The list of nominees for the SOCAN Polaris Song Prize, honoring the best Canadian song of the year, has been revealed. The winning songwriters and performers will share a $10,000 cash prize, selected solely on artistic excellence by the Polaris jury, disregarding genre or commercial success.

Established last year, the Polaris Music Prize partnered with the Society of Composers, Authors, and Music Publishers of Canada (SOCAN) to introduce the Song Prize. This collaboration aims to offer artists additional recognition opportunities in an era where individual tracks often dominate the music scene.

Saya Gray is the lone repeat nominee this year, with all other contenders being first-time nominees. The victorious song and album will be unveiled at the Polaris Concert and Award Ceremony on September 22.

The nominees for the SOCAN Polaris Song Prize are as follows:
– “Fabienk” by Angine de Poitrine (written by Khn de Poitrine and Klek de Poitrine)
– “Hurts Like Hell” by Charlotte Cornfield (written by Charlotte Cornfield)
– “Hunger for Death” by Pup (written by Stefan Babcock, Nestor Chumak, Zack Mykula, and Steve Sladkowski)
– “House on Fire” by Patrick Watson and Martha Wainwright (written by Martha Wainwright, Patrick Watson, Olivier Sebastien Fairfield, Mikhail Stein, Xu Bin Kim, Xavier Brault, Jeremie Cloutier, and Robert Margaryan)
– “Lean” by Charlotte Day Wilson and Saya Gray (written by Charlotte Day Wilson, Saya Gray, Siala Kemy, and Jack Emblem)

As anticipation builds for the Polaris Prize winners, audiences can tune in to the weekly CBC Music radio series “The Ten,” hosted by Odario Williams. The show delves into each of this year’s shortlisted albums leading up to the Polaris Concert and Award Ceremony. Episodes air every Sunday on CBC Music and CBC Listen at 6 p.m. (6:30 p.m. in NL) until September 20, available for on-demand listening via the CBC Listen app on CBC Music.