Tonight is the Polaris Prize Gala. For music fans – and I mean real music fans – in Canada, this is the holy grail. Sure there are other prominent music awards in Canada, but this one beats them all. I'll demonstrate using a method I like to call "the Nickelback scale". Nickelback has received nine Juno Awards and 21 nominations. Nickelback has received four awards MuchMusic Video Awards from eight nominations. Nickelback has received zero Polaris Prizes from zero nominations. See how much more prestigious the Polaris Prize is? Modeled on the UK's Mercury Prize, the Polaris Prize is handed out to the best full-length Canadian album "based on artistic merit, regardless of genre, sales, or record label". The award comes with a $20,000 prize, which, for some candidates, is badly needed. The shortlist has already been determined and tonight at the Phoenix Concert Theatre the winner will be announced after live performances by the nominees, Black Mountain, Basia Bulat, Kathleen Edwards, Holy Fuck, Plants And Animals, Shad, Two Hours Traffic, and live video performances by Stars, Caribou, and The Weakerthans. The gala is invite-only, but it will be broadcast live on CBC Radio 3.