Nelly Furtado to host Juno Awards

NEWS RELEASE

CTV INC.

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Nelly Furtado to host the 2007 JUNO Awards, April 1 on CTV

International superstar comes home to host Canada's music awards

Toronto, January 16 - Internationally renowned Canadian singer/songwriter and JUNO Award winner Nelly Furtado will host The 2007 JUNO Awards, Canada's music awards, CTV and the Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (CARAS) confirmed today.

The announcement was made last night by eTalk host Ben Mulroney during the broadcast of the 64th annual Golden Globe Awards on CTV.

Furtado will host The 2007 JUNO Awards from the Credit Union Centre in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan on Sunday, April 1 on CTV.

Performers for the upcoming awards broadcast will be announced in the coming weeks as excitement builds for The 2007 JUNO Awards nominees media conference in Toronto on Tuesday, February 6.

"The JUNO Awards are part of the Canadian fabric and to be asked to host is a privilege I'm charmed to accept," commented Nelly Furtado in an exclusive eTalk interview airing tonight on CTV.

"Hosting the JUNO Awards is a dream come true and I look forward to carrying on this rich Canadian tradition. See you in Saskatoon!"

Winner of five JUNO Awards and the recipient of 13 nominations, Nelly Furtado has taken the world by storm once again with the release of her third CD Loose, from Universal Music Canada.

Certified platinum in the United States, UK and Australia, two times platinum in Germany and Switzerland, and three times platinum in Canada, Loose was the highest-selling Canadian album of 2006.

The album spawned three Number 1 hit singles, including "Promiscuous" featuring Timbaland, "Maneater" and the current single "Say it Right."

A Grammy winner for her breakout hit "I'm Like A Bird," Furtado was named "Best Pop/Rock Artist of the Year" in November 2006 at the World Music Awards in London.

The artist, who has sold over 10 million albums around the world, begins an eight-city Canadian tour March 21 in Victoria, BC.

"She wowed millions on last year's Canadian Idol finale, so I can't wait to see what Nelly Furtado has in store as host of the JUNO Awards," said Susanne Boyce, CTV president of programming and chair of the CTV Media Group.

"With her continued world-wide success, she is the perfect host for an awards broadcast that continues to gain prestige on the international stage."

"The JUNO Awards have been recognizing Nelly Furtado's diverse talents since her award-winning debut album in 2000," said Melanie Berry, president of CARAS and an executive producer of the broadcast.

"She is a very proud Canadian and we are tremendously excited to have her as our host this year!"

Furtado's role of host of The 2007 JUNO Awards comes on the heels of the announcement last week that she will co-star on CTV's CSI: NY on February 7 as Ava Grant, a shoplifter accused of murder.

Later in February, Furtado will also appear on the daytime drama One Life to Live.

Furtado, 28, is a first-generation Portuguese-Canadian born in Victoria, BC.

Now an internationally acclaimed singer/songwriter, Furtado first came to fame in 2000 with the release of her debut album Whoa, Nelly!

Just before giving birth to her daughter Nevis, Furtado released her sophomore album, Folklore, in 2003.

Furtado is well known for experimenting with different instruments, sounds, genres, languages and vocal styles.

This diversity of her wide-ranging musical style comes from her interest in different cultures and multilingualism that includes English, Portuguese, Spanish and Hindi.

Broadcast in High-Definition and 5.1 Surround Sound, The 2007 JUNO Awards, Canada's music awards, will be broadcast for the sixth year in a row on CTV on Sunday, April 1, from the Credit Union Centre in Saskatoon.

Previous hosts of the JUNO Awards include Pamela Anderson (2006), Brent Butt (2005), Alanis Morrissette (2004), Shania Twain (2003) and Barenaked Ladies (2002).

In April 2006, 1.7 million viewers watched The 2006 JUNO Awards, eclipsing The 48th Grammy Awards broadcast in Canada by 26 per cent and making it the most-watched music awards program of the year.

The 2006 JUNO Awards peaked with 2.1 million viewers and attracted almost 30 per cent more viewers than the previous year, making it the second-most watched JUNO Awards telecast since Canada's music awards were broadcast from Ottawa in 2003.

CTV began broadcasting the JUNO Awards in 2002 when it telecast the awards from St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, before taking it to Ottawa (2003), Edmonton (2004), Winnipeg (2005) and Halifax (2006).

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