Juno Award for Underground Dance Single of the Year explained

The Juno Award for Underground Dance Single of the Year is an annual Canadian music award, presented by the Juno Awards to honour songs in underground dance music genres. Announced at the Juno Awards of 2021, it was presented for the first time at the Juno Awards of 2022.[1]

The award was created as a split from the existing Juno Award for Dance Recording of the Year, because the existing award is often dominated by commercial dance pop singles while leaving more underground and experimental dance music, such as music created by Black Canadian, First Nations or LGBTQ artists, underrepresented.

Qualifying recordings may feature “slow builds, hypnotic and repetitive arrangements that may include vocals, often extended in length, all developed for maximum utility on the dance floor by club DJs."

Winners and nominees

YearWinnerAlbumNomineesRef.
2022HNTR feat. Elliot Moss"Shadows in the Dark"
  • feat. Grace Tither, "Waves"
  • Carlo Lio feat. MC Flipside, "Hood Shit"
  • Jayda G, "All I Need (DJ-Kicks)"
  • Korea Town Acid, "Sobriety"
[2]
2023Greg Gow"I Knew Techno"
  • Bensley, "Debonair"
  • feat. Cameron Jack, "Aye Aye"
  • Fred Everything, "The Time Is (Now)"
  • Tiga, "Easy"
[3]
2024"Call My Name"
  • DJ Karaba, "Mad Mess"
  • LostBoyJay, "Could Be Wrong"
  • Peach, "Eclipse"
  • Smalltown DJs, "Concorde Groove"
[4]

Notes and References

  1. News: Friend. David. June 4, 2021. Juno Awards announce new category for underground dance single of the year. Toronto Star via The Canadian Press. June 5, 2021.
  2. David Friend, "Montreal’s Charlotte Cardin a breakout contender at Juno nominations". Toronto Star, March 1, 2022.
  3. Jenna Benchetrit and Arti Patel, "The Weeknd picks up 4 wins on Junos 2023 opening night". CBC News, March 11, 2023.
  4. https://www.cbc.ca/music/junos/juno-awards-2024-full-list-winners-1.7149545 "Junos 2024: full list of winners"