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The short list for the SOCAN Polaris Song Prize, which will go to the Canadian song of the year, has just been announced.
The Canadian performers and songwriters of the winning song will split the $10,000 prize money, and the winner will be determined based on artistic merit, without regard to musical genre or commercial popularity, by the Polaris jury.
The Polaris Music Prize and the Society of Composers, Authors and Music Publishers of Canada (SOCAN) teamed up last year for the inaugural Song Prize to provide artists with more opportunities for recognition at a time when singles are often in the spotlight.
Saya Gray is the only artist who was shortlisted this year as well as last year; everyone else is a first-time shortlister. The winning song — and album — will be announced at the Polaris Concert and Award Ceremony on Sept. 22.
Here’s the full list of nominees for the SOCAN Polaris Song Prize:
Fabienk, Angine de Poitrine (written by Khn de Poitrine and Klek de Poitrine).Hurts Like Hell, Charlotte Cornfield (written by Charlotte Cornfield).Hunger for Death, Pup (written by Stefan Babcock, Nestor Chumak, Zack Mykula and Steve Sladkowski).House on Fire, Patrick Watson and Martha Wainwright (written by Martha Wainwright, Patrick Watson, Olivier Sebastien Fairfield, Mikhail Stein, Xu Bin Kim, Xavier Brault, Jeremie Cloutier and Robert Margaryan).Lean, Charlotte Day Wilson and Saya Gray (written by Charlotte Day Wilson, Saya Gray, Siala Kemy and Jack Emblem).
WATCH | Saya Gray performs at the 2025 Polaris Concert and Award Ceremony:
While we wait to find out who will take home the Polaris Prize for both song and album, you can tune in to the weekly CBC Music radio series The Ten, which takes an in-depth look at each of this year’s shortlisted albums leading up to the Polaris Concert and Award Ceremony.
The Ten is hosted by Odario Williams, with episodes broadcasting each Sunday on CBC Music and CBC Listen at 6 p.m. (6:30 p.m. in NL) until Sept. 20. Listeners can tune in on the CBC Listen app on CBC Music and listen on demand after each broadcast.