Justin Bieber’s hit ‘Peaches’ helps pop star lead crop of Canadian Grammy nominees

By Canadian Press

TORONTO — Fuelled by his megahit “Peaches,” Justin Bieber led an eclectic crop of Canadian Grammy nominees announced Tuesday with a leading eight nods, while the Weeknd surprised with three nominations one year after swearing off the bash.

Multiple nods also rolled in for Drake — whose “Certified Lover Boy” is up for best rap album while his track with Future, “Way 2 Sexy,” is vying for best rap performance — and Cuban-Canadian Alex Cuba, named twice for his album “Mendó,” in the best Latin pop and best musica urbana categories.

Many of Bieber’s nods came thanks to his fruit-themed single, which features Toronto-raised R&B singer Daniel Caesar who shares in the nominations. It earned recognition in the categories of record of the year, song of the year, best R&B performance and best music video.

The Stratford, Ont.-raised singer also snagged nominations for album of the year and best pop vocal album nomination for “Justice,” while his song “Anyone” earned a pop solo performance nomination and shared a best pop duo or group performance with Benny Blanco for the track “Lonely.”

The Weeknd swooped in with three nominations after saying last year he wouldn’t submit his music to the Grammys after an across-the-board snub for his single “Blinding Lights.”

This year, he was named alongside Lil Baby on Kanye West’s “Hurricane,” which is up for best melodic rap performance, and his appearances on Doja Cat’s deluxe edition “Planet Her” and West’s “Donda.”

Bieber’s “Peaches” video will be up against Olivia Rodrigo’s “Good 4 U,” directed by Toronto filmmaker Petra Collins.

The album of the year category saw many familiar Canadian names among the contenders.

Toronto producer Boi-1Da, born Matthew Samuels, earned a spot for his work on Kanye West’s “Donda,” while Montreal’s Kaytranda is in the running as producer and writer on the song “Intimidated,” part of H.E.R.’s “Back of My Mind.”

Bruno Mars’ longtime recording engineer Charles Moniz was tipped for his work on the side project Silk Sonic. The Burlington, Ont.-raised Moniz contributed to the hit single “Leave the Door Open,” which is up for record of the year.

Dan Snaith, better known as Caribou, was named in the best dance/electronic recording category for his 10th studio album “Suddenly.”

Rupert (Sevn) Thomas, Jr., the Toronto producer best known for his work with Drake and Rihanna, was among the songwriters on Giveon’s “Heartbreak Anniversary,” nominated for best R&B song.

Joni Mitchell earned her 16th career nomination with “Joni Mitchell Archives, Vol. 1: The Early Years” in best historical album.

As usual, Canadians showed up strongly in the classical categories.

Best classical solo or vocal album saw two Canadian nominees, Ottawa-born composer Nadeem Majdalany for “Mythologies” and Montreal’s Yannick Nézet-Séguin for “Schubert: Winterreise.”

Nézet-Séguin collected three nominations in total this year, the others as a conductor for the Philadelphia Orchestra’s “Price: Symphonies Nos. 1 & 3” in best orchestral performance and as a conductor on “Poulenc: Dialogues Des Carmélites” in best opera recording.

And while k.d. lang didn’t earn direct recognition from the Grammys, a dance mix of her song “Constant Craving” by Tracy Young grabbed a nod in best remixed recording.

Quebec director Denis Villeneuve received similar love from a distance when his epic film “Dune” was named among the best score soundtracks for the work of German composer Hans Zimmer.

The 64th Grammy Awards air Jan. 31. on CBS and Citytv.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 23, 2021.

David Friend, The Canadian Press

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