Juno Award for Breakthrough Artist of the Year

The Juno Award for Breakthrough Artist of the Year is an annual award given by the Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences to the best new musician in Canada. The award has been given since 1974, when it was originally divided into separate awards for men and women under the names Most Promising Female Vocalist of the Year and Most Promising Male Vocalist of the Year. These two awards were merged in 1994 into Best New Solo Artist, which was then changed to New Artist of the Year in 2003, and finally changed to its current title beginning in 2013. The award was customarily presented by the Minister of Canadian Heritage.

The award was discontinued following the Juno Awards of 2024. At the following Juno Awards of 2025, it was merged with the sibling category for Breakthrough Group of the Year into a single category for Breakthrough Artist or Group of the Year.

Recipients

Most Promising Female Vocalist of the Year and Most Promising Male Vocalist of the Year (1974–93)

Year	Most Promising Female Vocalist of the Year	Nominees	Most Promising Male Vocalist of the Year	Nominees	Refs.
1974	Cathy Young	Linda Brown Donna Moon Marie Claire Seguin Donna Warner Nancy White	Ian Thomas	James Leroy Tom Middleton Dave Nicol Michael Tarry	[1] [2] [3]
1975	Suzanne Stevens	Alexis Rose Radlin Charity Brown Debbie Fleming	Gino Vannelli	Bill King Justin Paige Keath Barrie Paul Hann	[4] [5]
1976	Patricia Dahlquist	Lisa Hartt Robin Moir Shawne Jackson Sylvia Tyson	Dan Hill	Bim Bruce Miller Lewis Furey Raoul Duguay	[6] [7]
1977	Colleen Peterson	Chris Nielsen Denise McCann Gail Dahms Patricia Anne McKinnon	Burton Cummings	Danny Hooper Nestor Pistor Roger Doucet Wayne St. John	[8] [9]
1978	Lisa Dalbello	Alma Faye Brooks Claudja Barry Glory-Anne Carriere Roxanne Goldade	David Bradstreet	Malcolm Tomlinson Pat Travers Peter Pringle Walter Rossi	[10] [11]
1979	Claudja Barry	Carolyne Bernier Denise McCann Ronney Abramson Roxanne Goldade	Nick Gilder	Marc Jordan Martin Stevens Pat Travers Rick James	[12] [13]
1980	France Joli	Alma Faye Brooks Karen Silver Laura Vinson Nana McLean	Walter Rossi	Bryan Adams Freddie James Gary Fjellgaard Richard Stepp	[14] [15]
1981	Carole Pope	Dianne Heatherington Laura Vinson Michaele Jordana Shari Ulrich	Graham Shaw	B. B. Gabor Bryan Adams Long John Baldry Wayne Rostad	[16] [17]
1982	Shari Ulrich	Karen Silver Rita Johns Salome Bey Terry Crawford	Eddie Schwartz	B. B. Gabor Gary O' Jim Byrnes Peter Pringle	[18] [19]
1983	Lydia Taylor	Lee Aaron Luba Mary Lu Zahalan Terry Crawford	Kim Mitchell	David Roberts David Wilcox Lawrence Gowan Leroy Sibbles	[20] [21]
1984	Sherry Kean	Ann Mortifee Diane Tell Jane Siberry Veronique Beliveau	Zappacosta	Johnnie Lovesin LaBarge Nash the Slash Tim Ryan	[22] [23]
1985	k.d. lang	Belinda Metz Connie Kaldor Liberty Silver Vanity	Paul Janz	Claude Dubois Daniel Lavoie Johnnie Lovesin Johnny MacLeod	[24] [25]
1986	Kim Richardson	Chantal Condor Francesca Gagnon Sheree Jeacocke Siobhan Crawley	Billy Newton-Davis	Doug Cameron Michel Lemieux Scott Merritt Stan Meissner	[26] [27]
1987	Rita MacNeil	Céline Dion Debbie Johnson Heather Bishop Nancy Martinez	Tim Feehan	Christopher Ward Daniel Lavoie David Gibson Mark Korven	[28] [29]
No award ceremony was held in 1988
1989	Sass Jordan	Candi Patti Jannetta Lisa Lougheed Michelle Wright	Colin James	Andrew Cash Art Bergmann Jeff Healey Michael Breen	[30] [31]
1990	Alannah Myles	Anita Perras Annette Ducharme Mary Margaret O'Hara Mitsou	Daniel Lanois	Neil Harnett Ray Lyell Roch Voisine Rufus Wainwright	[32] [33]
1991	Sue Medley	Holly Cole Jane Child Lorraine Segato Mae Moore Patricia Conroy	Andy Curran	Bob Wiseman Danny Brooks Francis Martin John James Kenny MacLean	[34] [35]
1992	Alanis Morissette	Chrissy Steele Darby Mills Kerri Anderson Meryn Cadell	Keven Jordan	Glen Stace Lennie Gallant Stephen Fearing Wild T	[36] [37]
1993	Julie Masse	Lisa Brokop Priscilla Wright Sofia Shinas Sue Foley	John Bottomley	Devon Don Neilson John McDermott Steve Fox	[38] [39]

Best New Solo Artist (1994–2002)

Year	Winner	Nominees	Refs.
1994	Jann Arden	Charlie Major Jim Witter Mario Pelchat Meryn Cadell	[40]
1995	Susan Aglukark	Andrew Matheson David Gogo Éric Lapointe Sara Craig	[41]
1996	Ashley MacIsaac	Amanda Marshall Kim Stockwood Lara Fabian Laura Smith	[42]
1997	Terri Clark	Chantal Kreviazuk Damhnait Doyle Duane Steele Wendy Lands	[43]
1998	Holly McNarland	Amy Sky Dayna Manning Lhasa de Sela Tariq	[44]
1999	Melanie Doane	Bruce Guthro Emm Gryner Hayden Tamia	[45]
2000	Tal Bachman	Ivana Santilli Jorane Tara Lyn Hart Tory Cassis	[46]
2001	Nelly Furtado	Adam Gregory Amanda Stott j. englishman Sarah Harmer	[47]
2002	Hawksley Workman	Gabrielle Destroismaisons Jelleestone Maren Ord Thrust	[48]

New Artist of the Year (2003–2012)

Year	Winner	Nominees	Refs.
2003	Avril Lavigne	k-os Sam Roberts Sarah Slean Shawn Desman	[49]
2004	Michael Bublé	Barlow Danny Michel Kazzer Kinnie Starr	[50]
2005	Feist	Fefe Dobson Keshia Chanté Matt Dusk Matt Mays	[51]
2006	Daniel Powter	Divine Brown Jonas Martha Wainwright Skye Sweetnam	[52]
2007	Tomi Swick	Eva Avila Melissa O'Neil Neverending White Lights Patrick Watson	[53]
2008	Serena Ryder	Belly Jeremy Fisher Jill Barber Justin Nozuka	[54]
2009	Lights	Crystal Shawanda Jessie Farrell Kreesha Turner Nikki Yanofsky	[55]
2010	Drake	Carly Rae Jepsen Danny Fernandes Justin Bieber Shiloh	[56]
2011	Meaghan Smith	Basia Bulat Bobby Bazini Caribou Hannah Georgas	[57]
2012	Dan Mangan	Alyssa Reid Diamond Rings JRDN Lindi Ortega	[58]

Breakthrough Artist of the Year (2013–present)

Year	Winner	Nominees	Refs.
2013	The Weeknd	Cold Specks Grimes Kira Isabella Shawn Hook	[59]
2014	Brett Kissel	Florence K Tim Hicks Tyler Shaw Wake Owl	[60]
2015	Kiesza	Glenn Morrison Jess Moskaluke Mac DeMarco Shawn Mendes	[61]
2016	Alessia Cara	Coleman Hell Francesco Yates Scott Helman Tobias Jesso Jr.	[62]
2017	Ruth B	Andy Shauf Kaytranada Jazz Cartier Tory Lanez	[63]
2018	Jessie Reyez	Allan Rayman Charlotte Cardin NAV Virginia to Vegas	[64]
2019	bülow	Grandson Killy Johnny Orlando Meghan Patrick	[65]
2020	Lennon Stella	bbno$ Ali Gatie Alexandra Stréliski Tenille Townes	[66]
2021	JP Saxe	Ryland James Tate McRae Powfu Curtis Waters	[67]
2022	Jessia	347aidan Faouzia Pressa Tesher	[68]
2023	Preston Pablo	Dax Devon Cole RealestK Rêve	[69]
2024	Talk	Karan Aujla Connor Price Lu Kala Shubh	[70]

See also

• Music portal
• Canada portal

• Music of Canada

References

1. "Most Promising Female Vocalist of the Year: Yearly summary: 1974". JunoAwards.ca. Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences. Archived from the original on June 23, 2015. Retrieved June 30, 2012.
2. "Most Promising Male Vocalist of the Year: Yearly summary: 1974". JunoAwards.ca. Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences. Archived from the original on June 23, 2015. Retrieved June 30, 2012.
3. "Juno Award Nominees Listed". Billboard. March 9, 1974. p. 54. Archived from the original on August 6, 2017. Retrieved August 5, 2017.
4. "Most Promising Female Vocalist of the Year: Yearly summary: 1975". JunoAwards.ca. Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences. Archived from the original on June 23, 2015. Retrieved June 30, 2012.
5. "Most Promising Male Vocalist of the Year: Yearly summary: 1975". JunoAwards.ca. Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved June 30, 2012.
6. "Most Promising Female Vocalist of the Year: Yearly summary: 1976". JunoAwards.ca. Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences. Archived from the original on June 23, 2015. Retrieved June 30, 2012.
7. "Most Promising Male Vocalist of the Year: Yearly summary: 1976". JunoAwards.ca. Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences. Archived from the original on June 23, 2015. Retrieved June 30, 2012.
8. "Most Promising Female Vocalist of the Year: Yearly summary: 1977". JunoAwards.ca. Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences. Archived from the original on June 23, 2015. Retrieved June 30, 2012.
9. "Most Promising Male Vocalist of the Year: Yearly summary: 1977". JunoAwards.ca. Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences. Archived from the original on June 23, 2015. Retrieved June 30, 2012.
10. "Most Promising Female Vocalist of the Year: Yearly summary: 1978". JunoAwards.ca. Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences. Archived from the original on June 23, 2015. Retrieved June 30, 2012.
11. "Most Promising Male Vocalist of the Year: Yearly summary: 1978". JunoAwards.ca. Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences. Archived from the original on June 23, 2015. Retrieved June 30, 2012.
12. "Most Promising Female Vocalist of the Year: Yearly summary: 1979". JunoAwards.ca. Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences. Archived from the original on June 23, 2015. Retrieved June 30, 2012.
13. "Most Promising Male Vocalist of the Year: Yearly summary: 1979". JunoAwards.ca. Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences. Archived from the original on June 23, 2015. Retrieved June 30, 2012.
14. "Most Promising Female Vocalist of the Year: Yearly summary: 1980". JunoAwards.ca. Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences. Archived from the original on June 23, 2015. Retrieved June 30, 2012.
15. "Most Promising Male Vocalist of the Year: Yearly summary: 1980". JunoAwards.ca. Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences. Archived from the original on June 23, 2015. Retrieved June 30, 2012.
16. "Most Promising Female Vocalist of the Year: Yearly summary: 1981". JunoAwards.ca. Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved June 30, 2012.
17. "Most Promising Male Vocalist of the Year: Yearly summary: 1981". JunoAwards.ca. Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved June 30, 2012.
18. "Most Promising Female Vocalist of the Year: Yearly summary: 1982". JunoAwards.ca. Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences. Archived from the original on June 23, 2015. Retrieved June 30, 2012.
19. "Most Promising Male Vocalist of the Year: Yearly summary: 1982". JunoAwards.ca. Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences. Archived from the original on June 23, 2015. Retrieved June 30, 2012.
20. "Most Promising Female Vocalist of the Year: Yearly summary: 1983". JunoAwards.ca. Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved June 30, 2012.
21. "Most Promising Male Vocalist of the Year: Yearly summary: 1983". JunoAwards.ca. Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences. Archived from the original on June 23, 2015. Retrieved June 30, 2012.
22. "Most Promising Female Vocalist of the Year: Yearly summary: 1984". JunoAwards.ca. Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences. Archived from the original on June 23, 2015. Retrieved June 30, 2012.
23. "Most Promising Male Vocalist of the Year: Yearly summary: 1984". JunoAwards.ca. Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved June 30, 2012.
24. "Most Promising Female Vocalist of the Year: Yearly summary: 1985". JunoAwards.ca. Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences. Archived from the original on June 23, 2015. Retrieved June 30, 2012.
25. "Most Promising Male Vocalist of the Year: Yearly summary: 1985". JunoAwards.ca. Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences. Archived from the original on June 23, 2015. Retrieved June 30, 2012.
26. "Most Promising Female Vocalist of the Year: Yearly summary: 1986". JunoAwards.ca. Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences. Archived from the original on June 23, 2015. Retrieved June 30, 2012.
27. "Most Promising Male Vocalist of the Year: Yearly summary: 1986". JunoAwards.ca. Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences. Archived from the original on June 23, 2015. Retrieved June 30, 2012.
28. "Most Promising Female Vocalist of the Year: Yearly summary: 1987". JunoAwards.ca. Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences. Archived from the original on June 23, 2015. Retrieved June 30, 2012.
29. "Most Promising Male Vocalist of the Year: Yearly summary: 1987". JunoAwards.ca. Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences. Archived from the original on June 23, 2015. Retrieved June 30, 2012.
30. "Most Promising Female Vocalist of the Year: Yearly summary: 1989". JunoAwards.ca. Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved June 30, 2012.
31. "Most Promising Male Vocalist of the Year: Yearly summary: 1989". JunoAwards.ca. Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved June 30, 2012.
32. "Most Promising Female Vocalist of the Year: Yearly summary: 1990". JunoAwards.ca. Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences. Archived from the original on June 23, 2015. Retrieved June 30, 2012.
33. "Most Promising Male Vocalist of the Year: Yearly summary: 1990". JunoAwards.ca. Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences. Archived from the original on June 23, 2015. Retrieved June 30, 2012.
34. "Most Promising Female Vocalist of the Year: Yearly summary: 1991". JunoAwards.ca. Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences. Archived from the original on June 23, 2015. Retrieved June 30, 2012.
35. "Most Promising Male Vocalist of the Year: Yearly summary: 1991". JunoAwards.ca. Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences. Archived from the original on August 19, 2014. Retrieved June 30, 2012.
36. "Most Promising Female Vocalist of the Year: Yearly summary: 1992". JunoAwards.ca. Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved June 30, 2012.
37. "Most Promising Male Vocalist of the Year: Yearly summary: 1992". JunoAwards.ca. Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved June 30, 2012.
38. "Most Promising Female Vocalist of the Year: Yearly summary: 1993". JunoAwards.ca. Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences. Archived from the original on June 23, 2015. Retrieved June 30, 2012.
39. "Most Promising Male Vocalist of the Year: Yearly summary: 1993". JunoAwards.ca. Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences. Archived from the original on June 23, 2015. Retrieved June 30, 2012.
40. "Best New Solo Artist: Yearly summary: 1994". JunoAwards.ca. Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences. Archived from the original on June 23, 2015. Retrieved June 30, 2012.
41. "Best New Solo Artist: Yearly summary: 1995". JunoAwards.ca. Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences. Archived from the original on June 23, 2015. Retrieved June 30, 2012.
42. "Best New Solo Artist: Yearly summary: 1996". JunoAwards.ca. Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences. Archived from the original on June 23, 2015. Retrieved June 30, 2012.
43. "Best New Solo Artist: Yearly summary: 1997". JunoAwards.ca. Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences. Archived from the original on June 23, 2015. Retrieved June 30, 2012.
44. "Best New Solo Artist: Yearly summary: 1998". JunoAwards.ca. Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences. Archived from the original on June 23, 2015. Retrieved June 30, 2012.
45. "Best New Solo Artist: Yearly summary: 1999". JunoAwards.ca. Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved June 30, 2012.
46. "Best New Solo Artist: Yearly summary: 2000". JunoAwards.ca. Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences. Archived from the original on June 23, 2015. Retrieved June 30, 2012.
47. "Best New Solo Artist: Yearly summary: 2001". JunoAwards.ca. Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences. Archived from the original on June 23, 2015. Retrieved June 30, 2012.
48. "Best New Solo Artist: Yearly summary: 2002". JunoAwards.ca. Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences. Archived from the original on June 23, 2015. Retrieved June 30, 2012.
49. "New Artist of the Year: Yearly summary: 2003". JunoAwards.ca. Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved June 30, 2012.
50. "New Artist of the Year: Yearly summary: 2004". JunoAwards.ca. Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences. Archived from the original on June 23, 2015. Retrieved June 30, 2012.
51. "New Artist of the Year: Yearly summary: 2005". JunoAwards.ca. Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences. Archived from the original on June 23, 2015. Retrieved June 30, 2012.
52. "New Artist of the Year: Yearly summary: 2006". JunoAwards.ca. Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences. Archived from the original on June 23, 2015. Retrieved June 30, 2012.
53. "New Artist of the Year: Yearly summary: 2007". JunoAwards.ca. Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences. Archived from the original on June 23, 2015. Retrieved June 30, 2012.
54. "New Artist of the Year: Yearly summary: 2008". JunoAwards.ca. Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences. Archived from the original on June 23, 2015. Retrieved June 30, 2012.
55. "New Artist of the Year: Yearly summary: 2009". JunoAwards.ca. Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved June 30, 2012.
56. "New Artist of the Year: Yearly summary: 2010". JunoAwards.ca. Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences. Archived from the original on June 23, 2015. Retrieved June 30, 2012.
57. "New Artist of the Year: Yearly summary: 2011". JunoAwards.ca. Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences. Archived from the original on June 23, 2015. Retrieved June 30, 2012.
58. "New Artist of the Year: Yearly summary: 2012". JunoAwards.ca. Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences. Archived from the original on March 3, 2016. Retrieved June 30, 2012.
59. "Breakthrough Artist of the Year: Yearly summary: 2013". JunoAwards.ca. Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences. Archived from the original on June 23, 2015. Retrieved April 10, 2013.
60. "Breakthrough Artist of the Year: Yearly summary: 2014". JunoAwards.ca. Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved March 30, 2014.
61. "Breakthrough Artist of the Year: Yearly summary: 2015". JunoAwards.ca. Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved March 16, 2015.
62. "Breakthrough Artist of the Year: Yearly summary: 2016". JunoAwards.ca. Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences. Archived from the original on October 23, 2016. Retrieved September 12, 2016.
63. "Breakthrough Artist of the Year: Yearly summary: 2017". JunoAwards.ca. Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences. Archived from the original on April 29, 2018. Retrieved April 2, 2017.
64. "Breakthrough Artist of the Year: Yearly summary: 2018". JunoAwards.ca. Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences. Archived from the original on April 29, 2018. Retrieved March 25, 2018.
65. "Shawn Mendes and the Weeknd lead the 2019 Juno nominations". CBC Music, January 29, 2019.
66. Melody Lau, "Alessia Cara and Tory Lanez lead the 2020 Juno nominations". CBC Music, January 28, 2019.
67. Holly Gordon, "The Weeknd, JP Saxe, Jessie Reyez and Justin Bieber lead 2021 Juno Award nominations". CBC Music, March 9, 2021.
68. Jackson Weaver, "Charlotte Cardin, The Weeknd, Justin Bieber lead 2022 Juno Award nominees". CBC News, March 1, 2022.
69. "Junos 2023: full list of winners". CBC Music, March 13, 2023.
70. "Here are all the 2024 Juno nominees". CBC Music, February 6, 2024.