Nanaimo singer Lauren Spencer-Smith earns pair of Juno Awards nods

B.C. singer performs on U.S. talk show Nanaimo, B.C., singer Lauren Spencer-Smith was recently featured on the Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.

Lauren Spencer-Smith of Nanaimo, B.C., is among the nominees for this year's Juno Awards, including for the artist of the year category.

The 19-year-old singer who rose to fame after a stint on American Idol is up against established names like Michael Bublé, Avril Lavigne and The Weeknd in the most coveted category.

Spencer-Smith was also nominated Tuesday in the TikTok Juno Fan Choice award category, which will be decided by awards viewers.

The awards will be broadcast from Edmonton's Rogers Place arena on March 13, marking the first time the awards are to be held outside of Toronto since the start of the pandemic.

The Weeknd tops the nominees list this year with six nods across some of the main categories heading into the annual celebration of Canadian music.

Other big contenders include Lavigne, the Napanee, Ont., pop-punk artist, and Tate McRae of Calgary, each with five nominations.

Heading to the Junos with three nominations each are pop newcomers Preston Pablo and Rêve. Country siblings the Reklaws and rapper Nav also have three nominations apiece.

Here's a look at the Juno Awards nominees in some of the key categories:

ARTIST OF THE YEAR

Avril Lavigne

Lauren Spencer-Smith

Michael Buble

Shawn Mendes

The Weeknd

SINGLE OF THE YEAR

“Bite Me” - Avril Lavigne

“Flowers Need Rain” - Preston Pablo and Banx & Ranx

“When You're Gone” - Shawn Mendes

“She's All I Wanna Be” - Tate McRae

“Sacrifice” - The Weeknd

ALBUM OF THE YEAR

“Who Hurt You?” - Ali Gatie

“Love Sux” - Avril Lavigne

“Demons Protected By Angels” - Nav

“I Used to Think I Could Fly” - Tate McRae

“Dawn FM” - The Weeknd

GROUP OF THE YEAR

Arcade Fire

Arkells

Billy Talent

Metric

The Reklaws

BREAKTHROUGH ARTIST OF THE YEAR

Dax

Devon Cole

Preston Pablo

RealestK

Reve

TIKTOK JUNO FAN CHOICE (to be voted on by viewers)

Avril Lavigne

Lauren Spencer-Smith

MacKenzie Porter

Preston Pablo

Reve

Shawn Mendes

Tate McRae

The Reklaws

The Weeknd

Tyler Shaw

With files from The Canadian Press