The Polaris Music Prize annually recognizes the best Canadian full-length album of the year. Past winners include Buffy Sainte-Marie (2015), Godspeed You! Black Emperor (2013), Feist (2012) and Arcade Fire (2011). As of today, the 2016 Short List has been announced. It includes:
Black Mountain’s IV
Basia Bulat’s Good Advice
Grimes’ Art Angels
Carly Rae Jepsen’s E•MO•TION
Kaytranada’s 99.9%
Jessy Lanza’s Oh No
PUP’s The Dream Is Over
Andy Shauf’s The Party
U.S. Girls’ Half Free
White Lung’s Paradise
This is the second time that Grimes, Jessy Lanza and Black Mountain have made the Short List, while Carly Rae Jepsen, Kaytranada, PUP, Andy Shauf, U.S. Girls and White Lung are all first-timers.
Several notable albums that were on the Long List last month did not make the cut this time around. Those include Justin Bieber’s Purpose, Drake’s Views and The Weeknd’s Beauty Behind the Madness.
The nominees are chosen by a jury of Canadian music journalists, broadcasters and music bloggers. According to the Polaris Music Prize website, the contenders are “judged solely on artistic merit, without consideration of genre or record sales.”
The winner will be announced and awarded $50,000 at the Polaris Music Gala on Sept. 19. Each of the other nine short-listers receive $3,000 courtesy of Slaight Music, an organization that supports and cultivates Canada’s music community.