Top nominee Alessia Cara to host, perform at Juno Awards; Bryan Adams, Michael Buble also get nods

Walt Disney Television/Paula Lobo

Four years ago, Alessia Cara was named Breakthrough Artist of the Year at the Juno Awards, the Canadian equivalent of the Grammys. Now, the “Scars to Your Beautiful” artist has been tapped to host the Juno Awards ceremony, where she’s also the leading nominee, with six nods.

According to Billboard, at a press conference announcing the news, Alessia joked “For those of you who are hoping it was someone else like Shawn Mendes, I’m sorry, it is me. You’re stuck with me.”

She added, “I’m so excited to be a part of Canada’s biggest night in music in this way. This is the first time I’ve been the sole host of anything, so I hope I don’t disappoint. My first reaction was ‘Why?’ My second was ‘No way.’ And then my third was obviously ‘Yes’ because I’m here….I’m very, very honored.”

At 23, Alessia will be the youngest woman ever to host the Junos, and she’ll be pulling double duty because she’ll also perform on the show. She’s nominated for Single of the Year for “Out of Love,” album of the year and pop album of the year for The Pains of Growing, and also artist of the year and songwriter of the year, as well as the Juno Fan Choice Award.

Alessia’s pal and tour mate, Shawn Mendes, has three nominations, as does Bryan Adams — he’s up for artist of the year, album of the year and adult contemporary album of the year for his most recent release, Shine a Light. Another Canadian crooner, Michael Buble, is up for album of the year for his 2018 release, Love.

The Junos take place March 15 at the SaskTel Centre in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. They’ll be aired live across Canada, and will stream at cbc.ca/music/junos.