Nominees for the 2007 JUNO Awards, to be held April 1st in Saskatoon, were announced yesterday at the Mod Club Theatre in Toronto.

This year’s nominees in the Contemporary Christian/Gospel Album Of The Year include:

• Beauty In The Broken: Starfield.
• Glory: Manafest
• Pollyanna’s Attic: Carolyn Arends
• Smile, It’s The End Of The World: Hawk Nelson
• Wide-Eyed And Mystified: Downhere

Brothers Tim and Jon Neufeld form the cornerstone of melodic pop/rock act from Abbotsford-based Starfield. The band is best known for the songs Filled With Your Glory and Revolution from their 2004 self-titled album produced by Matt Bronleewe (Natalie Imbruglia, Jars Of Clay). When it came time to record the follow-up, Beauty In The Broken, the four-member band re-teamed with Bronleewe and Ed Cash (Chris Tomlin, David Crowder*Band). The album earned them four Covenant Awards (including Group of the Year and Song Of The Year) and spent three months on top of the Christian music sales charts during the summer of 2006 as well as being the number two best selling over all at Canadian Christian retail in 2006. Starfield also completed a hugely successful 22 city cross-Canada tour.

Toronto hip-hop artist Manafest picks up his first JUNO Nomination for the album Glory. Blending both urban influences with suburban energy, Glory is a rock-oriented hip hop album that is an aesthetic presentation of rock-solid faith amidst uncertainty and trial. “I wanted to allow all of my influences to show on Glory,” says Manafest. “I wanted to blend the appeal of Linkin Park, Sum 41, and the Beastie Boys, with popular hip hop a la Eminem and Kayne West.” A previous Covenant Award winner, Manafest has become Canada’s biggest-selling Canadian Christian rap artist.

Surrey, BC-based Carolyn Arends has released nine albums and is the author of two critically-acclaimed books. Fifteen of her songs have become top 10 radio singles on the Canadian pop and U.S. Christian charts. She has earned two Dove Awards (1997, 1995), two JUNO Award nominations (2002, 1998), a 2002 West Coast Music Award for Songwriter of the Year and a Gospel Music Association (GMA) Canada Covenant Award. Her latest album is Pollyanna’s Attic.

Pop-punk act, Hawk Nelson, achieved success after releasing their debut full-length album, Letters to the President, including performing My Generation as The Who performing on the NBC show “American Dreams”, and a guest spot in the film “Yours, Mine & Ours” (starring Dennis Quaid and Rene Russo). The band has sold more than 100,000 albums and worked with producer Aaron Sprinkle on the follow-up, Smile, It’s The End Of The World which won a 2006 Covenant Award for Modern Rock/Alternative Album of the Year.

Since releasing their 2001 self-titled debut, the melodic alt-rockers Downhere have won a JUNO Award for Best Gospel Album, and 2006 Covenant Awards for Rock Album of the Year and Rock Song of the Year. They are nominated for their third album, Wide-Eyed And Mystified, which was produced by Grammy® winners Greg Collins and Mark Heimermann, along with the band.

The 2007 JUNO Awards will be broadcast live from Saskatoon, Saskatchewan on Sunday, April 1st, 2007 on CTV.

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 36th annual JUNO Awards, visit www.junoawards.ca. For information about the Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (CARAS) visit www.carasonline.ca.
 
Web Links:
Official JUNO Awards website: www.junoawards.ca
CTV’s JUNO Awards website: www.junos.ctv.ca
CARAS website: www.carasonline.ca

JUNO tidbit:
This year’s Canadian Music Hall of Fame inductee and Producer of the Year nominee Bob Rock produced 80s Christian rockers Servant’s 1984 album Light Maneuvers. Recorded at Little Mountain Sound Studios in Vancouver, it was the band’s major debut release on Myrrh Records. He also engineered and mixed Paul Janz’s (father of Chris Janz) 1987 album Electricity.

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