Feist Wins 2012 Polaris Music Prize for ‘Metals’

It debuted in Billboard's Top 10, spun off multiple singles and earned some of the best reviews of Feist's career -- and now her latest album, 'Metals,' has one more honor to add to the list: It's the 2012 Polaris Music Prize winner.

Unlike most awards, the Polaris Music Prize comes with some cold hard cash to go with its prestige -- $30,000, to be exact -- and as the award's selection committee tends to focus on artistic achievement rather than sales, it's arguably the year's most coveted honor for Canadian artists.

Feist seemed appropriately blown away by the award, issuing a statement after the ceremony on Monday (Sept. 24) that reads, "Polaris is asking me for a quote.... I haven't had a second to consider how to talk about this yet, but what I want to say is thank you to the people who really listened to my record. I'm genuinely grateful from one solitary listener to another. Honestly, thanks."

This year's Polaris gala, held at Bell Media's Masonic Temple in downtown Toronto, featured performances by Feist and a number of her fellow nominees, including Kathleen Edwards, Cadence Weapon, and Cold Specks -- each of whom took home a $2,000 consolation prize. Canada sure knows how to reward its most gifted artists, doesn't it?