Being a proud Canadian, I can’t be any happier that Drake and the Biebz is taking the music world by storm. They both are blowing up internationally right now but come April 18, they’ll be coming home to Canada to celebrate the 2010 Juno Awards and hopefully take home an award, or two, or maybe 3?

Justin is nominated for Album of the Year, Pop Album of the Year (for My World) and New Artist of the Year where he is up against Drake. Could this be the very first of many awards for Justin’s long musical career? I certainly hope so. Justin loves Canada and there is no better place for him to win his first award than at home.

Justin Bieber

About the artist: This 16-year-old pop/R&B singer-songwriter sensation from Stratford, Ont., first got noticed on YouTube, before being signed by R&B sensation Usher. His chart-topping debut album My World was released in 2009 and went platinum in the U.S. and Canada.

What the artist said: “I would always just sing around the house and play instruments, but I never tried to get famous,” Bieber told the Toronto Star.

What the critic said: “Those who dismiss Bieber out of hand are missing out on a seriously good pop record, one that mines vintage teen-pop themes but plays like a primer on 2010-model bubblegum.”

— Rolling Stone

Drake

About the artist: Since last year’s release of his hit mixtape So Far Gone, Toronto actor-turned-rapper Aubrey “Drake” Graham has quickly risen to hip-hop stardom, collaborating with the likes of Eminem, Kanye West and Jay-Z. We’re still waiting for his debut album Thank Me Later.

What the artist said: “I make music for people to get lost in, so as long as it takes you somewhere, then I’ve succeeded,” Drake told Billboard magazine.

What the critic said: “That the memorable, constantly surprising lyrics and smooth flow are laid on top of the rich productions and sticky hooks means that there are some jams here that will put the competition on their heels.”

— All Music Guide

Will you be watching the Junos and hopefully witness Justin win an award and make his acceptance speech? It will hopefully go something like this:

“First and foremost I would like to thank JBShrine for making this all possible….” haahaha 😛

Justin reclaimed the Number One spot he relinquished to his mentor Usher last week as My World 2.0 ruled the chart despite a 65 percent sales decrease to 102,000 copies, making it the only album on the Billboard 200 album chart to surpass 100K, according to Nielsen SoundScan.

Usher’s Raymond V. Raymond swapped places with the Bieb by coming in Number Two in its second week with 92,000 copies.

The 3 countries that the album has reached #1 in are the USA, Canada, and Ireland. I expect Brazil and Australia will make it into that list very soon.

How come the album hasn’t reached #1 in the Philippines yet?

Justin Bieber and Tina Fey drew an estimated 9.2 million viewers to ‘Saturday Night Live’ over the weekend — the second biggest audience for the show this season. (Basketball star Charles Barkley and musical guest Alicia Keys scored the biggest ‘SNL’ numbers this season with 10.4 million viewers.) PopEater spoke with Bieber and his team about what it took to land the coveted late-night gig.

While the payoff was a sweet one, casting Bieber was “a year in the making,” Laura Swanson, EVP Media & Artist Relations for Island Def Jam, tells PopEater. Before the record company had even released Bieber’s first single, ‘One Time,’ Swanson began e-mailing ‘SNL’ booker Brian Siedlecki to tell him about the rising pop star. In February, Bieber was finally booked as the musical guest — becoming the youngest performer to grace the ‘SNL’ stage in the show’s history. At 16, Bieber slid into the position, beating out competition that had been in the music business for years (and have numerous albums under their belts).

Bieber knew he had huge shoes to fill and admits he’s still shocked about being cast as the show’s musical guest. “‘SNL’ was an incredible experience. I’m still a little shocked I was on there,” Bieber tells PopEater. “I grew up watching it, and being on the show I learned a lot and have so much respect for how hard they work. I was just honored they trusted me enough to take part,” he says, adding a special thanks to Fey and the entire ‘SNL’ team for all their support.

While the ‘SNL’ demographic audience was ready for Fey to take on Sarah Palin, critics originally wondered if Bieber would miss the mark. “Tina Fey took a real liking to Justin and wound up putting him in three skits,” in addition to his two performances, Swanson said. “It was a perfect storm. Justin had the time of his life.”

Fey appeared in a sketch with the 16-year-old pop sensation in which she played a lonely teacher haunted by sexual fantasies of the young Bieber. The skit received mixed reviews, but one PopEater’s Facebook fan admitted the entire episode “was one of the best SNLs I’ve seen since the ’80s when the original prime time players (Bill Murray, Dan Akroyd) were on.”

According to Swanson, who stayed with Bieber during the three days of rehearsals and live taping, Bieber took the acting seriously, improvising and studying his words to make sure he came off great. “He knew how big it was,” she added. “The first thing new artists tell us is that their two goals are to be on the cover of Rolling Stone and be on ‘SNL.’ Those seem to be the two pinnacles of success to signify ‘I’ve made it.'”

Following his appearance, Bieber tweeted late Saturday about the experience. “Will never forget 2nite. It was INCREDIBLE!! Thank u for the opportunity and thanks to everyone at SNL and Tina Fey for just being fun,” he wrote.

He writes. He sings. He plays. He performs. He acts. And he’s only 16. Bieber Fever has officially taken over late night. Next stop? We’re guessing Rolling Stone.

POPEATER