TORONTO – When Down With Webster MC Cam Hunter was a teenager, he used to head to Toronto’s hip Queen Street West to skateboard, hang out and generally get himself into trouble.
And he has vivid memories of breezing past MuchMusic headquarters as the stage for the MMVAs was being erected, and pausing.
“It was always a huge deal,” Hunter recalled in a telephone interview this week.
“I can remember being like: ‘Man, that’s when you’ve made it. That’s like, the pinnacle.'”
Well, if that’s the case, Hunter and his youthful rap-rock outfit has officially arrived.
The Toronto group has four nominations heading into Sunday night’s MuchMusic Video Awards, tied with pop-R&B crooner Shawn Desman and pop-punk howler Fefe Dobson for the overall lead.
Hunter says the group was stunned to receive so many nominations, including nods for video of the year and pop video of the year.
“It was crazy. I didn’t expect to be nominated for any, let alone that many. It’s pretty nuts.”
Down With Webster, Hunter points out, has never actually won an award. While he’s diplomatic about the potential honour – pointing out that the opportunity to perform is an award in of itself – he’s also taken to Twitter to encourage the group’s passionate young fans to rally behind them in the viewer-voted “UR Fave” category.
“I just started posting really dumb pictures of stuff that I found on the Internet, and threatening people in funny ways,” Hunter says of his social media methodology.
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“It seems to have paid off.”
Of course, they’ll have some tough competition.
Other artists with multiple nominations heading into the show include Canadians Arcade Fire, Abandon All Ships, Drake, Justin Bieber and Metric, while Americans Britney Spears, Eminem, Lady Gaga and Bruno Mars also possess two nods apiece.
Disney teen star Selena Gomez – who last weekend made gossip headlines with a visit to the hospital before declaring she was fine – will co-host the show with MuchMusic VJs.
Presenters include Irish actor Colin Farrell, “Big Bang Theory” star Johnny Galecki and “Vampire Diaries” leads Nina Dobrev and Ian Somerhalder, while a star-studded roster of performers includes Bruno Mars, Avril Lavigne, Snoop Dogg and Lady Gaga, who was the toast of the MMVAs two years ago when she ended an elaborate performance by posing with sparks flying from her bustier.
Montreal rockers Simple Plan will also be performing, and they say that the raucous atmosphere fostered by the outdoor show is the big draw for bands.
“The parties are just so crazy,” said lead singer Pierre Bouvier in an interview this week in Toronto. “It’s so spread out and you’re like running around different elevators and hallways, and you’ve got Rihanna walking by, and … there’s the best food and the best booze everywhere.
“It’s definitely the most fun award show I’ve ever been to and the most chaotic, yet it works.”
First-time nominee Alyssa Reid – an 18-year-old whose debut album, “The Game,” hits stores Tuesday – has only heard rumours about what being backstage at the MMVAs is like. The Brampton, Ont., resident has watched the show for years, but she’s never seen it in person.
“No, I never got to – my mom would never let me camp out (for tickets),” said the bubbly Reid, who’s up for pop video of the year against one of her idols in Dobson.
Still, as a viewer, does she have a favourite MMVAs memory from over the years?
“Taylor Lautner on the red carpet last year,” said a giggling Reid, who will also present an award at the show.
“Yeah, that would definitely be my favourite memory.”
Hunter, meanwhile, favourably recalls brushing shoulders with Gaga in a hallway at the MMVAs two years ago. The band mumbled a quick hello but didn’t stop to talk since the eccentric pop star was surrounded by “like 19 security guards, and I didn’t want to get punched out,” Hunter explained.
Down With Webster will perform new single “She’s Dope,” culled from this fall’s upcoming full length “Time to Win, Vol. 2,” which Hunter says is a “little bit harder” and a “little bit more grown up” than the band’s previous material.
And while he isn’t openly coveting an award, he does have high hopes for this Sunday’s show.
“Maybe I’ll get a second crack at hanging out with Gaga, you never know,” he said.
And where in Toronto would he take the multiple Grammy winner?
“Oh man, I don’t even know – I don’t even know where you could take someone like that. Like, there’s no chance you’re going to impress her. I’d probably just take her to a Chinese takeout place or something.
“I definitely wouldn’t try to go over the top though, because she hangs out in like robot clubs – or wherever she hangs out. I have no idea.”
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