TORONTO, Canada (Top40 Charts/ CTV Inc.) - Internationally renowned Canadian singer /songwriter
Nelly Furtado will host The 2007 JUNO Awards, Canada's
Music Awards, it was confirmed today by top-ranked Canadian broadcaster CTV and the Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (CARAS).
Canada's most-watched music awards telecast, The 2007 JUNO Awards will be broadcast on Sunday, April 1 from Saskatoon, Saskatchewan on CTV. Performers for the broadcast have not yet been announced. Nominees for Canada's Music Awards will be revealed Feb. 6 at a media conference in Toronto.
Furtado joins an esteemed list of internationally-recognized Canadian stars who have hosted The JUNO Awards since CTV began airing the awards telecast in 2002, including Barenaked Ladies, Shania Twain, Alanis Morissette and last year's host, Pamela Anderson.
"The JUNO Awards are part of the Canadian fabric and to be asked to host is a privilege I'm charmed to accept," said Furtado. "Hosting The JUNO Awards is a dream come true and I look forward to carrying on this rich Canadian tradition. See you in Saskatoon!"
Winner of five JUNO Awards and the recipient of 13 nominations, Nelly Furtado has taken the world by storm once again with the release of her third CD Loose, from Universal Music Canada. Certified platinum in the United States, UK and Australia, two times platinum in Germany and Switzerland, and three times platinum in Canada, Loose was the highest-selling Canadian album of 2006. The album spawned three Number 1 hit singles, including "Promiscuous featuring Timbaland," "Maneater" and the current single "Say it Right."
A Grammy winner for her breakout hit "I'm Like A Bird," Furtado was named "Best Pop/Rock Artist of the Year" in November 2006 at the World Music Awards in London. The artist, who has sold over ten million albums around the world, begins an eight-city Canadian tour March 21 in Victoria, BC.
"She wowed millions on last year's Canadian Idol finale, so I can't wait to see what Nelly Furtado has in store as host of The JUNO Awards," said Susanne Boyce, CTV President of Programming and Chair of the CTV Media Group. "With her continued world-wide success, she is the perfect host for an awards broadcast that continues to gain prestige on the international stage."
"The JUNO Awards have been recognizing Nelly Furtado's diverse talents since her award- winning debut album in 2000," said Melanie Berry, President of CARAS and an Executive Producer of the broadcast. "She is a very proud Canadian and we are tremendously excited to have her as our host this year!"
Furtado's role of host of The 2007 JUNO Awards comes on the heels of the announcement last week that she will co-star on CTV's CSI: NY on February 7 as Ava Grant, a shoplifter accused of murder. Later in February, Furtado will also appear on the daytime drama One Life to Live.
In April 2006, 1.7 million viewers watched The 2006 JUNO Awards, eclipsing The 48th Grammy Awards broadcast in Canada by 26 per cent and making it the most-watched music awards program of the year. The 2006 JUNO Awards peaked with 2.1 million viewers and attracted almost 30 per cent more viewers than the previous year, making it the second-most watched JUNO Awards telecast since Canada's Music Awards were broadcast from Ottawa in 2003. CTV began broadcasting The JUNO Awards in 2002 when it telecast the Awards from St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, before taking it to Ottawa (2003), Edmonton (2004), Winnipeg (2005) and Halifax (2006).
Sponsors of the 36th Annual JUNO Awards include FACTOR, Canada's Private Radio Broadcasters and the Government of Canada through the Department of Canadian Heritage's "Canada Music Fund", the Government of Saskatchewan, the City of Saskatoon, SaskTel and Radio Starmaker Fund.
About CARAS: The Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences/L'academie canadienne des arts et des sciences de l'enregistrement (CARAS) is a not-for-profit organization created to preserve and enhance the Canadian music and recording industries and to contribute toward higher artistic and industry standards. The main focus of CARAS is the exploration and development of opportunities to showcase and promote Canadian artists and music through television vehicles such as the JUNO Awards. For more information on the 35th anniversary JUNO Awards, visit the Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences' (CARAS) website at https://www.junoawards.ca. The 2007 JUNO Awards will air on CTV, on Sunday, April 1, 2007.
About CTV: CTV, Canada's largest private broadcaster, offers a wide range of quality news, sports, information, and entertainment programming. It has the number-one national newscast, CTV National News With Lloyd Robertson, and is the number-one choice for prime-time viewing. CTV owns 21 conventional television stations across Canada and has interests in 15 specialty channels, including the number-one Canadian specialty channel, TSN. CTV is owned by CTVglobemedia, Canada's premier multi-media company. More information about CTV may be found on the company Web site at https://www.ctv.ca.
