The Weeknd may be boycotting the Grammy Awards for the foreseeable future, but back home in Canada, he’s got more trophies than he knows what to do with.
At the Juno Awards — the Canadian equivalent of the Grammys — Monday, Weeknd brought his career total wins to 22. He took home Songwriter of the Year, Album of the Year and Pop Album of the Year for Dawn FM; single of the year for “Sacrifice”; and Artist of the Year. That broke his tie with Bryan Adams; now the only artist with more Junos is country/pop vocalist Anne Murray, who has 25.
“I am so honored to be recognized like this from my home country that I love so much. I’m so humbled by all this and could never thank fans enough,” The Weeknd said in a statement.
Other winners included Avril Lavigne, who captured the Fan Choice Award for the fourth time, and Michael Bublé, who won the Adult Contemporary Album of the Year Award for his album Higher.
Avril also provided the wildest moment of the night: As the New York Post reports, while she was introducing one of the performers, a topless woman invaded the stage to protest Ontario’s plans for development. Avril responded, “Get the f**k off. Get the f**k off, b***h.” Security then escorted her offstage.
Host Simu Liu praised Avril for “handling that topless lady like a champion.” When Avril returned to the stage to accept her award, she joked, “Now, nobody try anything this time. I’ll f**k a b**ch up.”
Meanwhile, Avril’s ex-husband Chad Kroeger and his band Nickelback were inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame by Ryan Reynolds, and received a congratulatory message from Bublé. Nickelback also performed a medley of their biggest hits, including “How You Remind Me.”
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