The nominees for The 52nd Annual JUNO Awards are out and I thought I would do something different this year. Instead of immediately forming an opinion on who I think should win, I decided to do a little research and listen to all of the albums in the categories that interested me.

I started out with the Children’s Album of the Year category. I had already heard the Splash ‘N Boots album as they are phenomenal entertainers and we went to see them in concert in the fall. They won for their last album Heart Parade in 2021, and rightfully so. It is one of the best kids’ albums I’ve ever heard.

I noticed that Maestro Fresh Wes had an album in the category, so I started there. While he is a legend in the Canadian Hip Hop scene, this album falls flat. It is a narrative about going back to school after a summer break. The one funny thing was a song called “Class is in Session” where the teacher is played by another Canadian heavyweight, Classified. It was nice to see the story revolve around a young girl and to hear Keysha Freshh bringing her to life, but overall, I wouldn’t give this album the prize.

Next, I tried listening to the Walk Off The Earth selection. They have incredible videos on TikTok of the whole band playing instruments in unconventional ways. I highly recommend checking them out on social media. This album is all about different kinds of food. It is upbeat, catchy, and I thought this might be my pick.

Beppie was my next discovery. Right away, the music was upbeat and fun. It sounded great too. But it didn’t capture me and hold my attention like I wanted it too.

Last off was “Say Hello” by Jeremy and Jazzy. I had never heard of this group before but they quickly won me over. They have a nice variety of songs that have positive messages. A few songs are quite inspiring too. I did a deeper dive and saw that they have animated music videos for their characters and even a series on CBC. As the album played, I had to declare this the clear winner.

Sorry, Splash’N Boots, but if I had to give out the award this year, I’d give it to Jeremy and Jazzy.

This winners for the 52nd Juno Awards will be unveiled in Edmonton, Alberta at The JUNO Opening Night Awards Presented by Music Canada on Saturday, March 11 and The JUNO Awards Broadcast on Monday, March 13. I’ll be watching to see of the people who voted on the awards agreed with me.

Stay tuned, I will be looking at the Hip Hop categories next!