Armfuls of trophies were handed out Saturday night in Hamilton at the 2026 Juno Awards industry gala.
And even though the night’s biggest winner Tate McRae wasn’t around to accept her four wins, which included artist and single of the year for “Sports Car,” there were many memorable highlights during the four-hour ceremony before Sunday night’s broadcast show.
Here’s a look at what went down both on stage and behind the scenes at the Hamilton Convention Centre:
1. Fifth time’s the charm
Maestro Fresh Wes was in his glory as he accepted the Juno for children’s album of the year for “Rhyme Travellers.”
It was the fifth consecutive year he had been nominated in the category under his alter ego Young Maestro. “Last year, I thought I might have won, but then Raffi put out an album,” he said, referencing his winning album “Penny Penguin.”
“He had the penguin dance. So I’m like, yo, I’ve gotta come up with my own dance — so I wrote something called the King Tut Strut … shout out to my man Raffi. He was one of my influences.”
2. Monster mash-up
Only one Juno winner got their award handed to them by two monsters.
That claim goes to SadBoi, the stage name of Toronto’s Ebhoni Jade Cato-O’Garro, who won the rap album/EP of the year for “Dry Cry.” The trophy was presented to her by Mammott and Furcorn, a pair of fuzzy creatures from the popular Canadian video game “My Singing Monsters.”
“I was so distracted because I’m like: ‘Do I shake their hand? Do I give them a hug? … What’s happening?’ But it was fire,” Cato-O’Garro recalled backstage.
Then she wondered if amid the surprise she missed a huge opportunity. “Can I take a picture with them?” she asked backstage. The answer was clearly yes. Immediately after she spoke with reporters, the new Juno winner ran outside the room and caught up with the duo for an impromptu photo shoot.
3. A shock tie
It’s been 20 years since the Junos last had a tie, but at least this time around it’s among two Canadians.
Toronto folk singer Bahamas and Winnipeg vocal powerhouse Begonia wound up sharing the Junos stage after they both won adult alternative album of the year for separate projects.
Both seemed a bit stunned by the outcome, even more so backstage when they learned the last artists to pull this off were U.S. pop act Black Eyed Peas and British band Coldplay when they shared international album of the year in 2006. Notably those global superstars accepted on the broadcast from Halifax that year.
“I’ll be the Black Eyed Peas, let’s bring it on,” joked Afie Jurvanen, the off-stage name of Bahamas. Alexa Dirks, also known as Begonia, agreed she didn’t mind splitting the trophy with Bahamas: “I literally lost to him twice in this category, so might as well be up here today.”
Bahamas won for “My Second Last Album” while Begonia took the prize for “Fantasy Life.”
4. Mic check
TOBi, Saukrates and Jully Black left a big impression on stage as several generations of Canadian hip-hop joined together to accept rap single of the year for their track “Who’s Driving Who?”
It was a powerful moment that was almost played off by the music until Black stepped in. “Turn off that music. Fade that music all the way back down,” she told the sound team on stage. Eventually, they complied, and Black shared a brief story praising TOBi’s decision to “pass the baton back to the legacy artists” like herself.
Standing her ground was important, she said later backstage. “It’s respect,” Black said. “We’re always in a rush to do something. Where are we rushing to? What is 10 extra seconds? What’s 30 extra seconds? … I think it’s highly disrespectful. So, I decided to take the opportunity to say we’ll wait. And here we are.”
5. Latin history
Alex Cuba made history, but he couldn’t make the Junos. Due to “family issues,” he was absent when his name was called as the winner of the Juno’s inaugural Latin music recording of the year award for his album “Índole.”
The Afro-Cuban musician spoke to the Star by phone from his home in Smithers, B.C., moments after he learned of the win. “I was actually in my studio writing a new song that came to me,” he said. “I think that’s the best way to win it, right?”
It’s not the first time Cuba has missed winning an award. He also wasn’t present to accept his 2022 Grammy win for Latin pop album. “Maybe the key to win is don’t show up,” he chuckled.
6. Showing up
In a year when the absence of many superstar Juno nominees has dominated the conversation, it’s Toronto band the Beaches that made sure they were in town to accept their rock album of the year win for “No Hard Feelings.” It’s their sixth Juno.
It’s become an annual tradition for the female rockers to hit up the awards show. “The Junos truly is the highlight of our year, every year,” said guitarist Kylie Miller.
“We have the privilege of getting to travel all over the world, but we never feel as supported and loved as we do in Canada. So it’s very important to us to attend.”
Keyboardist Leandra Earl added they all watched the Junos growing up as huge fans of Avril Lavigne: “We’ve always wanted to do this, and now we’re here — and our parents love to tell their friends that we keep winning Junos. It gives them something to talk about. It’s sick.”
