The Juno Awards of 2008 were held in Calgary, Alberta, Canada on the weekend ending 6 April 2008. These ceremonies honoured music industry achievements in Canada in the latter part of 2006 and in most of 2007.
Country performer and multiple Juno Award winner Paul Brandt received the 2008 Humanitarian Award which is now named after CHUM-FM Radio founder, Allan Waters. Moses Znaimer, who led the development of Citytv and MuchMusic, received the Walt Grealis Special Achievement Award. Nominations for all remaining categories were announced on 5 February 2008.
Notable among winners was Feist, winning all five awards in her nominated categories, three of which were presented in the televised gala.
Presentations.
Saturday gala.
The Saturday gala where most awards are presented occurred at the Telus Convention Centre on 5 April, while the major awards were presented at the Pengrowth Saddledome on Sunday (6 April).
Sunday televised ceremonies.
Performers appearing on the program included Feist, Finger Eleven, Michael Bublé, Avril Lavigne, Anne Murray, Paul Brandt, Aaron Lines, Gord Bamford, Hedley, Johnny Reid, and Jully Black.
The televised event was broadcast on CTV and hosted by Russell Peters. Peters' monologue was described by "Edmonton Sun" columnist Bill Harris as "the funniest opening five minutes we've ever seen from an awards-show host." Peters was also cited by "Toronto Star" entertainment critic Ben Rayner as offering a break from recent years of "iffy emceeing" during the award broadcasts.
The 2008 broadcast attracted CTV's second-highest ratings since the network gained broadcast rights. 1.45 million viewers were measured in 2008 compared to 2.18 million for the 2003 ceremonies.
Jeff Healey, an internationally noted Canadian musician who died the month before the Juno ceremonies, was given a brief tribute mention by members of Blue Rodeo during the televised awards ceremony.
Nominees and winners.
Nominees for the 2008 Juno Awards were announced on 5 February 2008. On 15 February 2008, CARAS indicated that it made a "logistical error" during its nominations voting process, announcing the addition of two new nominations and the replacement of one nomination as follows:
Artist of the Year.
Winner: Feist
Other nominees:
Group of the Year.
Winner: Blue Rodeo
Other nominees:
New Artist of the Year.
Winner: Serena Ryder
Other nominees:
New Group of the Year.
Winner: Wintersleep
Other nominees:
Jack Richardson Producer of the Year.
Winner: Joni Mitchell, "Hana" and "Bad Dreams"
Other nominees:
Recording Engineer of the Year.
Winner: Kevin Churko, "Black Rain" (Ozzy Osbourne)
Other nominees:
Songwriter of the Year.
Winner: Feist, "My Moon My Man", "1234", "I Feel It All"
Other nominees:
Fan Choice Award.
Winner: Michael Bublé
Other nominees:
Nominated albums.
Album of the Year.
Winner: "The Reminder", Feist
Other nominees:
Aboriginal Recording of the Year.
Winner: "The Dirty Looks", Derek Miller
Other nominees:
Adult Alternative Album of the Year.
Winner: "Small Miracles", Blue Rodeo
Other nominees:
Alternative Album of the Year.
Winner: "Neon Bible", Arcade Fire
Other nominees:
Blues Album of the Year.
Winner: "Building Full of Blues", Fathead
Other nominees:
CD/DVD Artwork Design of the Year.
Winner: Tracy Maurice and François Miron, "Neon Bible" (Arcade Fire)
Other nominees:
Children's Album of the Year.
Winner: "Music Soup", Jen Gould
Other nominees:
Contemporary Christian/Gospel Album of the Year.
Winner: "Holy God", Brian Doerksen
Other nominees:
Classical Album of the Year (large ensemble).
Winner: "Korngold, Barber &amp; Walton Violin Concertos", James Ehnes, Bramwell Tovey, Vancouver Symphony Orchestra
Other nominees:
Classical Album of the Year (solo or chamber ensemble).
Winner: "Alkan Concerto for Solo Piano", Marc-André Hamelin
Other nominees:
Classical Album of the Year (vocal or choral performance).
Winner: "Surprise", Measha Brueggergosman
Other nominees:
Francophone Album of the Year.
Winner: "L'Échec du matériel", Daniel Bélanger
Other nominees:
Instrumental Album of the Year.
Winner: "The Utmost", Jayme Stone
Other nominees:
International Album of the Year.
Winner: "Good Girl Gone Bad", Rihanna
Other nominees:
Contemporary Jazz Album of the Year.
Winner: "Almost Certainly Dreaming", The Chris Tarry Group
Other nominees:
Traditional Jazz Album of the Year.
Winner: "Debut", Brandi Disterheft
Other nominees:
Vocal Jazz Album of the Year.
Winner: "Make Someone Happy", Sophie Milman
Other nominees:
Pop Album of the Year.
Winner: "The Reminder", Feist
Other nominees:
Rock Album of the Year.
Winner: "Them vs. You vs. Me", Finger Eleven
Other nominees:
Roots and Traditional Album of the Year (Solo).
Winner: "Right of Passage", David Francey
Other nominees:
Roots and Traditional Album of the Year (Group).
Winner: "Key Principles", Nathan
Other nominees:
World Music Album of the Year.
Winner: "Agua Del Pozo", Alex Cuba
Other nominees:
Nominated releases.
Single of the Year.
Winner: "1234", Feist
Other nominees:
Classical Composition of the Year.
Winner: "Constantinople", Christos Hatzis
Other nominees:
Country Recording of the Year.
Winner: "Risk", Paul Brandt
Other nominees:
Dance Recording of the Year.
Winner: "All U Ever Want", Billy Newton-Davis vs. Deadmau5
Other nominees:
Music DVD of the Year.
Winner: "666 Live", Billy Talent
Other nominees:
R&amp;B/Soul Recording of the Year.
Winner: "Revival", Jully Black
Other nominees:
Rap Recording of the Year.
Winner: "The Revolution", Belly
Other nominees:
Reggae Recording of the Year.
Winner: "Don't Go Pretending", Mikey Dangerous
Other nominees:
Video of the Year.
Winner: Christopher Mills, "C’mon" (Blue Rodeo)
Other nominees:
Compilation CD.
A compilation album was released in February 2008
1.My Moon My Man – Feist—2.For The Nights I Can't Remember – Hedley—3.Girlfriend (radio edit) – Avril Lavigne—4.Nothing Special – IllScarlett—5.I Get Around – Dragonette—6.Paralyzer (clean version) – Finger Eleven—7.Tongue Tied – Faber Drive—8.Gate 22 – Pascale Picard—9.Everything – Michael Bublé—10. After Tonight – Justin Nozuka—11. Weak in the Knees – Serena Ryder—12.Born Losers – Matthew Good—13. Weighty Ghost – Wintersleep—14. This Town – Blue Rodeo—15.Walls Fall Down – Bedouin Soundclash—16.Pressure (radio edit) – Belly feat. Ginuwine—17.Seven Day Fool – Jully Black—18.Day Dream Believer – Anne Murray &amp; Nelly Furtado—19.Didn't Even See The Dust – Paul Brandt—20.Dirty Old Man – Neil Young—21.Le Bonheur Au Large – Kaïn