Guess Who?

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Title: Guess Who?

Author: Bartley Kives

Publication: The Winnipeg Free Press

Date: 07.17.2004





GUESS WHO?
Which music star will host next year's Juno Awards in Winnipeg? The jury's still out, but we have some likely suspects



WITH summer concert tours all planned and the spring CD rush behind it, the Canadian music industry will slumber through the rest of the summer like a heavy-breathing, hibernating beast.

Sure, it'll hiccup awake when the courts release some Internet-downloading decision. And some unlucky shmo has to think about all the music coming in the fall.

But the next few weeks are all about inactivity -- unless you're lobbying to host the Juno Awards.

Slated for Winnipeg in April, Canada's national music awards show is more than seven months away. Our host building, the MTS Centre, doesn't open until November and tickets won't be on sale before February.

Yet there's a quiet game of poker being played to be the face of the 2005 Junos and its national TV broadcast, which has earned an average audience of 1.97 million Canadians since CTV took over the show in 2002.

That's roughly one in 15 people in the country, which explains why normally appearance-stingy stars like Shania Twain and Alanis Morissette have happily accepted the risks associated with quarterbacking a live variety show.

"Hosting isn't as easy as you think. There's a lot of direction to take and transitions to handle from segment to segment," says CTV vice-president Ed Robinson, who's responsible for the private broadcaster's comedy and variety programming.

"There's a lot of business that artists aren't used to and don't have experience with."

In other words, Juno hosts have to be able to think on their feet, like the Barenaked Ladies did in St. John's, Nfld., in 2002. They also have to have star power, like Twain in Ottawa in 2003 or Morissette in Edmonton this year.

And ideally, they should be able to draw a youngish audience, because the advertisers bankrolling the show care more about free-spending teens, home-building young adults and luxury-craving boomers than they do the penny-pinching seniors who are most likely to watch Canadian television.

As a result, there have been questions about some of the names bandied about to host the Winnipeg Junos. Locally bred musicians Neil Young, Randy Bachman and Burton Cummings are Canadian music superstars, but may have seen too much of the '60s first-hand to be considered as the face of the broadcast.

At this point, however, nobody has been ruled out.

"Any of those name are icons to Canadians, regardless of how old you might be," says Robinson. "But let me be clear: We haven't even come close to talking about this yet."

Other names treading the rumour mill include two-time Juno winner Chantal Kreviazuk, who first expressed her interest in the Junos in March 2003, nine months before the Canadian Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences granted the show to Winnipeg.

There's also been talk of Avril Lavigne, either alone or co-hosting with Kreviazuk, her songwriting partner on Under My Skin.

All of the above artists have either expressed interest in the show or have been discussed informally by people associated with the CARAS or the Winnipeg host committee.

But there are other possibilities, ranging from likely candidates Nelly Furtado, Sarah McLachlan, Chad Kroeger of Nickelback or all four members of Sum 41, to wish-list people like Gord Downie of the Tragically Hip, Matrix saviour Keanu Reeves, Hollywood up-and-comer Rachel McAdams or Kiefer Sutherland, the star of TV's 24.

I'd like to suggest a name of my own: Former Star Trek star William Shatner. The once vainglorious Capt. Kirk has undergone an image makeover and is about to release a new album called Has Been, with production by Ben Folds, guest vocals by Henry Rollins and guitars by Adrian Belew.

Of course, none of this speculation matters until CARAS and CTV starts talking numbers with major stars. Even the mention of a potential host name is a political hot potato nobody wants to touch.

"People in Winnipeg sure are enthusiastic," says CTV's Robinson. "What I can say is we're really looking forward to next year. Taking the show on the road has added a lot of excitement to the Junos."

"Oh, come on, I don't even want to talk about this," laughs Manitoba Film & Sound's Kevin Walters, who was instrumental in bringing the Junos to Winnipeg, along with former mayor Glen Murray.

In all likelihood, CTV will decide on the host of the 2005 Junos in January and make the decision public in February.

In the meantime, here's how the speculation is shaping up:

NEIL YOUNG

Advantages: The biggest musical name ever to emerge from Winnipeg would give the Junos an internationally famous star. Young intends to attend the 2005 Junos and may even perform.

Disadvantages: The Godfather of Grunge is not the world's greatest public speaker. But that's not the real issue, as Juno organizers fear they might need a more youthful host to provide some balance with a broadcast that will probably feature an all-Winnipeg classic rock medley performed by Young, Bachman and possibly Burton Cummings.

And there's one more overriding factor: "I'm not big on awards shows," he told the Free Press in March. "But if it's going to be in Winnipeg, you know, there's been a lot of rock 'n' roll, a lot of music that's come out of there."

Odds: 100 to 1.

CHANTAL KREVIAZUK

Advantages: The former Winnipegger is a poised, confident and strongly motivated performer. More importantly, she actually wants to host the Junos.

She declared her interest as soon as she heard the show was bound for Winnipeg. "If that's the case, then maybe I'm the girl for host," she told the Free Press in March 2003.

Disadvantages: Though well known in Canada, Kreviazuk doesn't have the same kind of star power on the level of a Shania Twain. And there's no reason CTV is hell-bent on having a Winnipegger host the Winnipeg show -- Ottawa's Morissette got the nod in Edmonton and Toronto's Barenaked Ladies did the honours in Newfoundland.

Odds: 25 to 1 if it's Kreviazuk alone. Make it 7 to 1 if she comes as a package with songwriting buddy Avril Lavigne.

RANDY BACHMAN

Advantages: He's a Canadian rock icon from Winnipeg who loves being in the spotlight. The guitarist also has experience with TV production, stemming from his Every Song Tells a Story DVD and the Bravo taping of his JazzThing concert.

Disadvantages: Just like Young, he's no spring chicken, even though he looks fantastic for a man of 60.

Odds: 25 to 1.

BURTON CUMMINGS

Advantages: Like Bachman and Young, the golden-throated Cummings is a famous name from Winnipeg. Unlike his peers, he actually lives here.

Disadvantages: Besides the age thing, the Guess Who frontman is not always comfortable living in the public eye and hosting the Junos might be too much of a pain in the butt.

Odds: 25 to 1.

AVRIL LAVIGNE

Advantages: The singer who momentarily led young women to shop in the menswear department is the biggest young musician to come out of Canada over the past three years.

Disadvantages: Like Neil Young, Lavigne could use a stint at Toastmasters. But she seems to get more comfortable on a podium as she matures.

Odds: 10 to 1 on her own; 7 to 1 with Kreviazuk.

NELLY FURTADO

Advantages: Another young, energetic and well-known Canadian star.

Disadvantages: Second album Folklore didn't capture the public's imagination like debut disc Whoa, Nelly!.

Odds: 20 to 1.

SARAH McLACHLAN

Advantages: Now that Twain, Morissette and Jann Arden have taken their turns as Juno host, McLachlan is the only member of the female Canadian crew that conquered the music world during the 1990s who hasn't taken a turn as Juno host. OK, there's also Celine Dion, but that's too frightening to consider.

Disadvantages: Like Cummings, McLachlan may have reservations about being in the spotlight.

Odds: 20 to 1.

CHAD KROEGER

Advantages: The Nickelback frontman is smart, extremely confident and loves the spotlight more than any other Canadian star.

Disadvantages: Juno audiences may be sick of Kroeger, as Nickelback has had some kind of presence at the show every year since 2001. Meanwhile, his bandmates may not appreciate being shunted to the side, or --if the entire band hosts -- playing second, third and fourth fiddle.

Odds: 10 to 1.

SUM 41

Advantages: A young band with a lot of energy, a degree of star power and most importantly, a sense of humour.

Disadvantages: May skew too young, demographically, without the broader star power of an Avril Lavigne. May also be considered unreliable, if reports of the band's hard-partying ways are accurate.

Odds: 25 to 1.

GORD DOWNIE

Advantages: The Tragically Hip is a Canadian icon and Gord Downie is the rock band's enigmatic leader.

Disadvantages: Hosting an awards show would be wildly out of character, as Downie shares Neil Young's reclusive streak and disdain for dog-and-pony shows.

Odds: 75 to 1.

WILLIAM SHATNER

Advantages: He's so uncool he's hip again. He's also famous, hilarious and has a new album to flog. Plus, you can bet an international TV audience would tune in to see the former Capt. Kirk try to wrap his rug-clad noggin around an awards show.

Disadvantages: Nobody with any kind of power is considering Shatner. Hopefully that just changed.

Odds: 50 to 1.

[.AbbeyDawn-]

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[Far Away]

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