At last night's Juno Awards gala dinner, the Vancouver-based electronic pop group Dear Rouge won for Breakthrough Group of the Year.

The married couple of Drew and Danielle McTaggart were on the cover of the Georgia Straight last November.

Straight music editor Mike Usinger's feature article described them as being on the verge of a major breakout.

"Dear Rouge has taken a big step toward achieving its goals with Black to Gold," Usinger wrote. "The McTaggarts built their name on beautifully detailed synth pop, and there’s no shortage of that on the record, from the icy, slow-drift title track to the luscious darkwave of 'Kids Wanna Know'."

Most Junos were handed out last night in Calgary, but tonight eight of the biggest awards will be presented in a televised broadcast on CTV.

Among last night's winners was a more recent Straight cover subject with local roots, Pomo. He took the Juno for Electronic Album of the Year for The Other Day.

David Pimental uses the nom de plume Pomo in recognition of his hometown, Port Moody.

“I love dance music, but I love playing instruments and I feel the audience gets something out of watching a live set," Pomo told Straight contributor Michael Mann last month. "I wanted to put together a dope band and showcase what I’m really into: great musicians and great grooves.”

Other musicians who were recently on the cover of the Straight, the Vancouver pop-emo band Marianas Trench, have been nominated for Group of the Year. Another nominee is Hedley, which came out of Abbotsford. Hedley lost to Justin Beiber's Purpose for Pop Album of the Year.

Vancouver artist, SonReal, was a runner-up for Rap Recording of the Year for "For the Town". The Juno went to Drake for "If You're Reading This It's Too Late".

Another Vancouver bridesmaid was Destroyer, whose Poison Season was nominated for Alternative Album of the Year. The winner was Flemish Eye for Deep in the Iris.

But another British Columbian left with some hardware. Kamloops-born Dan Bremnes's Where the Light Is won as Contemporary Christian/Gospel Album of the Year.

A big winner last night was The Weeknd (Abel Tesfaye), who won Songwriter of the Year and R&B/Soul Recording of the Year for Beauty Behind the Madness.

One of the runners-up for Songwriter of the Year was North Vancouver's Tobias Jesso Jr., who's written for Adele and Sia. Jesso's debut album Goon was a runner-up for Adult Alernative Album of the Year, which was won by Whitehorse for Leave No Bridge Unburned. 

Meanwhile, the pride of Mission, Carly Rae Jepsen, is one of three British Columbians up for the Juno Fan Choice Award. This comes after the release of her latest album, E·MO·TION, which received great reviews from major international publications.

Another B.C. artist up for the Juno Fan Choice Award is Dean Brody, who was born in Smithers. He's also nominated for Country Album of the Year for Open Road.

The third B.C. contender for Juno Fan Choice Award is Nelson-raised songwriter and producer Shawn Hook (born Shawn Hlookoff), who's generated a buzz with Kreative Soul.

Three nominees with deep B.C. roots were bridesmaids for Rock Album of the Year, which was won by Death From Above 1979.

Bryan Adams was nominated for Get Up, Matthew Good was in the runniing for Chaotic Neutral, and Nickelback was up for No Fixed Address.

The Vancouver-based Dan Brubeck Quartet was nominated for Vocal Jazz Album of the Year for Live from the Cellar. Tara Kannangara, who grew up in Chilliwack, was also a finalist in this category for Some Version of the Truth. A third B.C. nominee was Jaclyn Guillou for This Bitter Earth. The winner was Clear Day by Emilie-Claire Barlow.

The local Brad Turner Quartet was up for Jazz Album of the Year: Group for Over My Head. Turner lives in Vancouver and teaches at Capilano University. The Juno went to Allison Au Quartet for Movin' Forward.

Vancouver-based Bobs & LoLo was a finalist for Children's Album of the Year for Dirty Feet. The Juno went to The Swinging Belles for More Sheep, Less Sleep.

Castlegar-born Frazey Ford was nominated for Contemporary Roots Album of the Year for Indian Ocean. Legendary indigenous musician Buffy Sainte-Marie won in this category for True North. Sainte-Marie also took home the Juno for Aboriginal Album of the Year. 

Alex Cuba, who lives in Smithers, was nominated for World Music Album of the Year for Healer. The Juno went to Maisonnette for Neo-Reconquista Boogat.

Another B.C. nominee was Nanaimo-born David Gogo for Blues Album of the Year for Vicksburg Call. Gogo now lives in Cordova Bay outside Victoria. Harrison Kennedy won the Juno in the blues category for This Is From Here.

B.C. was also shut out for Adult Contemporary Album of the Year, which went to Johnny Reid for What Love is All About. Nanaimo's Diana Krall was a runner-up for Wallflower.

Another B.C. nominee in this category, the Tenors, was recognized for Under One Sky. The operatic pop group (Remigio Pereira, Victor Micallef, Fraser Walters, and Clifton Murray) got their start in Victoria. Their career was given a big boost by another Victoria native, producer David Foster.

The complete list of last night's Juno gala dinner awards list is available here.