Skip to Main Content

Started on YouTube, now we're here: Celebrating the nominated artists at the 2022 Juno Awards

In honor of the 2022 Juno Awards, we're showcasing how the top nominees found their fame on YouTube.

Sunday May 15 marks the 2022 Juno Awards, which celebrates the extraordinary musical and artistic talent in Canada. If you’ve done the “In My Feelings” challenge, grooved to Peaches, or sang karaoke to “My Heart Will Go On,” then you’re familiar with the outsized impact Canadian artists have in the music industry.

This year’s top Juno nominees include The Weeknd, Justin Bieber and Charlotte Cardin

Canadian artists are prolific, and connect and attract global audiences on YouTube. Artists like Shawn Mendes, Avril Lavigne and Cœur de pirate are seeing millions of views on their songs and music videos, and are inspiring fans to perform their own covers. And with over two billion logged-in viewers watching a music video each month, it’s the perfect place for emerging Canadian artists to build a fan base.

This year’s top Juno nominees include The Weeknd, Justin Bieber and Charlotte Cardin — three artists who have broken through on YouTube and leveraged the platform to build global success. Learn more about how these three Canadian Juno nominees found meteoric rises on YouTube.

The Weeknd

More than 10 years ago, The Weeknd anonymously uploaded three songs to YouTube. Even without any publicity or promotion, his raw talent shone through. He then self-released his debut mixtape, “House of Balloons,” and despite the mystery of his identity, his sound captivated listeners near and far.

The Weeknd now has over 28 million subscribers on YouTube. Last year, his song “Blinding Lights” was named the No 1. Billboard Hot 100 Song of all time, surpassing Chubby Checker’s 1960 hit “The Twist.”

Justin Bieber

This year marks the 15th year anniversary since Justin’s first upload to his official channel. Justin was discovered on YouTube and has become a global phenomenon with 68 million subscribers and counting on YouTube and more than 27 billion views across his Official Artist Channel.

Justin ranks in the top 10 within our Top Records on YouTube, including most viewed music videos, most subscribed to artists, and fastest music video to 1 billion views.

Charlotte Cardin

After being discovered at a Quebec singing competition, Charlotte grew in popularity, using her YouTube channel to reach worldwide fans and audiences. Over the past few years, Charlotte has expressed her creativity, passion and sound through her unique music videos on the platform. Last year, Charlotte released her debut album "Phoenix," which won the Felix Award for Anglophone Album of the Year and generated 20.3 million views on YouTube.

Currently, Charlotte has 413,000 subscribers on YouTube, with a significant repository of songs in English and French.

With just a camera and an internet connection, Canadian artists big and small have been able to join the global music conversation and get discovered on the platform. We are grateful to have played a part in bringing this incredible Canadian talent to fans all over the world. Congratulations to all the 2022 Juno nominees — we can’t wait to see what you do next!

Subscribe