Feist, Drake, Japandroids Make Polaris Prize Shortlist
The Polaris Awards have announced their shortlist of 10 albums that are up for the 2012 prize, including Drake‘s Take Care, Feist‘s Metals, Japandroids‘ Celebration Rock, Grimes‘ Visions, and Fucked Up‘s David Comes to Life. Also included are Handsome Furs’ Sound Kapital, Kathleen Edwards‘ Voyageur, Yamantaka // Sonic Titan’s YT // ST, rapper Cadence Weapon’s Hope in Dirt City, and Cold Specks‘ I Predict a Graceful Expulsion.
The final nominees were announced today at the Drake Hotel in Toronto at an event hosted by CBC Radio 3’s Craig Norris. Now in its seventh year, the Polaris Music Prize awards $30,000 to the artist responsible for Canadian Album of the Year, which is chosen by a jury of over 200 members of the Candian music media. The other nine nominees receive $2,000 courtesy of Slaight Music. Albums are “judged solely on artistic merit, without consideration of genre or record sales,” a statement reads.
Cadence Weapon, Feist, Fucked Up and Kathleen Edwards are the only artists in this year’s final 10 who have made the shortlist twice. Cadence Weapon’s Breaking Kayfabe was nominated in 2006, Feist’s breakout The Reminder was in 2007, Edwards’ Asking for Flowers was in 2008 and Fucked Up’s The Chemistry of Common Life took home the grand prize in 2009.
Back in June, Polaris announced its long list of nominees. Notable omissions on the shortlist including Leonard Cohen‘s Old Ideas, The Weeknd‘s Echoes of Silence and 2007 winner Patrick Watson’s Adventures in Your Own Backyard.
This year’s winner will be announced at the Polaris gala on September 24th. The event – which will follow the actual voting – will feature performances from the artists on the shortlist and will stream live on Muchmusic.