Juno Awards
Juno Awards of 2012
200px The Juno awards logo
Awarded for	Outstanding achievements in the record industry
Presented by	Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences
Country	Canada
First awarded	1970
Official website	http://www.junoawards.ca/

The Juno Awards are presented annually to Canadian musical artists and bands to acknowledge their artistic and technical achievements in all aspects of music. New members of the Canadian Music Hall of Fame are also inducted as part of the awards ceremonies.

Winners are currently chosen by either members of the Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences or a panel of experts depending on the award. In almost all of the main general categories, such as Album of the Year or Artist of the Year, nominees are determined by sales during the qualifying period; in genre-specific categories, they are determined by panel.^[1]

History[link]

The Juno Awards are named in honor of Pierre Juneau, the first President of the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission and former President of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation.^[2]

1970s[link]

Prior to the development of the formal Juno award ceremonies, RPM Magazine began polling its readers in 1964 to determine which artists and groups were considered the best in Canada.^[3] The results of these polls were announced through RPM each December.^[4]

Record label owner Stan Klees met with RPM founder Walt Grealis to plan a formal awards ceremony for the music industry. Instead of merely publishing the award results in RPM, presentations would be made at a physical venue. The first such ceremony was the Gold Leaf Awards which took place 23 February 1970 in Toronto.

RPM invited its readers later that year to suggest a new name for these awards. The name "Juneau" was submitted, which represented Pierre Juneau, the first head of the Canadian Radio-Television Commission. Juneau was instrumental in establishing Canadian content regulations for broadcasters, to promote Canadian artists. That name became shortened to Juno and by 1971, the awards ceremonies would be referred to as the "Juno Awards".^[5]

From 1970 to 1973, winners were announced in RPM prior to the awards night. From 1974, the award winners were not made public until the Juno ceremonies.^[6] Music industry representatives formed an advisory committee for the Junos in 1974 which became the Canadian Music Awards Association the following year. This organisation assumed full management and operation of the Juno Awards from 1977 and became the Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (CARAS).^[4][7]

The Junos were first televised throughout Canada in 1975 on CBC Television.^[8]

1980s[link]

Initially, the awards were conducted during the early part of each year. In 1984, organizers postponed that year's awards until December. A late-year scheduling was maintained until January 1988 when CARAS noted the declining viewership on the Juno broadcasts and reverted to an early-year awards schedule. That year's Juno Awards were postponed until 12 March 1989, therefore leaving the 1988 calendar year without a ceremony.^[9]

1990s and 2000s[link]

In 1996 an album called Oh What a Feeling: A Vital Collection of Canadian Music, was released as a four-CD box set to mark the 25th anniversary of the Juno Awards. It featured popular songs by Canadian artists from the 1960s to 1990s. In 2001, a second four-CD box set was released to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the awards. In 2006, a third box set was released to celebrate the 35th anniversary.

Broadcast rights to the Juno Awards were transferred from CBC to CTV for the 2002 ceremonies. 2006 marked the first time the Junos were broadcast internationally through MTV2 in the United States and several affiliated MTV channels in other nations. The telecast of the 2006 Juno Awards was available to approximately 250 million people.^[10]

A Humanitarian Award was inaugurated in 2006. Bruce Cockburn was the first artist to be given this honour.^[11]

At the 2007 ceremony, host Nelly Furtado made Juno history by being the first nominee with multiple nominations to win every award for which she was nominated, including the two most prestigious honours, Album of the Year and Artist of the Year.^[12]

Nomination process[link]

The nominations for each year's Junos are based on an eligibility period which lasts for 13 to 14 months, ending on the mid-November prior to the awards ceremony. For example, the eligibility period of the 2010 Juno Awards was from 1 September 2008 to 13 November 2009. Music released during the eligibility period may be submitted to CARAS by musicians or their representatives, designated for the appropriate nomination categories. Nominations other than for the International Album of the Year may only be awarded to Canadians who have lived in Canada during the final six months of the eligibility period, and are deemed Canadian by birth, passport or immigration status.^[13]

Following the close of the eligibility period, CARAS conducts an initial vote by its members to establish the list of nominees in most categories. The nominees for Album of the Year and International Album of the Year are determined by sales figures. The New Artist of the Year, New Group of the Year, Rock Album of the Year and Pop Album of the Year are determined by sales in conjunction with a jury vote. The Artist of the Year and Group of the Year nominations are determined by sales and a CARAS member vote.^[13]

After the nominees list is published, another voting round is conducted to determine the winners of most categories. Voting for the Juno Fan Choice Award is open to the general public, while voting on general categories is limited to CARAS members. Winners in genre-specific or specialty categories are determined by specially-appointed CARAS juries.^[13]

As of 2010, ballots are audited by accounting company PricewaterhouseCoopers.^[13]

Trophy[link]

Shania Twain holds a Juno Award trophy, 2011

The first Juno trophies were developed by Stan Klees for the first presentations in 1970. These were constructed from walnut wood, stood 18 inches (46 cm) tall and resembled a metronome.^[4][14] As ceremonies became televised in 1975, the award was built from acrylic instead of wood while retaining a metronome shape. The trophy was given minor modifications in succeeding years such as a size reduction for ease of handling, and changes to the inlay design such as a special 1996 emblem to signify the 25th anniversary.^[15]

In 2000, following criticism from producers that the existing award trophy did not have an attractive television appearance, CARAS commissioned a redesigned award from Stoney Creek, Ontario artist Shirley Elford. After reviewing three designs, two of which were patterned after the existing trophy, a new trophy design was selected featuring a glass human figure surrounded by a nickel-coated spiral symbolic of a musical staff situated on a base of aluminum.^[15][16] A few display statuettes were circulated for presentation during the ceremonies. Within months, winners received their personalized and individually-made trophies from Elford.^[17][18]

Elford had developed cancer and was no longer able to produce individual Juno trophies. In October 2010, CARAS announced a new design for mass-produced trophies which consists of a laser engraving of Elford's Juno spiral figure within a transparent block.^[19] Elford died in November 2011.^[20]

Dates and locations[link]

The Juno Awards events were not conducted outside Toronto until 1991. Since then, the ceremonies have been hosted throughout Canada, reaching both coasts. The provinces of New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island and Quebec have yet to play host to the Junos.

Award categories[link]

Award names have changed through the years, most notably the switch in 2003 from the phrase "Best..." to " ... of the year". The previous awards are listed under their present names or the present award that is most similar. There are currently 44 awards.^[29]

Aboriginal Recording of the Year (2003–present)

Best Music of Aboriginal Canada Recording (1994–2002)

Adult Alternative Album of the Year (2005–present)

Album of the Year (1980–1998, 2003–present)

Best Album (1974, 1999–2002)

Best Selling Album (1975–1979)

Alternative Album of the Year (2003–present)

Best Alternative Album (1995–2002)

Artist of the Year (2003–present)

Best Artist (2002)

Best Female Artist (2000–2001)

Best Male Artist (2000–2001)

Best Female Vocalist (1970–1974, 1999)

Best Male Vocalist (1970–1974, 1999)

Female Vocalist of the Year (1975–1998)

Male Vocalist of the Year (1975–1998)

Blues Album of the Year (2003–present)

Best Blues Album (1998–2002)

Best Blues/Gospel Album (1994–1997)

CD/DVD Artwork Design of the Year (2005–present) (sponsored by Ever-Reddy Packaging)

Album Design of the Year (2003–2004)

Best Album Design (1990–2002)

Best Album Graphics (1975–1989)

Children's Album of the Year (2003–present)

Best Children's Album (1979–2002)

Classical Album of the Year–Solo or Chamber Ensemble (2003–present)

Best Classical Album: Solo or Chamber Ensemble (1985–2002)

Best Classical Album of the Year (1977–1984)

Classical Album of the Year–Large Ensemble or Soloist(s) with Large Ensemble Accompaniment (2003–present)

Best Classical Album–Large Ensemble or Soloist(s) With Large Ensemble Accompaniment (1985–1987, 2000–2002)

Best Classical Album (Large Ensemble) (1989–1999)

Best Classical Album of the Year (1977–1984)

Classical Album of the Year–Vocal or Choral Performance (2003–present)

Best Classical Album (Vocal or Choral Performance) (1994–2002)

Best Classical Album of the Year (1977–1984)

Classical Composition of the Year (2003–present)

Best Classical Composition (1987, 1989–2002)

Comedy Album of the Year (1979–1984)

Contemporary Christian/Gospel Album of the Year (2003–present)

Best Gospel Album (1998–2002)

Best Blues/Gospel Album (1994–1997)

Contemporary Jazz Album of the Year (2003–present)

Best Contemporary Jazz Album–Instrumental (2000–2002)

Best Contemporary Jazz Album (1994–1999)

Best Jazz Album (1977–1993)

Country Recording of the Year (2003–present)

Best Country Artist/Group (2002)

Best New Country Artist/Group (2002)

Best Country Female Artist (1970–1974, 2000–2001)

Best Country Male Artist (1970–1974, 2000–2001)

Best Country Female Vocalist (1999)

Best Country Group or Duo (1970–1974, 1999–2001)

Best Country Male Vocalist (1999)

Country Female Vocalist of the Year (1975–1998)

Country Group or Duo of the Year (1975–1998)

Country Male Vocalist of the Year (1975–1998)

Dance Recording of the Year (2003–present)

Best Dance Recording (1990–2002)

Levi's Entertainer of the Year (1996)

Entertainer of the Year (1995)

Canadian Entertainer of the Year (1987, 1989–1994)

International Entertainer of the Year (1989–1991, 1993)

Foreign Entertainer of the Year (1992)

Folk Artist of the Year (1980–1982)

Folksinger of the Year (1972–1979)

Top Folk Singer (1971–1971)

Francophone Album of the Year (2003–present)

Best Selling Francophone Album (1992–2002)

Group of the Year (1975–1998, 2003–present)

Best Group (1970–1974, 1999–2002)

Instrumental Album of the Year (2003–present)

Best Instrumental Album (1999–2002)

Instrumental Artist(s) of the Year (1976–1987, 1989–1998)

Juno International Achievement Award (1992, 1997, 1999–present)

International Album of the Year (1981–1991, 2003–present)

Best Selling Album (Foreign or Domestic) (1993–2002)

Best Selling Album by a Foreign Artist (1992)

Best Selling International Album (1975–1980)

Jack Richardson Producer of the Year (2003–present)

Jack Richardson Best Producer (2002)

Best Producer (1999–2001)

Producer of the Year (1975–1977, 1979–1998)

Producer of the Year–Album (1978)

Producer of the Year–Single (1978)

Juno Fan Choice Award (2003–present) (presented by Doritos)

Music DVD of the Year (2004–present)

New Artist of the Year (2003–present) (sponsored by FACTOR and Canada's Private Radio Broadcasters)

Best New Solo Artist (1994–2002)

Most Promising Female Vocalist of the Year (1974–1993)

Most Promising Male Vocalist of the Year (1974–1993)

New Group of the Year (2003–present) (sponsored by FACTOR and Canada's Private Radio Broadcasters)

Best New Group (1974, 1994–2002)

Most Promising Group of the Year (1974–1993)

Pop Album of the Year (2003–present)

Best Pop Album (1999, 2001–2002)

Best Pop/Adult Album (2000)

R&B/Soul Recording of the Year (2003–present)

Best R&B/Soul Recording (1985–2002)

Rap Recording of the Year (1991–1992, 2003–present)

Best Rap Recording (1993–2002)

Recording Engineer of the Year (1976–1998, 2003–present)

Best Recording Engineer (1999–2002)

Reggae Recording of the Year (2003–present)

Best Reggae Recording (1994–2002)

Best World Beat Recording (1992–1993)

Best Reggae/Calypso Recording (1985–1991)

Rock Album of the Year (2003–present)

Best Rock Album (1996, 1999–2002)

Blockbuster Rock Album of the Year (1998)

North Star Rock Album of the Year (1997)

Best Hard Rock Album (1994–1995)

Hard Rock Album of the Year (1992–1993)

Best Hard Rock/Metal Album (1991)

Roots & Traditional Album of the Year–Group (2003–present)

Best Roots & Traditional Album–Group (1996–2002)

Best Roots & Traditional Album (1989–1995)

Single of the Year (1980–1987, 1989–1998, 2003–present)

Best Single (1974, 1999–2002)

Best Selling Single (1975–1979)

Best Selling Single (1993)

Best Selling Single by a Foreign Artist (1992)

International Single of the Year (1981–1991)

Best Selling International Single (1975–1980)

Songwriter of the Year (1991–1998, 2003–present)

Best Songwriter (1971–1974, 1999–2002)

Composer of the Year (1975–1990)

Traditional Jazz Album of the Year (2003–present)

Best Traditional Jazz Album–Instrumental (2000–2002)

Best Mainstream Jazz Album (1994–1999)

Best Jazz Album (1977–1993)

Vocal Jazz Album of the Year (2003–present)

Best Vocal Jazz Album (2000–2002)

Best Mainstream Jazz Album (1994–1999)

Best Jazz Album (1977–1993)

Video of the Year (2003–present)

Best Video (1984–2002)

World Music Album of the Year (2003–present)

Best Global Album (1996–2002)

Best Global Recording (1994–1995)

Best World Beat Recording (1992–1993)

See also[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Juno Awards

• Music of Canada
• Canadian Hip Hop
• Canadian rock
• Canadian content
• Category:Canadian rock music groups
• Category:Canadian musical groups
• List of Canadian musicians
• Category:Music festivals in Canada
• Category:Canadian record labels

References[link]

External links[link]

• Juno-Awards.ca - The Juno Award's official website
• Juno Awards @ CTV.ca - Features multimedia clips, highlights, press releases, and more
• Juno Awards Coverage @ TheGATE.ca website
• CBC Digital Archives - And the Juno Went to…

Russell Peters
Russell Peters in 2009
Birth name	Russell Dominic Peters
Born	(1970-09-29) September 29, 1970 (age 41) Brampton, Ontario, Canada
Medium	Stand-up, Television, Film, Radio
Nationality	Canadian
Years active	1989–present
Genres	Satire, Improvisational comedy, Black comedy
Subject(s)	Racism, Race relations, Stereotypes, Multiculturalism, Indian culture
Influences	George Carlin,[1] Steve Martin, Cheech and Chong,[2] Don Rickles,[3] Eddie Murphy
Spouse	Monica Diaz (2010–2012) 1 child
Website	RussellPeters.com

Russell Dominic Peters (born September 29, 1970)^[4] is a Canadian comedian, actor and disc jockey. He began performing in Toronto in 1989 and has been nominated for four Gemini Awards.

Early life[link]

Russell Peters was born in Brampton, Ontario, Canada to Eric and Maureen Peters. His family is of Anglo-Indian ancestry and is Catholic.^[4] His father was born in Bombay, Maharashtra, India, and worked as a federal meat inspector; he is regularly mentioned and featured in his comedy work.^[5] His mother was born in Calcutta, West Bengal, India. He has an older brother named Clayton who was born in Calcutta.^[6] Russell attended Chinguacousy Secondary School for grades 9–10, and North Peel Secondary School for grades 11–12 in Brampton.^[7][8][9]

Career[link]

Peters began performing in Toronto in 1989. Peters' popularity extends to several countries. He has since also performed in the United Kingdom, United States, Australia, New Zealand, Ireland, Afghanistan, Sweden, South Africa, India, the Caribbean, Philippines, Vietnam, mainland China, Canada, Hong Kong, Sri Lanka, France, Singapore, United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Jordan, Norway, Lebanon, Oman, Pakistan, Malaysia, and Trinidad among other places.

Peters attribute performance he did on the Canadian TV comedy series Comedy Now! that was uploaded onto YouTube and became viral.^[10] While the initial video upload featured his performance in its 45 minute entirety, subsequent videos uploaded by other YouTube users were snippets of that performance, chopped into each of the cultural groups he targeted. According to Peters, those snippets made their way to those specified cultural groups, and were well received by them.^[11]

Notable performances[link]

In Canada, Peters became the first comedian to sell out Toronto's Air Canada Centre,^[12] with more than 16,000 tickets in two days for the single show. He ended up selling over 30,000 tickets nationally over the two-day sales period. A total of over 60,000 tickets were sold across six cities.^{[citation needed]} His show in Sydney, Australia on 15 May 2010 had an audience of 13,880, making it the largest stand-up comedy show in Australian history.^[13] He broke a UK comedy sales record at London's O2 Arena when he sold over 16,000 tickets to his show on 2009.^[14]

He hosted the Canada Day Comedy Festival 2006. Peters participated in a USO tour of Iraq, Afghanistan, Germany, Africa and Greenland in November 2007 with Wilmer Valderrama and Mayra Veronica.^[15]. Peters also currently produces and stars on the radio situation comedy series, Monsoon House, on CBC Radio One.

Peters was the host of the 2008 Juno Awards televised ceremonies in Calgary on April 6, 2008,^[16] for which he won a Gemini Award for "Best Performance or Host in a Variety Program or Series". The 2008 awards broadcast received the second-highest ratings ever for the program. He was asked to host the Juno Awards for a second year in a row. The 2009 Juno Awards took place in Vancouver on March 29, 2009.

Publications[link]

His comedy special Russell Peters: Outsourced, aired on Comedy Central on August 16, 2006. The DVD version features his uncensored performance. The DVD has been popular, especially in Canada, selling over 100,000 copies. Outsourced remained on the National DVD Chart over one and a half years after release. Peters released a second DVD/CD combo Russell Peters: Red, White, and Brown in Canada in September 2008 and in the US on January 27, 2009. The DVD/CD was recorded on February 2, 2008, at The WAMU Theatre at Madison Square Garden. Peters and his brother, Clayton Peters, who is also his manager, self-produced and financed Red, White and Brown. In May 2011, Peters released Russell Peters: The Green Card Tour a live performance recorded in front of a total audience of 30,000 over a two-night performance at O2 Arena in London, England.^[17]

On October 26, 2010, Peters released his autobiography, Call me Russell, co - written with his brother Clayton and Dannis Koromilas.

Earnings[link]

According to Forbes.com, Peters earned an estimated $15 million between June 2009 and June 2010, continuing his run as one of the highest-paid comedians after earning an estimated $5 million in the prior year's report. He was ranked as the 7th highest paid comedian by Forbes.^[18][19]

Comedic style[link]

Russell Peters' stand-up performances are mostly made up of observational comedy where he uses humour to highlight racial, ethnic, class and cultural stereotypes. He often refers his own life experiences growing up in an Indian family and impersonates various English accents of different groups in his act to poke fun at each group. As Peters told an audience in San Francisco, "I don't make the stereotypes, I just see them."^[20] Russell Peters uses his minority status to allow him to poke fun at different races in his performance, but according to an interview done for The National, he does not intend to put down or offend different races and cultures, but instead tries to raise them up through humour.^[21]

Peters' is widely known for his comedy punchlines "Somebody gonna get a hurt real bad" in which he tells a joke about his childhood with a traditional Indian father who would use corporal punishment and “Be a man!" while imitating an Asian trying to get him to pay more for an item at a shop.^[22]

Personal life[link]

Peters proposed to girlfriend Monica Diaz on July 10, 2010, at the Los Angeles International Airport. He announced the engagement via Twitter.^[23][24] The couple married on August 20, 2010 at A Little White Wedding Chapel in Las Vegas. The wedding was attended by about 20 guests, including an Elvis impersonator. Peters and Diaz had their first child, a girl, who was due to be born on February 23, 2011. When announcing the pregnancy, Peters told The Canadian Press, "Did I get married because she was knocked up? I would say that expedited it." His daughter was born two and a half months early (on December 14, 2010), but was healthy as Peters stated on his Twitter. She was given the name Crystianna Marie Peters.

Peters lives in Los Angeles and owns two homes there. He also owns homes in Las Vegas and Vaughan, Ontario.^[25]

Filmography[link]

Television and film appearances[link]

Peters has appeared in a few films, most recently in the 2011 Canadian-Punjabi movie titled Speedy Singhs alongside Camilla Belle, Anupham Kher, and Vinay Virmani. He has also appeared in Senior Skip Day starring Larry Miller, Tara Reid, and Gary Lundy. Besides this, he has also had short appearances in the 1994 film Boozecan as Snake's Friend, the 1999 film Tiger Claws III as Detective Elliott, the 2004 film My Baby's Daddy as the obstetrician, the 2006 film Quarter Life Crisis as Dilip Kumar, the 2007 film The Take as Dr. Sharma, and the 2008 film Senior Skip Day as Uncle Todd.

Peters starred in a Christmas special,A Russell Peters Christmas aired in Canada on 1 December, 2011. Guests included Michael Bublé, Pamela Anderson, Jon Lovitz among others.^[27]

He also acted in Duncan Jones's movie Source Code as Max, an amateur comedian with a bad attitude, and is scheduled to star as "Pervius" in National Lampoon's The Legend of Awesomest Maximus.^[28]

Acting roles – television

• "Comics Without Borders" (2008)
• Russell Peters: Red, White and Brown (2008)
• Senior Skip Day/High School's Day Off (Australia title) (2008)- Uncle Todd
• Bob's Burgers - "Moody Foodie" (Season 2, Episode 7) - Tran

Appearances on television

• "A Russell Peters Christmas" - Himself (1 December 2011)
• "Lopez Tonight" - Himself (2010)
• "The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson" – Himself (2009)
• "The 9th Annual Canadian Comedy Awards" (2008)- Himself (Winner – Best Large Venue Stand-up)
• "CBC News: The Hour" .... Himself – Episode dated 18 September 2008 (2008) TV episode .... Himself
• "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno" – Himself – Episode dated 15 February 2008 (2008)
• "Def Comedy Jam" – Episode #8.4 (2008) TV episode – Himself/Comedian
• "Pulse: The Desi Beat" – Episode #1.9 (2007) TV episode – Himself
• "Video on Trial" – Episode #3.3 (2007) TV episode – Himself
• "Comics Unleashed" – Episode #1.6 (2009) TV episode- Himself
• The 4th Annual Canadian Comedy Awards (2039) – Himself
• The 5th Annual Canadian Comedy Awards (2004) – Nominee (Male Stand-up)
• MTV Cribs (Where he featured on two different episodes)
• "8 out of 10 Cats" (Season 12, Episode 9)

Self

• Heckler (2007)
• Let's All Hate Toronto (2007)

References[link]

Further reading[link]

• Russell Peters (26 July 2011). Call Me Russell. Random House Digital, Inc.. ISBN 978-0-385-66965-8. http://books.google.com/books?id=Man0-BpnFjkC&pg=PP1. 

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Russell Peters

• Russell named first Toronto ambassador

Michael Bublé
Bublé in February 2011
Background information
Birth name	Michael Steven Bublé
Born	(1975-09-09) 9 September 1975 (age 36) Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada[1]
Genres	Big band, traditional pop, jazz
Occupations	Singer, songwriter, actor
Instruments	Vocals
Years active	1996–present
Labels	143/Reprise
Associated acts	Naturally 7, Jann Arden, Laura Pausini, Boyz II Men, Chris Botti, Leon Jackson, Nelly Furtado
Website	michaelbuble.com

Michael Steven Bublé ( /ˈbuːbleɪ/; born 9 September 1975) is an Italian Canadian singer and actor. He has won several awards, including three Grammy Awards^[2][3] and multiple Juno Awards.^[4] His first album reached the top ten in Canada and the UK. He found a worldwide audience with his 2005 album It's Time, and his 2007 album Call Me Irresponsible which reached number one on the Canadian Albums Chart, the U.K. Albums Chart, the U.S. Billboard 200 albums chart, the Australian ARIA Albums Chart and several European charts. Bublé has sold more than 30 million albums worldwide.^[5]

Early life[link]

Michael Bublé was born in the City of Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada to Lewis Bublé, a salmon fisherman,^[6] and Amber (née Santagà).^[7][8] He has two younger sisters,^[9] Crystal (an actress) and Brandee.^[10] He attended Seaforth Elementary School and Cariboo Hill Secondary School.^[11] According to an Oprah interview on 9 October 2009, Bublé dreamed of becoming a famous singer since age two. When he was a teenager, he slept with his Bible and prayed to become a singer.^[12][13] Bublé's interest in jazz music began around age five^[14] when his family played Bing Crosby's White Christmas album at Christmas time.^[14][15][16] The first time that his family noticed his singing talent was at Christmas time when Bublé was 13 years old, and they heard him powerfully sing the phrase "May your days be merry and bright" when the family was singing to the song "White Christmas" in a car ride.^[12][17]

Bublé had a strong passion for ice hockey and wanted to become a professional ice hockey player for the Vancouver Canucks growing up, but believed he was not good at it,^[18] stating: "I wanted so bad to be a hockey player... If I was any good at hockey, I probably wouldn't be singing right now."^[19] Bublé often played hockey in his youth,^[20][21] watched Vancouver Canucks games with his father,^[22] and said that he "went to every single home game as a kid. . . I remember I wanted to be Gary Lupul, I wanted to be Patrik Sundstrom and Ivan Hlinka. I used to think that being named Michael Bublé was pretty cool because I was close to being called Jiri Bubla."^[20] Bublé also shared his hockey interest with his grandfather.^[23]

From age 14, Bublé spent six years working during the summer as a commercial fisherman with his father and crewmates.^[6][24] Bublé described his work experience as "The most deadly physical work I’ll ever know in my lifetime. We’d be gone for two, sometimes three months at a time and the experience of living and working among guys over twice my age taught me a lot about responsibility and what it means to be a man."^[9]

His first singing engagements were in nightclubs at the age of 16 and were facilitated by his Italian grandfather Demetrio Santagà,^[7] a plumber originally from the small town of Preganziol,^[25] in the district of Treviso, who offered his plumbing services in exchange for stage time for his grandson.^[9] Bublé's grandfather also paid for his singing lessons. One of his vocal instructors was Joseph Shore, the opera baritone.^[17] Bublé grew up listening to his grandfather's collection of jazz records and credits his grandfather in encouraging his love for jazz music. "My grandfather was really my best friend growing up. He was the one who opened me up to a whole world of music that seemed to have been passed over by my generation. Although I like rock 'n' roll and modern music, the first time my granddad played me the Mills Brothers, something magical happened. The lyrics were so romantic, so real, the way a song should be for me. It was like seeing my future flash before me. I wanted to be a singer and I knew that this was the music that I wanted to sing."^[26] Bublé never stopped believing that he would become a star but admitted he was probably the only one who believed in his dream, stating that even his maternal grandfather thought Bublé was going to be "an opening act for somebody in Las Vegas".^[27] Bublé's maternal grandmother Iolanda Moscone^[28][29] was also Italian, from Carrufo,^[28] Villa Santa Lucia degli Abruzzi, Italy.^[30] Bublé has stated he never learned to read and write music, using only emotion to drive his songwriting ability.^[18][31][32]

At the age of 18, Bublé entered a local talent contest and won. But after winning, he was disqualified by organizer Bev Delich because he was underage. After that, Delich entered Bublé in the Canadian Youth Talent Search, which he won. Following that win, Bublé asked Delich to be his manager. Delich signed on and represented Bublé for the next seven not-so-fruitful years. According to Delich, Bublé would do every gig imaginable, including talent shows, conventions, cruise ships, malls, hotel lounges, bars, clubs, corporate gigs, musical revues, singing telegrams, and even the occasional singing Santa Claus gig.^{[17][24][33][34]}

In 1996, Bublé appeared in TV's "Death Game" (aka Mortal Challenge) as a Drome Groupie. Also in 1996, he appeared (uncredited) in 2 episodes of The X-Files as a Submarine Sailor.^[35]

Bublé's first national TV performance was on a 1997 award-winning Bravo! documentary titled Big Band Boom!, directed by Mark Glover Masterson.

Beginning in 1997, Bublé also became a frequent guest on Vicki Gabereau's national talk show on the CTV network. During its first season the Vancouver-based program aired live, which ultimately worked in Bublé's favour. When a scheduled guest was forced to cancel, the show's music producer (Mark Fuller) often asked Bublé to fill in at the last minute. On one occasion, Bublé shared guest duties with fellow British Columbian Diana Krall, who was already a Grammy-nominated jazz musician. According to Fuller, Krall was suitably impressed with Bublé's performance. The Gabereau appearances provided Bublé with great exposure, but they also helped the singer hone his television skills as a performer and as an interview guest. In a mutual show of gratitude, Bublé appeared on the final Gabereau show in 2005, along with Jann Arden and Elvis Costello.

Bublé received two Genie Award-nominations in 2000 for two songs he wrote for the film Here's to Life! ("I've Never Been in Love Before", "Dumb ol' Heart").^[36] He recorded three independent albums (First Dance, 1996; Babalu, 2001; Dream, 2002).^[37] But by 25 years of age, Bublé moved from British Columbia to Toronto, Ontario and was ready to give up the dream of professional musicianship to move back to Vancouver, British Columbia to pursue a career in journalism, when his lucky break came in 2000.^[17][38]

Music career[link]

2000–02: Musical beginnings[link]

In 2000, Bublé's career breakthrough came from a surprising chain of events. An aide to former Prime Minister Brian Mulroney, Michael McSweeney, saw Bublé's performance at a business party^[17] and received a copy of Bublé’s self-financed independent album. McSweeney showed the album to Mulroney and his wife and Bublé was subsequently invited to sing at the wedding of Mulroney's daughter Caroline, where he sang Kurt Weill's "Mack the Knife".^[17] At the wedding, Bublé was introduced to David Foster, a multi-Grammy Award-winning producer and record executive who had worked previously with artists such as Madonna, Brandy Norwood, Whitney Houston, Michael Jackson, Céline Dion, Barbra Streisand, Kenny G., Cher, Josh Groban, and Andrea Bocelli.^[17][39]

Initially, Foster was reluctant to sign Bublé to his 143 Records label because he "didn’t know how to market this kind of music." Bublé moved to Los Angeles for a brief period, with his agent, to convince Foster to sign him. Eventually, Foster agreed to produce an album for him if he raised $500,000 to cover the costs of the production, which Bublé did. Foster ended up covering the costs of production in the end under his label, with no assurances of support from Warner Brothers, and after Bublé received the personal stamp of approval and support of Foster's friend Paul Anka. After David Foster agreed to produce Bublé’s debut album, Bruce Allen, whom Bublé had pursued for years to be his manager, also signed Bublé.^[40][41]

Bublé did some acting in this period; in 2000, as a karaoke singer in Duets opposite Gwyneth Paltrow and Huey Lewis, and in 2001, as Van Martin (a club owner), in Totally Blonde, produced by Andrew Van Slee.^[35]

[edit] 2003–04: Michael Bublé

Michael Bublé's debut album, was released 11 February 2003 by 143 Records/Reprise Records. The album features a range of standards from various eras including "Fever", "The Way You Look Tonight", "For Once in My Life", "Moondance" and "You'll Never Find Another Love Like Mine". Also on the album is "How Can You Mend a Broken Heart?", with Barry Gibb of the Bee Gees singing back up vocals. The album went to the top 10 in Canada, the United Kingdom, South Africa and reached #1 in Australia. It was #33 on the ARIA Top 100 Albums of 2003.^[42] It achieved marginal success in the United States reaching the top 50 on the Billboard 200.^[43] Three tracks from the album (Kissing a Fool, How Can You Mend a Broken Heart?, Sway) reached the top 30 on the Billboard Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks chart.

Bublé appeared nationally on NBC television in the United States on the Today program on 14 February 2003.^[44] A campaign featuring "Fever" was launched before Valentine's Day with a quirky marketing campaign that simply stated "You pronounce it Boo-blay." The album went Gold there. Then he began to travel all over the world to promote the album. The tour included Singapore, South Africa, the Philippines, the United Kingdom, Canada, South America, and eventually the United States.

In November 2003, Bublé released a Christmas EP Let It Snow, containing 5 previously unreleased tracks, that peaked at 56 on the Billboard 200.^[45] The title track reached the top 40 of the Australia singles chart. A live DVD/CD called Come Fly with Me was released in early 2004. The Come Fly with Me CD was #99 on the Aria Top 100 Albums of 2004.^[42] The DVD included live footage and behind the scenes footage of Bublé's first world tour. The CD included 3 new studio tracks, 2 live recordings of new songs, and 3 live recordings of songs from the album Michael Bublé. The album peaked at 55 on the Billboard 200.^[46] In November 2004 the Christmas edition of his debut album was released as a 2-disc set that included both the Michael Bublé and the Let It Snow EP.^[47]

Bublé won the "New Artist of the Year" award at the 2004 Juno Awards and his album was nominated for "Album of the Year", but lost out to Sam Roberts.

Bublé appeared in the 2003 movie The Snow Walker. Also in 2003 he portrayed a lounge performer on an episode of Days of Our Lives.^[44] In 2004 he appeared as himself in Las Vegas.^[35]

Songs from Bublé's debut album ("For Once in My Life", "Kissing a Fool") were released on the soundtrack for the movie Down with Love (2003).^[48] The soundtrack also included a previously unreleased duet with Holly Palmer of the movie's title theme. The Junkie XL remix of the theme for the 60s TV cartoon version of Spider-Man from Bublé's Babalu album was played during the closing credits of Spider-Man 2 (2004), and this version was also released as a single. A CD was released in 2003 of the 7 songs that Bublé sang for Totally Blonde, calling it Totally Bublé.^[49] After the success of Michael Bublé's self-titled debut, DRG Records belatedly released the jazzy soundtrack from the 2001 film Totally Blonde in which Bublé had a co-starring role as a nightclub singer/club owner. Capitalizing on Bublé's newfound stardom, DRG Records basically ignored the music's connection to the film by altering the title and putting a shot of Bublé on the cover making it appear as if this was a proper Michael Bublé release. The slight misrepresentation was not lost on Bublé who has stated on his website that he did not want these songs released, but that it was out of his control.^[50] His version of "Come Fly with Me" is used in Looney Tunes: Back in Action.

[edit] 2005–06: It's Time

	"Feeling Good" noicon A sample of the song "Feeling Good".
Problems listening to this file? See media help.

Bublé's second studio album, It's Time, was released 15 February 2005, again by 143/Reprise Records. The album included standards from a variety of eras including "You Don't Know Me", "Feeling Good", "Can't Buy Me Love", "Save the Last Dance for Me", "Song for You", and "Quando, Quando, Quando" (a duet with Canadian pop singer Nelly Furtado). It also included an original track, "Home", co-written by Bublé, his musical director Alan Chang, and Amy Foster-Gilles (David Foster’s daughter).

The album reached #1 in Canada, Italy, Japan, and on the Billboard Top Jazz chart, #2 in Australia, and #7 on the Billboard 200. Additionally it reached the top 10 in the United Kingdom, Switzerland, Norway, Austria, and Sweden. The album spent 104 weeks on the Billboard Top Jazz chart, including a record-breaking 78 weeks in the #1 spot.^[51] It’s Time was Billboard's Top Jazz Album in both 2005^[52] and 2006^[53] The first single, "Feeling Good", was met with little commercial success. However, the second single from the album, "Home" reached #1 on Billboard Adult Contemporary Tracks chart and #72 on the Billboard Hot 100.^[54] The third single "Save the Last Dance for Me" reached #5 on the Billboard AC Track Chart and #99 on the Billboard Hot 100.^[54]