Electronic band Dragonette pose after winning the Dance Recording of the Year during the 41st Juno Awards in Ottawa April 1, 2012.Chris Wattie / Reuters
Electro-pop artists Martin Solveig and Dragonette killed Deadmau5's winning streak at the Juno Awards on Sunday, landing the trophy for dance recording of the year – a category the Niagara Falls, Ont., DJ has dominated for the past four years.
The upset win was for the international hit "Hello," which features the vocals of Toronto's Dragonette and is on Paris-based Solveig's fourth studio album, "Smash."
"We were kind of banking on (Deadmau5 winning)," Dragonette drummer Joel Stouffer said backstage after the clearly shocked group won the award at the broadcast gala.
"We were like, 'OK, we're fine, we don't have to get up and say anything – Deadmau5 has got this.' "And then suddenly we won and then we were all terrified."
"It's just very unexpected and it makes us feel very proud," said Dragonette singer Martina Sorbara.
Deadmau5, who performed at Sunday's Juno broadcast bash, was in good spirits after the loss.
"It's all right. I mean, are they really going to let you do a five-year-long killing streak in the same category? It's cool," the electronic producer – whose real name is Joel Zimmerman – said backstage, noting he's toured with Solveig and thinks he's a "super talented, wicked cool guy."
Deadmau5 said he hasn't met Dragonette but praised the song "Hello," which has reached platinum certification in Canada, Australia, Germany, Belgium, Italy, Switzerland, New Zealand and the U.S.
"It was a huge summer track in the festival circuit overseas, especially Australia, and (Solveig is) a really cool dude. I guess he kind of deserves that kind of thing – and if Dragonette had a hand in that, then yay."
Other artists nominated for dance recording of the year at this year's Junos included American-Canadian DJ duo Duck Sauce for their Grammy-nominated club hit "Barbra Streisand."
New Brunswick-born Mia Martina was a contender for the "Devotion" while Oakville, Ont., songstress Anjulie was in the running for "Brand New Chick."