Magic! and its hit "Rude" has fallen far from the American Billboard Hot 100 at this point but at least one nation, Canada, hasn't forgotten the group. The reggae-influenced pop group took home three awards at the Canadian Radio Music Awards on Friday. The band won for Best New Group or Artist Adult Contemporary and Fans Choice, as well as SOCAN (Society of Composers, Authors and Music Publishers of Canada) Song of The Year for its single, which went to no. 1 up north (as well as in the United States).
The staging of the awards ceremony created some confusion, as it was held during lunch hours on Friday...leading some bands to miss their wins. Magic! would miss its winning of Song of The Year but would later perform nonetheless. Kiesza performed near the opening of the show but had to scurry before her win for Best New Artist: CHR (essentially the Canadian variant of the Hot 100).
"We've been around the world because of the one song. It started out of Canada," said frontman Nasri Atweh. "So thank you guys for working hard and getting the music out to the fans. Our fans are fantastic, especially Canadian fans. They have so much energy and they love new music."
There seemed to be a somewhat backhanded compliment hidden within the three awards won by Magic! however. The group was also nominated for the CHR new artist award yet lost to Kiesza. Apparently contemporary enough for Adult Contemporary...but not for Top 40 fans?
The awards were designed to reward new artists based on radio play, but that led to some interesting qualifiers. Although Death from Above 1979 released its debut album during 2004, it still managed to snag an award because it finally broke onto Canadian airwaves this year...allowing the alt band to take the Best New Group or Solo Artist: Rock for its single "Trainwreck."
