andPOP - Pop Culture With Substance

Canadians: Want a quick 20 grand? Make an amazing album.

The Polaris Prize awards $20,000 to the Canadian artist or group that creates the best album of the year, based solely on artistic merit. Sales don’t count, marketing doesn’t count. The ten nominees – Elliot Brood, Fucked Up, Great Lake Swimmers, Hey Rosetta!, K’Naan, Metric, Joel Plaskett, Malajube, Patrick Watson, and Chad Vangaalen – all attended and performed at the Polaris Prize Gala, so I made sure to snag a few interviews before the award was given out.

The winner of the $20,000 prize? Well, check out the video and I’ll tell you.

Canadian TV stations have begun airing a condensed one-hour version of the 2007 Polaris Music Prize gala.

The broadcast of September’s awards ceremony features performances by nominees The Besnard Lakes, Chad VanGaalen, Joel Plaskett Emergency, Julie Doiron, Miracle Fortress and Patrick Watson.

Watson was revealed to be the winner of the $20,000 prize.

The gala took place at Toronto’s Phoenix Concert Theatre on Sept. 24, and attracted a crowd of 400 people.

Besides the TV broadcasts, you can also log onto the Polaris playlist on MuchAXS to watch performances, interviews and videos from the 10 finalists.

Here are the dates and times you can catch the 2007 Polaris awards on TV:

- Jan. 25 @ midnight ET on MuchMusic
- Jan. 27 @ 7 p.m. ET on MuchLOUD
- Jan. 27 @ 11 p.m. MT on CJDC TV (Dawson Creek, B.C.)
- Jan. 27 @ 11:30 p.m. PT on CFTK TV (Terrace, B.C.)
- Jan. 30 @ 10 p.m. ET on ACCESS
- Feb. 3 @ 8 p.m. ET on CLT