Taking a look through 50 years of history, music, and awards

The JUNOS return to Toronto in 2021 to celebrate their 50th Anniversary with three brand new JUNO statuettes.

The JUNOS were one of the first music award shows cancelled due to COVID-19 and the first to mount a fully virtual celebration 106 days following its cancellation.

Kevin Drew and Pearl Wenjack introduced a heartfelt tribute performance by Downie’s longtime friends Sarah Harmer, Kevin Hearn, and City and Colour.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his wife, Sophie Grégoire-Trudeau delivered a moving speech on Leonard Cohen’s legacy.

International superstar, The Weeknd won five JUNO Awards including Album of the Year, Artist of the Year, R&B/Soul Recording of the Year, Single of the Year and, Songwriter of the Year.

Legendary rockers, Bachman-Turner Overdrive performed onstage for the first time in years while being inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame by Col. Chris Hadfield.

Canadian Music Hall of Fame inductee Neil Young won three awards; Adult Alternative Album of the Year, Artist of the Year, and the Humanitarian Award.

The JUNO Awards saw 94 first-time nominees including Justin Bieber, Drake, Carly Rae Jepsen, and Arkells.

Nelly Furtado made JUNO history by being the first nominee with multiple nominations to win every award for which she was nominated.

Shania Twain wore six custom-designed outfits emblazoned with different Canadian hockey team logos throughout the evening and took home the first-ever JUNO Fan Choice award.

The Barenaked Ladies took home Pop, The Tragically Hip took home Rock, and Céline Dion walked away with the overall Best Album award.

Alanis Morissette took home five JUNO Awards for her album "Jagged Little Pill" including Female Vocalist of the Year and Album of the Year.

Fans were able to attend the JUNOS for the first time ever with about 7,000 tickets sold for the show in Hamilton.

Lawrence Martin receives the first-ever Best Music of Aboriginal Canada JUNO Award.

The success of Maestro Fresh-Wes's debut album "Symphony in Effect" inspired the introduction of the Rap Recording of the Year Award which he took home that year.

After four years of hosting the show in the fall, CARAS decided to move the JUNO Awards back to the spring of 1989.

k.d. lang accepted her first Country Female Vocalist of the Year award, ending Anne Murray’s consecutive seven wins in that category.

Rob Quartly won the first Best Video award for Corey Hart's "Sunglasses at Night" and was nominated 4x in the category that year - a record number of nominations in a single category.

Calgary's Loverboy took home Group of the Year, Album of the Year, Single of the Year, Composer of the Year, Producer of the Year, and Engineer of the Year

Rough Trade took to the JUNO stage with a then-controversial performance of their hit "High School Confidential," leaving an impression on the likes of k.d. lang and Anne Murray.

The Prime Minister delivered a speech on the grandiosity of cultural industries in Canada before inducting Hank Snow into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame.

Jazz pianist, Oscar Peterson, and bandleader Guy Lombardo (posthumously) became the first artists to be inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame.

Randy Bachman presented a maple leaf plaque to Walt Grealis, creator of the RPM Gold Leaf Awards (now known as The JUNO Awards), resulting in a standing ovation for Grealis.

The JUNOS came to television for the first time on CBC with superstar host Paul Anka serenading the crowd between awards.

Anne Murray brought home the Female Vocalist award for the second year in a row in 1972. She'd go on to become the most decorated JUNO Award-winner ever with 25 total wins.

The Gold Leaf Awards were renamed The JUNO Awards in 1971 in honour of CRTC chairman Pierre Juneau and his work improving Canadian content regulations which put Canadian artists at the forefront of the industry.