A decade after he got his start on the network, superstar recording artist Drake is coming home to CTV as host of THE 2011 JUNO AWARDS, ETALK revealed tonight. The announcement from CTV and The Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (CARAS) was made just hours before Drake was nominated for four 2011 Grammy Awards®. The Toronto native returns to his hometown to host the 40th Anniversary of Canada’s Music Awards, and CTV’s 10th Anniversary broadcast, airing live from the Air Canada Centre on Sunday, March 27, 2011. Tickets for THE 2011 JUNO AWARDS broadcast go on sale Saturday, February 5, 2011 through all Ticketmaster outlets.
At 24, Drake becomes one of the youngest-ever hosts of THE JUNO AWARDS. Since getting his start on CTV in 2001, Drake, a.k.a Aubrey Graham, has gone on to take the music world by storm over the past few years, becoming one of the fastest rising newcomers ever in hip-hop. At last year’s JUNO Awards in St. John’s, NL, Drake brought down the house when he joined fellow Canadian pop phenom Justin Bieber on stage, and later took home two awards for Rap Recording Artist of the Year and New Artist of the Year. Nominations for the 2011 JUNO Awards will be announced on Tuesday, February 1, 2011.
“I am beyond honoured to be hosting this monumental JUNO Awards in the greatest city on Earth,” said Drake. “I want to bring a youthful energy to the show and encourage people to be excited about what Canadian music has to offer. See you all at the show.”
“Drake is the single most formidable force in music right now,” said Susanne Boyce, President, Creative, Content and Channels, CTV Inc. “He’s risen to the top of the charts, garnered worldwide acclaim, worked with the best in the business, and continues to deliver hit after hit. But at the end of the day, he’s a gentleman who makes his mother, and all of us, proud. We can’t wait to celebrate his success as host of this year’s show.”
“Drake has made monumental strides on the national and international music scene in the past year and exemplifies the next generation of Canadian artists. We’re thrilled to have him host the 2011 JUNO Awards in his hometown of Toronto,” said Melanie Berry, President and CEO of CARAS and The JUNO Awards. “People are still buzzing over his performance last year on THE JUNO AWARDS and we can’t wait to see what’s in store this time around!”
With just one full-length album under his belt, Drake has become a staple at awards shows across the planet, including the 2010 MUCHMUSIC VIDEO AWARDS, where he took home two awards and delivered a killer performance in the broadcast. Last year Drake closed out the 52ND ANNUAL GRAMMY AWARDS, performing “Forever” alongside Lil Wayne and Eminem. Now, he has been nominated for four more Grammy Awards, including Best New Artist, Best Rap Album, Best Rap Solo Performance, and Best Rap Performance By A Duo or Group.
Additionally, Drake received the Breakthrough Artist nomination for Best Hip-Hop Newcomer of the Year at the AMERICAN MUSIC AWARDS and has also garnered multiple MTV VMA, MTVU, and BET Awards nominations and wins.
Drake charted success with his very first single “Best I Ever Had,” which went to #1 on the Billboard Rap Chart and #2 on the Billboard Hot 100, accomplishments made without being signed to a label. After an intense bidding war, Drake signed to Aspire/Cash Money/Young Money and released his debut album Thank Me Later earlier this year.
Drake has worked with, and earned the respect of, the most innovative artists in the hip-hop world, including Lil Wayne, Kanye West and Eminem, as well as musicians such as Alicia Keys, Rihanna, Nicki Manaj and Mary J. Blige. Since April 2010, Drake has headlined the Away From Home Tour, dubbed the Campus Consciousness Tour. He also toured Europe and Canada in Summer 2010, with stops at major festivals such as Roskilde and Wireless.
As an actor, Drake has gained worldwide attention for playing Jimmy Brooks on CTV’s award-winning series DEGRASSI: THE NEXT GENERATION, the cult hit drama also airing on TeenNick in the U.S.
THE 2011 JUNO AWARDS, Canada’s Music Awards, is broadcast for the tenth year in a row on CTV on Sunday, March 27 from the Air Canada Centre in Toronto. Previous hosts of THE JUNO AWARDS include Russell Peters in Vancouver (2009) and Calgary (2008), Nelly Furtado in Saskatoon (2007), Pamela Anderson in Halifax (2006), Brent Butt in Winnipeg (2005), Alanis Morissette in Edmonton (2004), Shania Twain in Ottawa (2003) and Barenaked Ladies in St. John’s (2002).
THE 2011 JUNO AWARDS is produced by Insight Productions in association with CTV and The Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (CARAS). Executive producers are John Brunton and Barbara Bowlby for Insight Productions, and Melanie Berry and Ed Robinson for CARAS. Louise Wood is Producer and Lindsay Cox is Supervising Producer. Susanne Boyce is President, Creative, Content and Channels, CTV Inc.
Broadcast sponsors of THE 2011 JUNO AWARDS are General Motors, L’Oreal, and Rogers.
