2016 Polaris Music Prize Long List Is Here

The 2016 Polaris Music Prize Long List has been announced.

Presented by CBC Music and produced by Blue Ant Media, the 40 Long List albums were unveiled earlier today at the Yukon Transportation Museum in Whitehorse, Yukon in association with the Yukon Film & Sound Commission and the assistance of Music Yukon.

The 2016 Polaris Music Prize Long List:

Art Bergmann — The Apostate

Justin Bieber — Purpose

Black Mountain — IV

Jean-Michel Blais — Il

Basia Bulat — Good Advice

Daniel Caesar — Pilgrim’s Paradise

Tanika Charles — Soul Run

City and Colour — If I Should Go Before You

Coeur de pirate — Roses

Dead Obies — Gesamtkunstwerk

Destroyer — Poison Season

Dilly Dally — Sore

Drake — VIEWS

Essaie pas — Demain est une autre nuit

Fred Fortin — Ultramarr

FOXTROTT — A Taller Us

Grimes — Art Angels

Half Moon Run — Sun Leads Me On

Veda Hille — Love Waves

Jazz Cartier — Hotel Paranoia

Carly Rae Jepsen — E•MO•TION

Junior Boys — Big Black Coat

Kaytranada — 99.90%

Jessy Lanza — Oh No

Majid Jordan — Majid Jordan

Michelle McAdorey — Into Her Future

Nap Eyes — Thought Rock Fish Scale

Safia Nolin — Limoilou

Operators — Blue Wave

Peaches — Rub

PUP — The Dream Is Over

Daniel Romano — Mosey

Andy Shauf — The Party

The Strumbellas — HOPE

Suuns — Hold/Still

U.S. Girls — Half Free

Un Blonde — Good Will Come To You

The Weeknd — Beauty Behind the Madness

White Lung — Paradise

Donovan Woods — Hard Settle, Ain’t Troubled

In total 183 titles made the first ballots of the 192 member jury.

This year’s Long List features 19 returning and 21 new nominees. With their newest nominations Basia Bulat (2008, 2010, 2014, 2016) and Drake (2012, 2014, 2015, 2016) now join The New Pornographers, Joel Plaskett and Patrick Watson as the only acts who’ve ever been Polaris nominated on four separate occasions. This is the third time Black Mountain, Coeur de pirate, Destroyer, Junior Boys, Daniel Romano and The Weeknd have had Polaris nominated albums.

The Whitehorse reveal event was hosted by CBC Calgary’s Katherine Duncan and featured the Honourable Stacey Hassard (Yukon Economic Development Minister), Teslin, Yukon performing artist Melaina Sheldon and Polaris jurors Ben Rayner (Toronto Star) and Sandra Sperounes (Postmedia’s Edmonton Journal) as presenters. Additionally, surprise guest Jean-Michel Blais was on hand to perform music from his 2016 Long-Listed album II.

CBC Radio 2 will feature a special hour-long broadcast celebrating the Polaris Music Prize Long List on Drive with Peter Morey at 6 p.m. (6:30 p.m. NT) today. Local CBC Radio 2 frequencies can be found at cbc.ca/frequency or the broadcast can be streamed online at cbcmusic.ca.

The eligibility period for the 2016 Polaris Music Prize runs from June 1, 2015 to May 31, 2016. An independent jury of music journalists, broadcasters and music bloggers from across Canada determines the Long List and Short List. Eleven people are selected from the larger jury pool to serve on the Grand Jury and they will convene the night of the Polaris Gala to select the 2016 Polaris Music Prize winner. The Polaris Music Prize will award $50,000 to the artist who creates the Canadian Album of the Year. Each of the nine other short listed artists will receive $3,000 courtesy of Slaight Music.

The 10 album Short List will be announced on July 14 at The Carlu in Toronto. The Polaris Gala will be held on September 19 at The Carlu in Toronto and will be streamed live by CBC Music and AUX TV.