If Juno what I know...

If Romi Mayes wins a Juno Award this weekend, she'll get more than a glass statue. She'll also make $20.

"Corb Lund and I have a $20 bet on the win, and his album is called Losin' Lately Gambler, so I think that's a premonition," Mayes says with a laugh prior to heading to St. John's, N.L., for the 39th annual celebration of Canadian music.

Mayes' independent album Achin' In Yer Bones is up against her friend Lund for solo roots and traditional album of the year, along with releases by Amelia Curran, Bahamas and John Wort.

Lund -- whose guitarist, Grant Siemens, is a Winnipegger who also played on Mayes' album -- won the category in 2006, but this is the first nomination for Mayes, who will perform with her band as part of JunoFest, be interviewed on a local radio station and intends to show up in a killer new party dress.

"I don't care if I lose, but I guess I'll care a lot if I win, that makes for a very exciting weekend. I'm not really going with any expectations at all. It could go any way -- there's five people nominated. I'm just going to go and have a great time. Newfoundland is one of the places left on my to-go list," she said.

Four Manitoba acts are up for Junos this year. Country rock act Doc Walker has a chance to bring home country recording of the year for the second year in a row on the strength of its album Go. The trio won the award last year for the album Beautiful Life. Two-time Juno winner Steve Bell could add a third trophy to his case with a contemporary Christian/gospel album win for his latest release Devotions and Brandon-born violinist James Ehnes has a chance to win Juno No. 7 for his latest effort, James Ehnes plays Paganini 24 Caprices, up for best solo or chamber-ensemble classical album. Neo-crooner Michael Bublé leads the list of nominees with six nods, garnering much affection for his album Crazy Love. Bublé is up for Juno fan choice, single of the year (Haven't Met You Yet), album of the year, pop album of the year and songwriter of the year. His producers Bob Rock and David Foster are each finalists in the Jack Richardson producer category.

Punk band Billy Talent, rapper Drake and country star Johnny Reid are vying for four awards each, while teen heartthrob Justin Bieber, hip-hop artists K'Naan and Classified, indie-rock group Metric, jazz vocalist Diana Krall and veteran rock band the Tragically Hip all received three nominations.

Thirty-nine different awards will be handed out over two nights: 32 at tonight's non-televised gala and seven during Sunday's two-hour broadcast from Mile One Centre (airing locally on CTV at 9 p.m.). The majority of the television show will feature live performances by the likes of Bublé, Bieber, Billy Talent, Reid, Blue Rodeo, Classified, Drake, Great Lake Swimmers, K'Naan and Metric, ensuring there is enough of a musical flavour to satisfy almost everyone.

The awards announced on TV are group of the year, songwriter, rap recording, new artist, fan choice, single and album -- meaning no Manitoba artists will win an award in front of a national audience. B ut Manitoba Olympic gold-medal slider Jon Montgomery will present an award and be hanging out on George Street. The St. John's thoroughfare, famous for its bars, clubs and pubs, will be shut down Sunday and the Junos will be shown on a giant screen for 4,000 fans while the broadcast switches between the arena and the outdoor party.

Newfoundlanders Damhnait Doyle and Kim Stockwood will host the George Street event, but for the first time ever the Juno Awards itself won't have an MC, following the lead of the Grammys and Olympic opening and closing ceremonies.

"George Street is just like Bourbon Street, without the sleaze," said John Brunton, executive producer of the Junos, referring to the renowned New Orleans strip. "We're always pushing ourselves to keep evolving and recreating the show in new and different ways. The amount of time a host can take up allows us to put (more) artists on the stage. It worked well for the Grammys last year, so we'll see if it works for us."

rob.williams@freepress.mb.ca

Rob's picks

And what would a Junos preview be without some predictions? Last year Nickelback was the big winner in Vancouver, Feist dominated the awards in Calgary in 2008 and I think this year will be all about Bublé, with a side of Bieber.

Here's how some of the races in major categories are shaping up, along with predictions.

Album of the year

Who's up for it: Billy Talent, III; Diana Krall, Quiet Nights; Johnny Reid, Dance With Me; Justin Bieber, My World; Michael Bublé, Crazy Love.

Who deserves it: Judges have to choose between punk, jazz, country, pop and pop standards. All of them are solid entries for their genres, but none of them will go down in history.

Who'll get it: This award is based 50/50 on sales and votes by members of the Canadian Recording Arts and Sciences (CARAS), so look for Bublé to take home the trophy.

Artist of the year

Who's up for it: Diana Krall, Jann Arden, Johnny Reid, K'Naan, Michael Bublé.

Who deserves it: K'Naan had a big year -- his song Wavin' Flag is the theme song for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa and was used to raise money for Haiti relief efforts -- and Bublé was everywhere from the Colbert show to Madison Square Garden to Saturday Night Live to your local mall. Why are Krall and Arden even on this list?

Who'll get it: Bublé.

Group of the year

Who's up for it: Billy Talent, Blue Rodeo, Hedley, Metric, the Tragically Hip

Who deserves it: Blue Rodeo delivered a solid double album and Metric kept its winning streak alive, but Billy Talent has worked its way up to arena-worthy status the old fashioned way with hard work and solid material.

Who'll get it: Billy Talent.

2010 Juno fan choice award

Who's up for it: Ginette Reno, Johnny Reid, Maxime Landry, Michael Bublé, Nickelback.

Who deserves it: Talk about trying to throw in a little something for everyone. This award is chosen by members of the public, who vote online for their favourite artists, so it depends on fan dedication.

Who'll get it: Nickelback won it last year, and with a younger more tech-savvy fanbase than Bublé and Reid, should win it again unless Quebec voters choose one of their two provincial nominees.

Single of the year

Who's up for it: Billy Talent, Rusted From the Rain; Classified, Anybody Listening; Drake, Best I Ever Had; Michael Bublé, Haven't Met You Yet; The Tragically Hip, Love is a First.

Who deserves it: Drake's Best I Ever Had was named "hot rap song" of the year by Billboard and helped break him in the U.S., Rusted From the Rain is another solid Billy Talent tune, but Bublé's ditty seemed to be everywhere and had the most widespread appeal. Why isn't Wavin' Flag on this list?

Who'll get it: Haven't Met You Yet.

2010 International album of the year

Who's up for it: Black Eyed Peas, The E.N.D.; Britney Spears, Circus; Kings of Leon, Only by the Night; Susan Boyle, I Dreamed a Dream; Taylor Swift, Fearless.

Who deserves it: This award seems like a way to attract any of these artists to come to the awards (remember when Black Eyed Peas and Coldplay were both in Halifax and tied!?) so if Britney is there, she'll win. If Boyle and her cats come, she's got it.

Who'll get it: It's a sales award, so Swift should take it, but don't expect to see her partying on George Street.

2010 New Artist of the Year

Who's up for it: Carly Rae Jepsen, Danny Fernandes, Drake, Justin Bieber, Shiloh.

Who deserves it: Drake is on his way to becoming Canada's most famous rapper of all time, while Bieber is on his way to becoming Canada's most famous teen idol of all time.

Who'll get it: The guy who just played Saturday Night Live, the White House and appears on the cover of this week's People magazine. That would be Bieber if you've been living in a world where pop culture has no meaning.

2010 New Group of the Year

Who's up for it: The Arkells, Down With Webster, Stereos, Ten Second Epic, the New Cities.

Who deserves it: Hamilton indie-rock band the Arkells is the best of this bunch, but sales are a component of this category, so while the band might get the judges' votes, it might not be enough.

Who'll get it: The dreadful Auto-Tune-loving Stereos.

Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition April 17, 2010 C1