Announced on February 1, the nominees for the 40th annual Juno Awards ceremonies — to be celebrated with nearly a week of events in Toronto leading up to the broadcast on March 27 - are a remarkable group.

Spanning genres, they range from Drake to Neil Young to Johnny Reid (all up for Artist Of The Year) and represent the best of the cross-section of music that Canada offers the globe. There's no better way to celebrate than by broadcasting our passion and our pride for our entertainers to the world.

Here at Interrobang, we're excited to be offering complete and ongoing coverage of the Juno Awards; writers Bobby Foley and Baden Roth will be providing background information, colour commentary and industry perspective on all the artists and events leading up to the televised ceremony on Sunday, March 27.

Thankfully, the 40th edition of the awards is being marked in style; the nominees represent a wide range of the type of musical flavour we offer to the world, music steeped in the kind of quality and diversity that the rest of the world is coming to associate with Canadian talent.

Even if, at times, that talent goes unnoticed, there have been some satisfying outcomes in regards to Canadian artists, like Arcade Fire stealing the Album Of The Year statue at the Grammys on February 13, and the resultant blog "Who Is Arcade Fire?" and its delightful collection of astonished tweets from American viewers.

Though it will be much more difficult to surprise Canadian audiences, the Awards this year have a lot to boast about: not only are the cream of the crop slated to perform at the show in Toronto, but 2011 also marks the induction of Shania Twain into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame and the bestowing of the 2011 Allan Water Humanitarian Award on Neil Young.

In less than 40 days, the 40th Juno Awards ceremonies commence. Keep your eyes on Interrobang for interviews, photos, and updates, both in print and online at www.fsu.ca.

The Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences host the Juno Awards every year to honour the best in Canadian music and music production. For more information on the CARAS or the Juno Awards, visit www.carasonline.ca. The awards have been broadcast for 36 years, and will be appearing on CTV in March. Check your local listings.