Nelly Furtado
Photo: Eufloria

Newcomer Nelly Furtado leads a strong field of international success stories announced Wednesday as nominees for this year's Juno Awards, Canada's equivalent to the Grammys.

Victoria, British Columbia, native Furtado walked off with nominations for Best Single ("I'm Like a Bird"), Best Pop Album (Whoa Nelly!), Best New Solo Artist, Best Songwriter and Best Producer. Whoa Nelly!, Furtado's debut, also received a nomination in the Best Recording Engineer category. The Barenaked Ladies garnered four nominations, including Best Group, Best Album and Best Pop Album (Maroon), and Best Single ("Pinch Me"), while bandmembers Steven Page and Ed Robertson got a nod in the Best Songwriter category.

Canadian boy-band heroes the Moffatts, a group of brothers that includes 16-year-old triplets, were nominated for Best Group and Best Pop Album (Submodalities), and their album also received production nods for Canadian producer Bob Rock and engineer Randy Staub.

SoulDecision were given three major nominations, for Best Album (No One Does It Better), Best Single ("Faded") and Best Group. Snow, best known for his 1993 hit "Informer," was recognized in the Best Pop Album (Mind on the Moon), Best Male Artist and Best Songwriter categories.

Other Canadian artists with three nominations include the Tragically Hip and the Matthew Good Band. Finger Eleven are up for Best Rock Album for The Greyest of Blue Skies — also nominated in the Best Producer category — and Best Video ("Drag You Down"). Rockers Our Lady Peace ended up with two nods — their late-1999 effort, Happiness ... Is Not a Fish That You Can Catch, will compete for the Best Album award, and their clip for "Thief" is up for Best Video. Girl rockers Kittie were nominated in the Best New Group category, as were Vancouver, British Columbia, band Nickelback. The awards ceremony, which will feature live performances by Furtado, the Moffatts and SoulDecision, among others, will be staged on March 4 in Hamilton, Ontario.

For a full-length interview with Furtado, check out the MTVi News feature "Nelly Furtado: Teen Pop Goes Global."

• Nelly Furtado
• Barenaked Ladies
• The Moffatts
• soulDecision
• Our Lady Peace

SoulDecision
Photo: MCA

The track "Ooh It's Kinda Crazy," the second U.S. single from their No One Does It Better, will be shipped to American radio stations on January 21. SoulDecision — whose last hit, "Faded," peaked at #4 on MTV's "Total Request Live" late last year — will debut the video for the new single on "TRL" this Friday. The video was shot last June in Toronto by producer Stephen Scott, who also directed "Faded." "Ooh It's Kinda Crazy" was first recorded and released independently in Canada in 1998 when the band was still known as Indecision. The track was re-recorded and re-released as the group's third single to the Canadian market; they've now released a fourth in that country. The group — singers Trevor Guthrie, Ken Lewko and Dave Bowman — hails from Vancouver but is now based in Toronto. They have toured across Canada twice and opened shows in the States for Christina Aguilera, 'NSYNC and Destiny's Child. They also performed at the Orange Bowl in Miami in early January.

The band is scheduled to kick off a number of headlining dates in Canada, starting February 7 in Vancouver, and will perform and present at that country's Juno Awards on March 4.

"Because our album came out so much earlier in Canada than in the States," Guthrie said, "it was looking like the Canadians were going to have a long wait, but we've recorded a couple of songs for the U.K., [and] it looks like we're going to release [them] back home." Future plans also tentatively include a tour of Australia and Asia later this year, and hopefully some shows in Europe.

Their American fans can catch them on forthcoming episodes of MTV's "Say What Karaoke" and "Snowed In," and, according to Guthrie, the band is currently negotiating with "a big act" for another U.S. tour.

• soulDecision

• soulDecision

soulDecision

• soulDecision