http://timestranscript.canadaeast.co...rticle/1021789
Buble shines at Junos
Published Monday April 19th, 2010
Vanvouver singer picks up four trophies at fogged-in ceremony
THE CANADIAN PRESS
ST. JOHN'S, N.L. -- On a weekend when a dense blanket of fog wreaked havoc in St. John's, one thing was still perfectly clear last night: Michael Buble was the shining star of the 39th annual Juno Awards.
Group of the Year Metric accept their trophy at the Juno Awards last night.
Singer Michael Buble accepts his Juno for Single of the Year for Haven’t Missed You Yet at the Juno Awards yesterday in St. John’s.
The Vancouver crooner nabbed a leading four trophies overall, including album of the year for his blockbuster "Crazy Love," single of the year for "Haven't Met You Yet" and the Juno fan choice award.
Two Toronto hip-hop artists split much of the remaining spoils, with 23-year-old rapper Drake picking up trophies for rap recording of the year and new artist of the year and K'naan winning songwriter of the year, to go with the artist of the year trophy he earned at Saturday's gala.
Toronto new-wave outfit Metric also became double winners Sunday, picking up group of the year honours to go with the alternative album of the year trophy they won Saturday.
But this was Buble's show. The 34-year-old entered the weekend with six nominations and left with four crystal trophies, winning one Saturday and three Sunday. That brings his career Juno tally to 10 awards.
The Juno haul is the latest high point in a sparkling year for Buble.
Last September, his fourth studio album, "Crazy Love," spent two weeks at No. 1 on the charts both in the U.S. and Canada. The crooner announced his engagement to Argentine model Luisana Lopilato in January, the same month he won his second career Grammy, for best traditional pop vocal album.
He also made a prominent appearance during the Olympics' closing ceremony in February, taking part in an elaborate production piece that saw the reliably self-deprecating crooner ride atop a motorized Mountie hat.
All of the night's big winners -- Buble, Drake, Metric and K'naan -- performed in front of an appreciative St. John's crowd that began assembling along the red carpet in the early afternoon of a balmy day in the windswept island town.
Shrieking fans gave 16-year-old teen-pop heartthrob Justin Bieber a typically zealous welcome then, but the Junos weren't quite as warm.
The mop-topped crooner lost out in all three categories in which he was nominated, but still took the stage for a performance.
Billy Talent was similarly shut out during the broadcast, but the Mississauga, Ont., rockers didn't go home empty-handed after securing the trophy for rock album of the year on Saturday.
Other winners at Saturday's non-televised gala included Jacksoul, who lost frontman Haydain Neale to cancer in November, hometown favourite Amelia Curran and Scottish-born country crooner Johnny Reid.
Bryan Adams was presented with the Allan Waters Humanitarian Award but couldn't make it to St. John's because he was stuck in London, where planes were still being grounded due to the volcanic ash cloud. April Wine was inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame.
At the opposite end of the seniority spectrum, Drake was the Junos' newest star.
His performance was the penultimate of the evening and his two trophies came before the release of his first official full-length album. The oft-delayed "Thank Me Later" is currently scheduled for a June release.
Fortunately for organizers, the show's scheduled performers were not similarly delayed.
Excessive fog and rain had left scads of journalists and performers stranded in airports around the country before the Junos, but ultimately the full complement of scheduled performers made it into St. John's to perform during the telecast.