It'll be Quebec's established pop diva vs. Canada's indie girl-of-the-moment at the 2008 Juno Awards.

The big surprise when Juno nominations were announced yesterday was that Quebec pop diva Celine Dion received a leading six nods. Feist, the fast-rising alt-folk-pop star, received five noms, as did pop-punk princess Avril Lavigne and crooner Michael Buble.

Dion is even nominated twice in the best-album category, for both her French-language disc D'elles (which got a second nod for Francophone album), and her English-language collection Taking Chances (also up for pop album).

"That doesn't seem fair," quipped Alexisonfire's Dallas Green, as he read out the nominees yesterday at a news conference at a Toronto hotel.

The Junos, which honour the best in Canadian music, will be given out April 5-6 in Calgary.

Dion, who wrapped up her nearly five-year run at Caesars Palace last December and is about to embark on a world tour, also is up for the Juno Fan Choice Award and artist of the year.

The Quebec singer's strong presence was a genuine surprise, given that Feist -- the Amherst, N.S.,-born, Calgary-raised and Toronto-based singer-songwriter -- has proven to be Canada's darling both at home and abroad in the past year.

Feist's third solo album, The Reminder, is up for album and pop album of the year; her breakout song 1234, which was used in a popular iPod Nano commercial, is in the running for single of the year; and she'll compete for both artist and songwriter of the year.

"It's just very poetic, this strange return," said Feist yesterday, on a cellphone yesterday while driving down the highway between Kingston and Toronto after a morning hike. "To have (the Junos) be in Calgary the year that I'm going to be there (with five noms), there's something vaguely poetic about it. It's the nest. It's where it all started."

Tragically, the wonderfully inventive clip for Feist's 1234 video isn't even up for best video.

Feist is nominated for almost as many Grammy Awards -- four -- as Junos. The Grammys will be given out this coming Sunday night in L.A, where Feist is up for new artist, female pop vocal performance, short-form music video and pop vocal album. She'll also perform during the Grammys telecast.

What's more, the smoky-voiced, guitar-playing singer just found out The Reminder won the U.S. Shortlist Music Prize, a prestigious award given to artists who receive widespread acclaim without gigantic album sales.

Lavigne's The Best Damn Thing is up for best album, and her hit song Girlfriend is in the race for best single. Lavigne also got nods for the Juno Fan Choice Award, as artist and as songwriter of the year.

"I am so honoured to be nominated," said Lavigne in a statement from L.A., where she's rehearsing for her tour that starts next month. "As a Canadian, it means a lot to me to be included among these amazing musicians and recognized for my work by my peers."

Buble also had a stellar 2007 at home and around the world, with two Grammy wins a possibility this Sunday. His Juno noms are for his CD collection Call Me Irresponsible (both album and pop album), while Everything is up for single of the year. He also is nominated for the Juno Fan Choice Award and artist of the year.

Russell Peters, still the hottest comic in Canada, was announced as host of the Juno Awards show. He just played soldout nights at Madison Square Gardens in New York. The Brampton, Ont., native of South Asian descent joked at yesterday's press conference that "it's the first time they've let a non-white host the Junos. They're going to regret this decision. I hope to make it different -- like, entertaining -- this year. It's a show that I would generally never have watched."

Awards-show performers so far include Feist, Lavigne, Buble, Burlington rockers Finger Eleven and opera star and single nomineee Measha Brueggergosman. Anne Murray, a pop-album nominee for her all-star Duets CD, was added yesterday as a performer for her first Juno performance in a decade. She'll sing with two of her duet partners, to be announced later.

Toronto rock trio Triumph, formed in 1975 and reuniting for their first performance since 1989 at the Sweden Rock Festival this coming June, were named yesterday as the 2008 Candian Music Hall of Fame recipients.

"They're as excited as I am," said drummer Gil Moore, of singer-guitarist Rik Emmett, who was in Vancouver, and bassist-keyboardist Mike Levine, esconced in his Jamaican winter home. "It's a tremendous honour that you can't imagine when you begin your journey as a musician."

CTV will broadcast the Sunday, April 6 show from the Pengrowth Saddledome.