The nominees for the Polaris Prize shortlist were just announced, and band Arcade Fire as well as rapper Drake are on the list.
The entire Polaris Prize shortlist is:
Arcade Fire — Reflektor
Basia Bulat — Tall Tall Shadow
Mac DeMarco — Salad Days
Drake — Nothing Was The Same
Jessy Lanza — Pull My Hair Back
Owen Pallett — In Conflict
Shad — Flying Colours
Tanya Tagaq — Animism
Timber Timbre — Hot Dreams
YAMANTAKA // SONIC TITAN — UZU
Taken from the 41 album Long List, seven of this year’s nominees have made the Short List in previous years: Arcade Fire, Basia Bulat, Drake, Owen Pallett, Shad, Timber Timbre and YAMANTAKA // SONIC TITAN. Mac DeMarco, Jessy Lanza and Tanya Tagaq are first-time Short Listers.
Also of note, this is the third Short List nomination for three separate artists:
Arcade Fire (2007, 2011, 2014)
Owen Pallett/Final Fantasy (2006, 2010, 2014)
Shad (2008, 2010, 2014)
The only other act to have three Short List nominations is Metric (2006, 2009, 2013).
The 2014 winner will be determined by an 11-member Grand Jury during the Polaris Gala at The Carlu in Toronto on September 22nd, who will be selected from the larger pool of nearly 190 music journalists, broadcasters and music bloggers from across Canada who make up the Polaris jury.
It was also announced that actor/writer/comedian Jay Baruchel will host the 2014 Polaris Gala.
The eligibility period for the 2014 Polaris Music Prize runs from June 1, 2013 to May 31, 2014. The Polaris Music Prize awards $30,000 to the artist who creates the Canadian Album of the Year, judged solely on artistic merit, without consideration of genre or record sales. Last year’s winner was Godspeed You! Black Emperor for Allelujah! Don’t Bend! Ascend! Past winners include Feist (2012), Arcade Fire (2011), Karkwa (2010), Fucked Up (2009), Caribou (2008), Patrick Watson (2007) and Final Fantasy (2006).
Photo: Arcade Fire
