TORONTO — Five Quebecois music acts, a Top 40 singer and well-travelled punk rockers from Toronto are among those vying for the Polaris Music Prize tonight.
Ten albums stand to win the $50,000 prize, decided by an 11-member jury of journalists, broadcasters and bloggers who will choose the best Canadian album in closed-door deliberations during the gala.
They include Jessie Reyez’s EP “Being Human in Public,” which features appearances by fellow pop performers Normani and Kehlani, and Inuk singer Elisapie’s multilingual exploration of her past on “The Ballad of the Runaway Girl.”
Toronto-founded punk band Pup are nominated for their second Polaris with the explosive “Morbid Stuff,” while rapper Shad returns with his fourth nomination for “A Short Story About A War,” and Vancouver-based Snotty Nose Rez Kids are back for a second consecutive year with “Trapline.”
Montreal contenders include Marie Davidson’s swipe at electronic music on “Working Class Woman,” and Dominique Fils-Aime’s soulful release, “Stay Tuned!” Experimental act FET.NAT, hailing from Hull, Que., is nominated for their off-kilter album “Le Mal” which splits itself into two parts — one half funk, and the other half reinterpretations of those songs using vintage MIDI technology.
Also in the running are Vincent Roberge of Levis, Que., with “La nuit est une panthere,” produced under the alias Les Louanges, and Toronto rapper Haviah Mighty’s “13th Floor.”
Each runner-up receives $3,000. Monday’s gala in Toronto is set to feature performances by some nominees and be webcast on CBC Music.
Based on artistic merit, the Polaris prize is considered one of the country’s most prestigious music awards. Former winners include Jeremy Dutcher, Arcade Fire, Buffy Sainte-Marie and Kaytranada.