Toronto, ON (February 21, 2012) – The following is a statement issued by The Canadian Academy Recording Arts and Sciences (CARAS) and The JUNO Awards regarding the death of Pierre Juneau.

“We are saddened to hear of the passing of Pierre Juneau, founder of the Canadian content regulations and a true champion of this country’s artists,” said Melanie Berry, President & CEO, CARAS/The JUNO Awards. “As the previous head of the CRTC and of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, Mr. Juneau made a profound impact on Canada’s cultural landscape throughout his life and career. Without his steadfast commitment to Canadian content, our nation’s music industry would not be as strong as it is today. The JUNO Awards have proudly reflected his name for the past forty years, and we look forward to sustaining his legacy in decades to come.”

The buzz around the 2012 JUNO Awards has increased tenfold with the announcement of all nominees yesterday!

Excitement is in the air as anticipation builds for the big night!  It a thrilling experience to read over the nominee list and see which musical act is up for which award.

It’s great to see previous JUNO nominees and winners back on the list, nominees who have received multiple nominations, and of course—our first time nominees!  Each of these talented Canadian individuals and groups emerged on the music scene at either National or International levels and we welcome them to the JUNO Awards family of nominees!

You can view the full list of nominees at ow.ly/8VPxk

It’s going to be a great night!

Make sure to buy your tickets for all of our JUNO week events and for The 2012 JUNO Awards Broadcast at http://www.capitaltickets.ca.  You don’t want to miss out!  Tickets are on sale NOW!

Actor, author, producer, musician—the iconic William Shatner can now add 2012 JUNO Awards host to his list of impressive titles!

CTV, The Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (CARAS) and the JUNO Awards are pleased to announce that William Shatner will be hosting this year’s JUNO Awards broadcast, Sunday, April 1^st airing live from the Scotiabank Place in Ottawa!

The Montréal, Québec native is one of Hollywood’s most recognizable figures, and has taken impressive strides in television, film, stage, and literary works.

Appearing most notably as Captain James T. Kirk throughout the beloved cult hit Star Trek TV series and film franchise, Shatner’s career grew as he progressed into the realm of directing, acting ventures on popular television shows T.J. Hooker, Rescue 911, The Practice, and Boston Legal, and as an edgy interviewer on his own show, Shatner’s Raw Nerve.  Multiple critically acclaimed musical albums as well as nearly 30 best-selling books add to the successful works of this major philanthropist.

Make sure to tune into The 2012 JUNO Awards to see William Shatner take centre stage alongside some of the very best talent in Canadian music!

Yesterday afternoon the music world was delivered some terrible news – Whitney Houston had passed away.

The tragic news came on the eve of the 2012 Grammy Awards Ceremony in Los Angeles. The shock and sadness was shared by all as millions took to Twitter and Facebook to express their sorrow. It was announced later that evening that Jennifer Hudson will perform a tribute to Whitney Houston at the 2012 Grammy Awards.

Her debut album Whitney Houston was Diamond certified (1,000,000 albums sold) in Canada. On her 2000 release of Whitney: The Greatest Hits, Houston performed with several very talented musicians, including 3-time JUNO Award winner, Deborah Cox. The album went on to become 3x Platinum certified by November, 2002. Amongst many awards over the course of her career, Houston won a JUNO Award in 1994 for “Best Selling Album (Foreign or Domestic)” for The Bodyguard. To-date, that album has sold over 44 million copies world-wide.

Houston was influential in the lives of many musicians. Her powerful voice was a thing of beauty and will not be forgotten. Rest in Peace, Whitney.

Click here to view the video on YouTube.

Tickets to The 2012 JUNO Awards go on sale Friday, February 10 at 10:00am (EST)!

Music fans everywhere will be able to purchase their tickets to our 41^st Annual Broadcast from Scotiabank Place on Sunday, April 1, 2012 in Ottawa!

Canada’s Capital Region will be filled with a diverse array of talented artists. The 2012 JUNO Awards will be hosted by William Shatner and including performances by JUNO Award winners, City and Colour, deadmau5, Feist, Hedley, Nickelback and the 2012 Canadian Music Hall of Fame inductees, Blue Rodeo.

With more performer announcements on the way, and the release of our full list of JUNO Award nominees announced this past Tuesday, The 2012 JUNO Awards will be a night to remember!

Tickets will be priced at $213.57, $145.77, $111.87 and $62.15 (plus service fees) and can be purchased at Scotiabank Place Box Office, The Sens Store locations at Carlingwood Mall and Place D’Orleans, Ottawa Sports Experts, Les Galeries de Hull; by phoning (613) 599-FANS (3267), (toll free) at 877-788-FANS (3267) or online at www.capitaltickets.ca

Toronto, ON (February 7, 2012) – CTV and The Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (CARAS) announced today that Canadian icon William Shatner will host CTV’s broadcast of THE 2012 JUNO AWARDS on Sunday, April 1 from Scotiabank Place in Ottawa. Tickets for the 2012 JUNO Awards go on sale on Friday Feb.10, beginning at 10 a.m. ET through the Scotiabank Place Box Office, The Sens Store locations at Carlingwood Mall and Place D’Orleans, Ottawa Sports Experts, Les Galeries de Hull; by phoning (613) 599-FANS (3267), (toll free) at 877-788-FANS (3267) or online at www.capitaltickets.ca.