Every 365 days, the Polaris Prize crowns a new Canadian album of the year. In contrast to events like the Grammys and the Billboard Music awards, the Polaris Prize is only concerned with the artistic merit of an album. This categorization often leads to surprise winners, and to our ears being opened to some awesome new artists.
After announcing 40 nominees earlier this year, the list has been narrowed down to just ten. Below are the albums in contention.
Black Mountain – IV
Basia Bulat – Good Advice
Grimes – Art Angels
Carly Rae Jepsen – E•MO•TION
Kaytranada – 99.9%
Jessy Lanza – Oh No
PUP – The Dream Is Over
Andy Shauf – The Party
U.S. Girls – Half Free
White Lung – Paradise
Noticeably removed from the long list, are heavy hitters like Drake, The Weeknd, and Justin Bieber. The winner will be announced at a live gala on September, 19th. You can tune into the hour long Polaris Prize special, which will air tonight at 6, on CBC 2.
