Junos 2019: Corey Hart shines, Sting surprises, Shawn Mendes sweeps
Jessie Reyez, Arkells, Jeremy Dutcher round out Canadian talent at music awards show in London, Ont.
From the opening number, Body, by electronic duo Loud Luxury to the closing retro performance by Corey Hart, the 2019 Junos were a celebration of Canadian artists past and present musicians currently climbing the charts andartists who helped lay the groundwork decades ago.
While In My Blood singer Shawn Mendes performed via video from Europe and scored the most trophies he won fiveincluding artist, single and album of the year it was Hart who had the audience on its feet.
Here are some of the most memorablemoments from Sunday's Juno Awardsin London, Ont.
Corey Hart Never Surrenders
It's no longer commonplace to see Hart, a staple on the 1980s music scene, take centrestage but it looked like he'd never leftas he performed thesmashhits Never Surrender and Sunglasses at Night.
Hart, who marked his inductioninto the Canadian Music Hall of Fame with a rare performance, had the crowd dancing and cheering as he took them back to the days of synthesizers and cassette tapes.
The singer might even introduce a new generation of listeners to classictunes such as Boy in the Box and Everything in My Heartwhen he embarks on a Canadian tour in June.
Watch Corey Hart close the Junos with Sunglasses at Night.
Jessie Reyezsalutes fans
Singer-songwriter Jessie Reyez, who has recently worked with major pop namesincluding Dua Lipa, Eminem and Kehlani, encouraged her young fans to dream big.
"None of this is possible without your support," she said after winning a Juno for R&B/soul recording of the year. "I am you and you are me. And if there's one thing that you're chasing, and you're willing to work hard for, do it."
Reyezbrought her parents and brother to the ceremony.
Watch Jessie Reyezaccept her award for R&B/soul recording
Sting'ssurprise appearance
Sting, who's currently in Toronto performing in the musical The Last Ship, received extended applause after makingan unexpected stop on the Junos stage.
The Fragile singer introduced Canadian producer-composer extraordinaireDavid Foster, who received this year's humanitarian award.
Watch Sting's warm welcome as he introduces David Foster to the stage
Jeremy Dutcher makesdramatic entrance
Jeremy Dutcher, whose Wolastoqiyik Lintuwakonawa won the Juno for Indigenous music album, highlighted Edmonton-based Cree designer Luxxon the red carpet by wearing an intricately embroidered capewith Cree lettering anda nearly two-metre train.
Dutcher, who won the prestigious Polaris music prize in 2018,also gave a spine-tingling performance ofSakomawitfrom his album, which intertwinestraditional Wolastoq songs with classical and electronic music.
Sarah McLachlan gets political
Host Sarah McLachlan, known for her ethereal voice and massive hits like Angel, Building A Mystery and Possession, sounded off without naming names about what's going on with "our neighbours to the south."
"You know when you live some place peaceful and beautiful?" McLachlan said on stage during her opening monologue.
"Then you get a crazy neighbour, and they start causing all sorts of trouble like putting up weird walls, picking fights with all the other neighbours, telling your daughters how they shouldbehave, all the while saying they're making the area great again and you just watch feeling helpless. And hope that they'll be gone by 2020."
McLachlandid double duty, not only hosting but also performing during the event alongside folk-rock band Whitehorse. She sangBeautiful Girland In Your Shoes,from her2014 album Shine On.
Watch Sarah McLachlan'sJuno performance
Next year's Juno Awards will take place in Saskatoon.
With files from CBC's Tashauna Reid and Alice Hopton
_(720p).jpg)
 OFFICIAL HD MUSIC VIDEO.jpg)
.jpg)
