Music fans won鈥檛 need to look far at Sunday鈥檚 Grammy Awards for signs of Canadian talent.
While a strong presence of homegrown musicians often graces the industry鈥檚 biggest awards event, this year the hopefuls look mighty plentiful.
More than 20 Grammy categories are stacked with at least one Canadian nominee, which means about a quarter of the total awards could have a winner from the north.
Among them is Alessia Cara, who has four nominations, while Justin Bieber is a contender for three golden gramophones. Leonard Cohen鈥檚 final album scored two nods.
Broadway hit 鈥淐ome From Away鈥� is up for best musical theater album in a stacked category of acclaimed productions, while Bruno Mars helped Burlington, Ont.-raised sound engineer Charles Moniz score three nominations for his album 鈥�24K Magic.鈥�
Many of the awards will be handed out at the Grammys鈥� 鈥減remiere ceremony,鈥� streamed online Sunday afternoon before the telecast.
The Grammy Awards main event, which moves to New York to mark its 60th year, begins Sunday at 7:30 p.m. ET on CityTV and CBS.
Here are some of the Canadians who could grab attention:
Cara鈥檚 arrival
Buzz around pop star Cara picked up a while ago, but the Grammys only just got behind the pint-sized singer from Brampton, Ont., this year. She鈥檚 nominated in four categories 鈥� including for best new artist where many awards prognosticators think she has a good chance of winning. Cara could also share a few Grammys with others, including best pop duo/group performance with Zedd for 鈥淪tay鈥� and song and video of the year for Logic鈥檚 鈥�1-800-273-8255.鈥� She鈥檒l also perform the anti-suicide anthem alongside suicide attempt survivors selected by the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline.
鈥楧espacito鈥� drop in?
Don鈥檛 hold your breath, but there鈥檚 always a chance Justin Bieber swings by Madison Square Garden to drop a Spanish verse on last summer鈥檚 inescapable 鈥淒espacito.鈥� While the song was originally by Luis Fonsi and Daddy Yankee, who are both slated to perform, it was the Stratford, Ont., singer鈥檚 voice that made it a chart topper. With the track up for three Grammys, the superstar might want to celebrate a landmark in Latin music, but history suggests he probably won鈥檛. Bieber isn鈥檛 exactly an eager Grammy participant 鈥� last year he skipped the ceremony where he was nominated four times.
Caesar pleaser
Daniel Caesar鈥檚 sudden rise to fame gave Torontonians plenty to cheer about last year, but it鈥檚 his two Grammy nominations that could prove the icing on the cake for a stellar first chapter in his career. The singer is contending for best R&B performance for 鈥淕et You,鈥� while his 2017 release 鈥淔reudian鈥� is up for R&B album.
Shaffer鈥檚 showtime
He鈥檚 played alongside many of music鈥檚 biggest names, so it鈥檚 fitting that Paul Shaffer was asked to participate in the Grammys鈥� momentous year. The former 鈥淟ate Show with David Letterman鈥� bandleader from Thunder Bay, Ont., hosts the pre-telecast ceremony where 70 awards will be handed out in various genre categories. Not only will he oversee the show, but he鈥檒l also serve as musical director while his Most Dangerous Band is slated as the house band. The 鈥淕rammy Awards Premiere Ceremony鈥� will stream live on the Grammys website on Sunday at 3 p.m. ET.
And the rest
Some of Canada鈥檚 biggest acts will by vying for awards before in Shaffer鈥檚 pre-broadcast ceremony. Arcade Fire鈥檚 鈥淓verything Now鈥� is nominated for alternative album, the Weeknd鈥檚 鈥淪tarboy鈥� is among the urban contemporary album contenders, and Michael Buble鈥檚 鈥淣obody But Me鈥� is pitted against Sarah McLachlan鈥檚 鈥淲onderland鈥� for best traditional pop vocal album. Often musicians choose to skip this lower-profile event and at least one has confirmed they won鈥檛 be there for certain. Before McLachlan鈥檚 nomination was announced she had already booked a Hawaii surfing vacation.
David Friend, The Canadian Press
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