Juno submissions close Nov. 5 after category overhaul

The Juno Awards will stop taking submissions for the 2027 ceremony at 11:59 p.m. PT on Nov. 5, after the Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences reworked rap, electronic, reggae and jazz categories ahead of the April 4 show in Winnipeg.

The changes, announced in a CARAS release dated Aug. 25, 2026, replace four separate rap and electronic awards with new categories and lower the vocal threshold for jazz albums from 80 per cent to 51 per cent. Singles, EPs and albums can now compete in the same recording categories.

In rap, the Rap Album/EP of the Year and Rap Single of the Year awards are replaced by Melodic Rap Recording of the Year and Rap Recording of the Year, CARAS said. In electronic music, Electronic Album of the Year and Dance Recording of the Year give way to Electronic/Dance Single of the Year and Electronic/Dance Album/EP of the Year.

Reggae Recording of the Year becomes Reggae/Dancehall Recording of the Year, a name change CARAS said better matches the music already eligible. Billboard Canada, which reported the changes the same day, cited MOLIY’s 2025 hit Shake it to the Max (FLY) Remix as an example of dancehall’s growing place in the mainstream.

Contemporary Christian/Gospel Recording of the Year replaces the album-only award, so singles and EPs can enter. CARAS said singles must be standalone releases, not tracks from an album or EP.

Jazz entries face a looser rule. Vocal jazz albums now need at least 51 per cent vocal performance, and solo and group jazz albums need at least 51 per cent instrumental performance, down from 80 per cent. The featured vocalist for Vocal Jazz Album of the Year must be a Canadian citizen or permanent resident, CARAS said. Billboard Canada linked the change to artists such as Laufey and Olivia Dean, whose jazz-influenced work leans toward pop.

Classical Album of the Year (small ensemble and large ensemble) is now exempt from the general restriction on compilation albums. Classical Composition of the Year now focuses on original works by active Canadian composers, and the earlier requirement that works be composed within the past 50 years is gone. Beatport has also been added as an eligible platform.

CARAS said it is making “a series of category and eligibility updates designed to better reflect Canada’s music community today,” according to Billboard Canada’s reading of the Junos website. Submissions opened Sept. 21. The release does not give a date for the nominations announcement.

The 56th annual Juno Awards will be broadcast live on Sunday, April 4, 2027, from Canada Life Centre in Winnipeg, with Juno Week running April 1 to 4. CARAS announced the Winnipeg return on March 12, 2026, in a release posted by CBC. The show will air on CBC TV and CBC Gem in Canada and on CBC Music’s YouTube channel worldwide.

“We are proud to bring The JUNO Awards back to Winnipeg in 2027,” Allan Reid, president and CEO of CARAS, said in that release. Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew said: “We’re proud to support an event that shines a national spotlight on Manitoba’s artists.”

The 2026 ceremony was held March 29 at TD Coliseum in Hamilton, Ont. Canadian artists and labels that want to compete in 2027 have until Nov. 5 to enter. The deadline falls at 2:59 a.m. ET on Nov. 6 for entrants in Eastern Canada.

Via CARAS and Billboard Canada. Earlier on the music calendar, see our report on the SOCAN Awards on Oct. 26.

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