From Celine Dion to Joni Mitchell to Alison Russell, Canadian artists made waves at the Grammys last weekend.
But there's a Canadian music executive who cleaned up as well. She might be the richest, most powerful, yet under-the-radar woman in the country's music industry: Golnar Khosrowshahi of the independent publishing and management company, Reservoir Media.
Among the 10 Grammy Awards for Reservoir Media is Joni Mitchell in Newport, which won in the folk record category. The legendary singer-songwriter also made her Grammy debut. After suffering a brain aneurysm in 2015, Mitchell was on hiatus from performing, but in 2022 she made a triumphant return to the Newport Folk Festival, bringing her lounge jams – Joni Jams – to the festival stage. At the awards, she took the stage accompanied by frequent collaborator Brandi Carlile, cello and violin duo SistaStrings and Canadian Allison Russell on clarinet.
The New York-based Reservoir label has offices in Los Angeles, Nashville, Toronto, London and Abu Dhabi and signed Mitchell to a comprehensive global music publishing deal in 2021.
Specifically, Reservoir is owned by the Iranian-Canadian Khosrowshahi family, which founded and then sold home electronics chain Future Shop to Best Buy in 2001 for $580 million. The Reservoir is run by the daughter Golnara classically trained pianist with impeccable business credentials.
The music company now represents 150,000 copyrights and 36,000 master recordings that include the Tommy Boy and Chrysalis catalogs.
In addition to Joni Mitchell, Reservoir also featured winners from boygenius, SZA and Killer Mike. – David Farrell, Rosie Long Decter and Richard Trapunsky
2024 Juno Awards Nominations Charlotte Cardin
Charlotte Cardin has earned the most nominations for the 2024 Juno Awards. The pioneering Montreal singer-songwriter took home six awards, including artist of the year, album of the year and pop album of the year (99 NIGHTS), Single of the Year (“Confetti”) and TikTok Fan Choice. She is also nominated for Songwriter of the Year.
Daniel Caesar and TALK follow with five nods each. Allison Russell, Aysanabee, Connor Price, Lauren Spencer Smith, Tate McRae and DVBBS each received three nominations.
The nominations were announced on February 6 at a press conference at the KTK Building. Comeback artist Nelly Furtado, who will perform and emcee the broadcast ceremony, was a surprise guest at the nominations announcement. She also received a nomination for 'Eat Your Man', her collaboration with Dom Dolla, for dance recording of the year.
Punjabi-Canadian artist Karan Aujla, a cover star for Billboard CanadaHis inaugural digital cover, he was also nominated for Breakthrough Artist of the Year and was announced as a performer at the Junos ceremony at the Scotiabank Center in Halifax on March 24. the awards last year. Aujla will feature Josh Ross and singer-songwriter TALK.
Another Punjabi-Canadian artist, Shubh, is nominated for the TikTok Fan Choice, a fan-voted award, along with Aujla, Cardin, Ross, Caesar, DVBBS, Tate McRae, ThxSoMch and Walk off the Earth.
McRae's “greedy,” which has topped the Billboard Canadian Hot 100 multiple times, is also up for single of the year, along with Cardin's “Confetti,” Caesar's “Always,” “Pretty Girl Era” by LU KALA and “A Little” by TALK A little happy.”
Candidates with Cardin for album of the year are Neo-Romanticism by Alexandra Strelisky, IT IS NEVER ENOUGH by Daniel Caesar, Mirror by Lauren Spencer Smith and Lord of the Flies & Birds & Bees from TALK.
Cardin, Caesar, Smith and McRae, all relatively new artists, are all nominated for artist of the year, along with the category's legacy artist, Shania Twain.
The Junos will be broadcast live on CBC from the Scotiabank Center in Halifax on Sunday, March 24. Tickets for the JUNO Week show and events are on sale at ticketmaster.ca/junos. The majority of awards will be presented at The Juno Opening Night Awards the night before the main ceremony on March 23.
Find the full list of nominations here and interviews from the red carpet at ca.billboard.com – Richard Trapunsky
How Canadian music took over the 2024 NHL All-Star Weekend
Toronto was alive with music at the 2024 NHL All-Star Weekend – not just on the ice, but all over the city. As the spectacle of hockey returned to the city for the first time since 2000 and to Canada for the first time since 2012, the multi-day event brought live music from major stars such as Nelly Furtado, the Kid Laroi and Diplo.
As the stars of the game played each other in skill contests and 3-on-3 hockey, music was an integral component. Each of the four teams selected by an NHL player was co-captained by a celebrity: Tate McRae, Justin Bieber, Michael Bublé and Will Arnett. They weren't just there to sit on the bench, but they helped select every team in Thursday night's (Feb. 1) player draft. Bieber even helped warm up the players on the ice.
“We went all-in [with music] this year,” he said Steve Mayer, NHL Chief Content Officer. “We are so happy to have what represents not only the best in the NHL coming here, but in our minds, the best in Canadian music. And being here in Canada with seven Canadian groups, we know our Canadian music better.”
The headliner of this year's NHL All-Star Game was one of the biggest artists in the world. McRae comes from a hockey family and the culture of the sport is an important part of her image today. So it felt natural to see her perform on three different ice stages in a sparkly top with six dancers and the production value you might see at a major awards show.
“For the last year or two now, I feel like I've been fully immersed in the world of hockey,” McRae said. Billboard Canada.
Michael Bublé said he is proud to see what McRae has accomplished and called her before the game.
“I told her I was happy and proud of her,” he remarked. “And as a Canadian, it made me happy to see another young Canadian breaking through….Honestly, we're kind of dominating music right now. We send a ton of artists out there, and we already have a ton of career artists out there. This little place did a lot of great things.”
The star factor went way up on Thursday night (February 1) when Justin Bieber played an invitation-only concert at the 2,500-capacity History venue, his first concert in a year. Diplo, The Kid Laroi and Nelly Furtado also played concerts over the weekend, but it was Bieber's who grabbed the most headlines and social media attention in a career-spanning set. – Richard Trapunsky
Last week in Canada: Drake's OVO Sound teams up with Santa Anna
