TORONTO — Charlotte Cardin said she will make champagne in France to celebrate her surprise lead by leading six nominees at this year’s Juno Awards.

The Montreal pop singer is racing ahead of some of Canada’s biggest superstars, including five-time nominees Justin Bieber and the Weeknd, to become top contenders at this year’s celebration of local music set for May.

Cardin is poised for several major categories including artist of the year and album of the year for her full-length debut “Phoenix.” His song “Meaningless” was nominated for single of the year.

“I’m getting messages from my whole family – everyone’s panicking,” the 27-year-old said Tuesday by video call from Paris where she lives part-time.

“I waited all day to hear what the nominees were. I bought champagne. And I’ll drink it after this.”

Complementing Cardin’s other nominations are for pop album of the year, music video of the year and TikTok Juno Fan Choice, an award voted on by viewers via social media platforms.

The singer has steadily improved since landing in the Top 4 of “La Voix,” the Québécois version of the singing competition “The Voice” in 2013.

“It’s like extra, extra sauce and happiness on top of us releasing an album that we’re so proud of from the start,” he added.

Nominations for singles of the year also include Brett Kissel for “Make a Life, Not a Living,” JESSIA for “I’m Not Pretty,” Bieber and Daniel Caesar for “Peaches” (feat. Giveon), and Weeknd for “Take My Breath. .”

Joining Cardin in this year’s album category are JP Saxe’s “Dangerous Levels of Introspection,” Bieber’s “Justice,” Shawn Mendes’ “Wonder,” and Tate McRae’s “Too Young to Be Sad.”

Other big contenders this year include Mendes with four nominations. She’s in line with totals held by Pressa, one of the rising stars of the Toronto rap scene, and Vancouver pop newcomer JESSIA, known for her body positive hit “I’m Not Pretty.”

“I’m so incredibly proud that I can be an advocate for loving yourself, loving your body and being like a real human being and talking about weird things,” he explained of the TikTok hit, which also scored. fan choice nominations.

“I’m so grateful to everyone and all the fans, and I’m so excited about the opening of the world that I can give them all a hug.”

Juno’s party will be held live for the first time in three years at the open-air Budweiser Stage in Toronto on May 15. The outdoor event will be hosted by “Shang-Chi” and “Kim’s Convenience” star Simu Liu and broadcast on CBC.

Performers will include Cardin, Arkells, Avril Lavigne and Mustafa, organizers said Tuesday.

Several other changes are being introduced this year in an effort to recognize more musicians. The rap category has been broken down into two new categories — rap album/EP of the year and rap single of the year — while this year’s Indigenous artist or group now has two awards, with one award for contemporary Indigenous artists and one for traditional artists.

A new tribute to underground dance singles celebrates a less mainstream sound often heard on club dance floors.

Among other highlights, veteran Vancouver rock band Mother Mother scored their fifth career Juno nomination helped by their surprising boom in popularity on TikTok. This year they won the group of the year nominations.

“Given the new wave of energy being born from TikTok, it’s a 1,000 times reaction,” guitarist and vocalist Ryan Guldemond said of the latest confession.

“We can’t believe we’re still here and doing well. So the nominations are incredible.”

This Canadian Press report was first published on March 1, 2022.