What award did Nelly Furtado take at Juno? Details explored as Drake pays a tribute

Nelly Furtado was inducted by Drake into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame at the 2026 Juno Awards.

It is a special lifetime recognition presented during the ceremony, which was held on March 29, 2026, in Hamilton, Ontario. Drake inducted her with a pre-recorded emotional tribute, calling her a “close friend” and praising her impact on the Canadian music industry.

He also called her one of his favorite artists of all time. The Canadian rapper said during his tribute:

“I want to say to you, I think we've had this conversation before, but I'd like to say in the front of everybody, being a woman in the music industry in any era is something that I have to tip my hat to. The men in this business do not make it any easier.”

This was Drake's first Juno appearance (although remotely) since 2011. In his tribute, he lightly shaded Junos because of the longstanding grudge with Junos from the 2011 awards.

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Drake recalls infamous 2011 Juno snub while inducting Nelly Furtado into Canadian Music Hall of Fame

Drake recently referenced his infamous 2011 Juno Awards snub while delivering a video speech inducting Nelly Furtado into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame at the 2026 Juno Awards.

While delivering his speech, he directly called out the Juno Awards after praising Furtado and said:

“To the Junos, because you are honouring one of my dear friends tonight, I will spare you. Even though I know you're still thinking about those six awards you gave to Shad when you snubbed Take Care when I hosted the 40th anniversary of your award show. This is about Nelly.”

Drake then quickly moved to celebrating Nelly Furtado, saying that her induction was “long overdue.” She was visibly moved to tears during the tribute.

In 2011, the 39-year-old musician hosted the awards event in Toronto on March 27 at the Air Canada Centre. However, despite earning nominations six times, he went home with nothing.

Reports stated that he received six nominations for Thank Me Later, including Album of the Year, Artist of the Year, Rap Recording of the Year, Single of the Year (Find Your Love), Songwriter of the Year, and another category.

Thank Me Later is the artist’s debut studio album, released on June 15, 2010, by Young Money Entertainment, Cash Money Records, and Universal Motown Records.

No official reason was explained as to why Drake didn’t win the Junos in 2011. The Junos use a mix of member voting and expert juries for selections, which, according to the organizers, was beyond their control. Shad K. beat Drake for Rap Recording of the Year with TSOL.

That was the first time in the history of Juno Awards that a host with nominations didn’t win a single award. Past hosts like Nelly Furtado, Shania Twain, and Celine Dion usually swept multiple categories.

Toronto rapper Kardinal Offishall publicly called out the Junos as “utter disrespect.” He told Global News:

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"He had one of the biggest years ever in rap history as far as being a Canadian, they have him hosting the entire thing – that just looks terrible on them more than him. It makes absolutely no sense. There’s nothing more that he possibly could have done within his career. He sold a gang of records, had great success, has a huge fanbase, and then he comes, he hosts the whole thing, and to me, it’s disrespect, what they did. Absolute disrespect.”

Drake never directly addressed the incident in his 2011 interviews, but stopped submitting music for future Junos. In 2013, in an interview with CBC’s Q, he spoke candidly about the shutout, saying that it was “a tough night” for him.

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