Jews Scoop Up Juno Nominations

Image by Getty Images

By Renee Ghert-Zand February 21, 2013

The nominees for the 2013 Juno Awards have been announced, and among them are Jewish musicians Drake, Leonard Cohen, Adam Cohen and Toronto group Jaffa Road, which was nominated for Best World Music Album for “Where The Light Gets In.”

Image by Getty Images

The Juno Awards, the Canadian equivalent of the Grammys, will be given out on April 21 in a ceremony broadcasted from Regina, Saskatchewan hosted by vocalist Michael Bublé. It is sure to be a big night for all the nominated artists — some familiar to American music fans, and some less known outside Canada. The former include international sensations like Carly Rae Jepsen of “Call Me Maybe” fame and teenage heartthrob Justin Bieber. Pop and country singer-songwriter k.d. lang will be inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame.

Toronto-born-and-bred hip-hop artist Drake, 26, recently scooped up his first Grammy for best Best Rap Album for “Take Care.” He is nominated for the Juno Fan Choice Award. Director X (aka Julien Christian Lutz) is nominated for Video of the Year for Drake’s HYFR video.

Leonard Cohen, the legendary 78-year-old Canadian singer-songwriter, musician, poet and novelist is being recognized in a number of categories. The Montreal native is nominated for the Juno Fan Choice Award, Artist of the Year, and Songwriter of the Year (for three songs on his “Old Ideas” album).

Cohen’s 40-year-old son, Adam Cohen, is nominated in the Adult Contemporary Album of the Year category for his “Like A Man.” Cohen, who has recorded solo and as the frontman for Low Millions, was born in Montreal, and currently resides in Los Angeles.

The younger Cohen told The Hollywood Reporter in April 2012 that “Like A Man” is comprised of songs that he had cast aside over the years, partially for fear that he sounded too much like his father when he sang them (there is a hard-to-miss similarity). In the video interview, he said the album turned out well because he was focused on making something beautiful, not successful.

Cohen was asked why he had gone to Israel to perform when other artists were refusing to go, cancelling scheduled appearances, and pressuring him not to go. His answer: “I’m just a little guy who wanted to go to Israel, meet some dark-skinned, green-eyed girls and eat some hummus. And you know what? I did, and it was great. So, leave me alone.”

The Forward is free to read, but it isn’t free to produce

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward.

Now more than ever, American Jews need independent news they can trust, with reporting driven by truth, not ideology. We serve you, not any ideological agenda.

At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and polarized discourse.

Readers like you make it all possible. We’ve started our Passover Fundraising Drive, and we need 1,800 readers like you to step up to support the Forward by April 21. Members of the Forward board are even matching the first 1,000 gifts, up to $70,000.

This is a great time to support independent Jewish journalism, because every dollar goes twice as far.

— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO