Musicians from Vancouver Island are leading the way with JUNO award nominations this year.<\/p>\n
Seven bands from the Island have received at least one JUNO nod, including rising star Cameron Whitcomb \u2013 of Nanaimo \u2013 with five nominations. That total makes him tied with The Weeknd for the second highest number of nominations this year, behind Justin Bieber and Tate McRae who have six nods each.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s stiff competition for the first year that the singer-songwriter has been nominated for any JUNOs at all. He\u2019s in the running in the following six categories: TD JUNO Fan Choice, Single of the Year Presented, Album of the Year, Breakthrough Artist or Group of the Year, and Country Album of the Year.<\/p>\n
\u201cHis rapid rise marks a defining moment in a fast-accelerating career,\u201d said the JUNO awards on Tuesday, noting that Whitcomb is fresh off of two wins at the Canadian Country Music Awards<\/a>.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, a host of other Vancouver Island artists and collaborators are in the running for different categories this year.<\/p>\n Victoria\u2019s Nelly Furtado <\/a>was nominated for Pop Album of the Year for her seventh album, \u20187\u2019, and will be inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame at the JUNOs ceremony on March 29.\u00a0<\/p>\n Furtado has now been nominated for 22 JUNO awards, and is a winner of 10 of them.<\/p>\n Nominations span genres<\/p>\n The categories that Vancouver Island artists are nominated for are as diverse as the people who make up the region.<\/p>\n The Greater Victoria-based The Southern Residents have been nominated for the Traditional Roots Album of the Year, while Colwood artist<\/a> AP Dhillon is in the running for South Asian Music Recording of the Year.<\/p>\n Alex Cuba \u2013 though now based in Smithers, B.C. \u2013 was one half of the Victoria band The Puentes Brothers and is nominated in the new category Latin Music Recording of the Year.<\/p>\n \u201cThis year also marks a milestone in JUNOS history with the introduction of Latin Music Recording of the Year, recognizing the growing influence and creative excellence of Latin music in Canada,\u201d said the organization on Tuesday.<\/p>\n