VANCOUVER - A year after he skewered Nickelback while hosting the Juno Awards, Russell Peters says he reached out to the band to appear in a skit with him.
They declined, and now Peters says he isn't going to pull any punches when he helms the show for a second straight year Sunday (CTV, check local listings.)
"That's one of the reasons I may be targeting them," Peters said in an interview on Friday.
And as for the reason the Hanna, Alta., rockers declined the chance to appear in a sketch?
"Ego, I guess," Peters said. "Being a Canadian award show, the pompousness was never really there (with the Junos). But now I think egos are getting involved, and that makes things a little weird."
The acid-tongued Brampton, Ont., comedian was a hit as host last year, which is why producers made the rare move of bringing him back for a second consecutive show.
Having constantly professed his lack of interest in Canadian music and the Junos in general, he was an unpredictable MC who brought a sense of levity to the proceedings and made viewers constantly wonder about his next target.
"I go for it, I don't really care, because I'm not trying to hurt your feelings," he said. "If your ego gets hurt, it's not really your feelings, it's your ego, and that's your problem, not ours."
This year, he says he's more comfortable and expects to send more than a few performers home with deflated egos -- but Celine Dion won't be among them.
"Celine we did last year," he said. "It's just too easy of a target. She's kind of irrelevant in my life, so why bother?"
Peters will, however, collaborate with Vancouver crooner Michael Buble, whom Peters says has a good sense of humour.
"Mike's a good guy, he's a very funny dude, and we like each other, so we're going to have a good time," he said. "If more artists were like him or Anne Murray and they could take a joke, then that would be a good thing."
Though he often revels in how out of touch he is with the Canadian music scene, he says he's starting to figure out the artists themselves.
"Musicians are weird, dude," he said. "Comedians, we're like real people. I think that's why people listen to what comedians have to say. If a comedian tells you about something and a musician tells you about something, a musician is going to tell you in a way like: 'You have to do something about this.'
"They have a very demanding way about them, and comedians have a more convincing way about them. We're more the salesmen, you know?"
So, is he willing to take a break from cracking on the Junos and actually sell viewers on the show?
"Sure, it'll be worth watching," he said. "If not for anything else, just to see what I'm going to say about everything."
Meanwhile, Peters is taking steps to keep the show fresh. He promises an entirely unique opening -- "It's starting completely different than you've ever seen a Canadian award show start before," he says -- and plans on cracking a few jokes about the stereotypes of the host city, Vancouver.
"It's a drug town, you guys have a big drug reputation, it's a big gang violence town," he noted.
"It's supposed to be laid back and yet you have a high amount of murders happening, it's a little weird. `We're laid back -- we'll kill you, I guess."'
And he says he's willing to do the show as long as Juno organizers keep asking him back.
"I enjoy it despite how I make it outwardly appear," he said. "I really do enjoy hosting it, and I think eventually Canadians will just get used to me hosting it. By the same token, maybe if I host it all the time it won't be such a special event for them.
"But if I'm not back next year, I'll be back again at some point. I'm always open to it, and I just want you to love me."
