about.

"I didn't think it was the sort of thing I wanted, because I was an indie kid, and I was a teenager in the early 90s, with this very anti-establishment" attitude, she said. "I didn't pay a whole lot of attention to that sort of thing for a long time.

"But now that it's happening — it's not what music is about, and it's not what the art form is really for, but it's awfully exciting."