Nanaimo singer Lauren Spencer-Smith earns pair of Juno Awards nods
Lauren Spencer-Smith of Nanaimo, B.C., is among the nominees for this year's Juno Awards, including for the artist of the year category.
The 19-year-old singer who rose to fame after a stint on American Idol is up against established names like Michael Bublé, Avril Lavigne and The Weeknd in the most coveted category.
Spencer-Smith was also nominated Tuesday in the TikTok Juno Fan Choice award category, which will be decided by awards viewers.
The awards will be broadcast from Edmonton's Rogers Place arena on March 13, marking the first time the awards are to be held outside of Toronto since the start of the pandemic.
The Weeknd tops the nominees list this year with six nods across some of the main categories heading into the annual celebration of Canadian music.
Other big contenders include Lavigne, the Napanee, Ont., pop-punk artist, and Tate McRae of Calgary, each with five nominations.
Heading to the Junos with three nominations each are pop newcomers Preston Pablo and Rêve. Country siblings the Reklaws and rapper Nav also have three nominations apiece.
Here's a look at the Juno Awards nominees in some of the key categories:
ARTIST OF THE YEAR
Avril Lavigne
Lauren Spencer-Smith
Michael Buble
Shawn Mendes
The Weeknd
SINGLE OF THE YEAR
“Bite Me” - Avril Lavigne
“Flowers Need Rain” - Preston Pablo and Banx & Ranx
“When You're Gone” - Shawn Mendes
“She's All I Wanna Be” - Tate McRae
“Sacrifice” - The Weeknd
ALBUM OF THE YEAR
“Who Hurt You?” - Ali Gatie
“Love Sux” - Avril Lavigne
“Demons Protected By Angels” - Nav
“I Used to Think I Could Fly” - Tate McRae
“Dawn FM” - The Weeknd
GROUP OF THE YEAR
Arcade Fire
Arkells
Billy Talent
Metric
The Reklaws
BREAKTHROUGH ARTIST OF THE YEAR
Dax
Devon Cole
Preston Pablo
RealestK
Reve
TIKTOK JUNO FAN CHOICE (to be voted on by viewers)
Avril Lavigne
Lauren Spencer-Smith
MacKenzie Porter
Preston Pablo
Reve
Shawn Mendes
Tate McRae
The Reklaws
The Weeknd
Tyler Shaw
With files from The Canadian Press
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
BREAKING | U.S. President Joe Biden touches down in Ottawa
U.S. President Joe Biden arrived Thursday evening in Ottawa for a whirlwind 27-hour visit expected to focus on both the friendly and thorny aspects of the Canada-U.S. relationship, including protectionism and migration on both sides of the border.

Trudeau, Biden could agree to end 'loophole' in Safe Third Country Agreement: CP source
Canada and the United States are negotiating a deal that could see asylum seekers turned back at irregular border crossings across the border, including Roxham Road in Quebec.
Eastern Ont. mayor wants more help from feds to manage influx of asylum seekers, supports STCA renegotiation
As the federal government looks to renegotiate the Safe Third Country Agreement with the U.S., an eastern Ontario mayor says his city needs more help from Ottawa to deal with the influx of asylum seekers arriving through irregular crossings like Roxham Road.
Opposition parties affirm call for interference inquiry, amid questions over MP Han Dong
Amid renewed questions over the pervasiveness of alleged interference by China in Canadian elections and affairs broadly, opposition MPs voted Thursday afternoon to affirm a parliamentary committee's call for the federal government to strike a public inquiry.
'Scream as loud as you can': 5 boys rescued from NYC tunnel
Five mischievous boys had to be rescued after they crawled through a storm drain tunnel in New York City and got lost, authorities said.
Make sure to check your grocery bill otherwise you may pay more: Survey
A majority of Canadians have seen a mistake on their grocery receipts in the last year, according to a new survey conducted by Agri-Food Analytics Lab at Dalhousie University.
Asteroid to hurtle past Earth closer than the moon this weekend
An asteroid discovered just last week will pass closer to the Earth than the orbit of the moon this weekend, an occurrence so rare it happens only once in a decade, according to NASA.
Number of Canadians receiving EI at record lows, down 44 per cent from last year: StatCan
The number of Canadians receiving employment insurance benefits are at record lows and down 44 per cent from last year, new figures from Statistics Canada show.
Indigenous sisters developing video games to revitalize Mohawk language
Two Kanien'keha:ka (Mohawk) sisters from Montreal are on a mission that is close to their hearts: to save their ancestors' first language by developing video games young and old can play.