What does Pamela Anderson have to do with the Canadian music scene? Well apparently more than we think, since she will be hosting the 35th annual Juno Awards being held this Sunday in Halifax. Anderson is just one of the many international stars being brought in for the celebration. Other acts, like Coldplay and The Black Eyed Peas, will be performing during the gala as well.
Though it isn’t the first time big names have been invited to the ceremony, (Crowded House and Tina Turner were performers back in the ’90s, and Keith Urban presented last year), CTV seems to be going all out this year in order to increase their ratings.
“It’d be a shame if we handed out all of those Junos and nobody watched. You’ve got to have Pam Anderson there,” said CHOM FM’s Music Director and Associate Program Director, Matt Cundill. “You’ve got to have people who are going to watch that night, and the best way to do that, to get a 20-year-old to watch, is put Pam Anderson there. You’ve got to go and get ratings.”
Four-time nominee Carl Henry concurs. “Let’s be realistic here, it’s still a business,” he said. Though these guests, might bring certain glamour to the gala, it’s still important to have Canada well represented, he said, because after all, it is the Junos. “Canada is producing an amazing crop of talent and I think we tend to undervalue ourselves,” said Henry.
Both Cundill and Henry agree that this year’s nominees do, for the most part, reflect what really went on in 2005. For the first time in the gala’s history, nominees were determined by a jury and weren’t solely based on record sales, which is something that nominated artists seem to appreciate. Henry said that as a result, “some really good artists are finally getting the exposure.”
Two others who are happy to be getting this exposure are first-time nominees and Montreal-based singers Senaya and Anik Jean. Both were nominated for Best Francophone Album Of The Year: Jean for Le Trashy Saloon and Senaya for Garde La T
