Faouzia will accept the Breakthrough Award presented by FACTOR at Billboard Canada Women in Music 2026, to be held November 24 at Rebel in Toronto. Billboard Canada announced the honour for the Moroccan-Canadian singer as part of the third edition of the event, hosted by Leandra Earl and Kylie Miller of The Beaches.
The award follows the song that forced the conversation. Faouzia, born Faouzia Ouihya, debuted on the Billboard Canadian Hot 100 two months ago with Unethical, a single released over a year earlier that went viral long after its first release. In September, Unethical became her first song to pass one million daily streams on Spotify.
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Forever grateful.
That was Faouzia’s own reaction, reported by Billboard Canada, when Unethical passed the million daily streams mark in September. A song more than a year old reaching that level is a streaming era pattern, but the Canadian chart debut that followed is the hard fact underneath the honour.
A Toronto Night With A Global Guest List
Faouzia will be honoured in Toronto alongside a wide class. Billboard Canada’s first ever Global Woman of the Year is Cardi B, with Global Hitmaker Bebe Rexha, Rising Star Chxrry, Global Visionary Summer Walker, Trailblazer Tia Wood and Innovator Blond:ish also receiving honours, plus Executive of the Year Melissa Bubb-Clarke of Live Nation Canada and Impact Award recipient Kristy Fletcher of MusiCounts and the Juno Awards, as Billboard Canada’s announcement detailed.
That company sharpens what the Breakthrough Award is saying. The Canadian name on that list is there because a catalogue song refused to stay quiet, climbed onto the Canadian Hot 100 and turned a slow burn into a national chart story in the space of two months.
From Film Noir To A Breakthrough Year
The viral run sits on top of a full album cycle. Faouzia’s debut album Film Noir arrived in 2025, followed by a deluxe edition in June, and Unethical was one of its early tastes. The November 24 ceremony at Rebel now gives that cycle a formal marker, in the city where Canadian music hands out most of its honours, with the award presented by FACTOR.
For Canadian pop, the lesson is plain and useful. Release dates no longer decide when a song gets its moment, and Faouzia’s year is the clearest domestic proof on the board right now.
