Faouzia is a Moroccan-Canadian singer, songwriter, and musician who became famous in the early 2020s for her songs including Born Without a Heart, Tears of Gold, and You Don’t Even Know Me. Her songs crossed more than 1 billion global streams in 2023.
Contents
Wiki/Biography
Faouzia Ouihya (popularly known as Faouzia) was born on Wednesday, 5 July 2000 (age 23 years; as of 2023) in Casablanca (also known as Dar el-Beida), Morocco. Her zodiac sign is Cancer. When she was one year old, her family moved from Morocco to Notre-Dame-de-Lourdes, Manitoba and later to Carman, Manitoba, Canada.
Faouzia (left) with her elder sister during her childhood
She did her initial schooling at Franco-Manitoban School Division, Manitoba [1]Facebook – Faouzia and later at Carman Collegiate, Manitoba. [2]Winnipeg Sun
Faouzia during her school days
She later pursued computer engineering at the University of Manitoba. [3]University of Manitoba While growing up, Faouzia showed an interest in singing and music and later became a professional singer.
Faouzia during her early college days
Physical Appearance
[4]Twitter – Faouzia Height: 5′ 2″
Weight (approx.): 50 kg
Hair Colour: Black
Eye Colour: Black
Figure Measurements (approx.): 32-28-34
Family
Parents & Siblings
Her father’s name is Mustapha Ouihya, and her mother’s name is Bouchra Alaoui.
Faouzia’s parents with her elder sister (center)
Faouzia has an elder sister, Samia Ouihya, who works as her manager and a younger sister, Kenza Ouihya, who works as her photographer.
Faouzia (left) with her sisters
Husband & Children
She is unmarried and does not have any children.
Religion
She follows Islam. [5]Facebook – Faouzia
Faouzia wearing a hijab
Ethnicity
Faouzia has Moroccan roots and likes Morrocan food and dresses. She also travels to Morocco regularly.
Faouzia wearing a Moroccan cap
Nationality/Citizenship
Faouzia has dual citizenship of Morocco and Canada. [6]Winnipeg Sun
Autograph
Faouzia’s autograph
Career
Music Artist
Faouzia got interested in learning music at the age of four, particularly playing piano after seeing her sister, Samia, play a piano in her childhood. She started writing poems and songs when she was five and learnt how to play piano at the age of six. She later learnt to play violin and guitar. She also learnt English, French, and Arabic as her parents often talked with her in Arabic.
Faouzia playing a piano
Faouzia later uploaded the cover of popular songs and a few of her self-written songs on YouTube which gained attention. On 1 November 2015, she released her debut single ‘Knock on My Door’ at the age of fifteen.
Faouzia during her early singing career
In 2017, she signed up with Paradigm Talent Agency which managed popular singers such as Coldplay, Feist, Ed Sheeran, and Sia during their early careers.
Faouzia after signing up with Paradigm Talent Agency
In 2018, she sang in David Guetta’s song ‘Battle’ which she described as one of the proudest moments of her career. In 2020, she signed up with Atlantic Records.
Faouzia after signing up with Atlantic Records
She went on to feature in many songs such as Minefields in 2020 with American singer, John Legend, her singles ‘Secrets’ in 2020 and ‘Hero’ in 2021, Now or Never in 2023 with French DJ, Martin Solveig.
Faouzia with John Legend (right)
Faouzia released her first EP (Extended Play) titled ‘Stripped’ in 2020 featuring 6 songs and her second EP titled ‘Citizens’ in 2022 which had her viral song ‘RIP, Love.’
Faouzia’s billboard after the release of her second EP, Citizens
In 2022, she did a worldwide tour, performing in various cities including Toronto, London, Dubai, Paris, California, and New York. She said in an interview that she would release her debut album in 2024.
A poster of Faouzia’s concert
Awards, Honours, Achievements
- Grand Prize, Song of the Year and the Public Prize Awards at the 2015 Chicane Électrique
- Came second in Canada’s Walk of Fame Emerging Artist Mentorship program in 2016
- Won the Nashville-based Unsigned Only music competition in 2017 by defeating 6,000 contestants from 100 countries
Faouzia after winning the Unsigned Only music competition
- Became the first Canadian pair (with Matt Epp) to win the International Songwriting Competition in 2017 after beating 16,000 participants from 137 countries (for the song The Sound)
- Performed with Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra at The Forks, Winnipeg on the 150th anniversary of Canada in 2017
- Manitoba Rising Star Award in 2017
Faouzia with Manitoba Rising Star Award
- Became Canada’s first YouTube Artist on the Rise in 2020
- Nominated for Breakthrough Artist of the Year Award at Juno Awards in 2022
- Named as one of the Top 25 Canadian Immigrants in 2023
- Named in Forbes Middle East 30 Under 30 list in 2023
Faouzia after being named in the Forbes Middle East 30 Under 30 list
Facts/Trivia
- In 2017, Faouzia won the Nashville-based Unsigned Only music competition after which she was given $20,000 cash, a scholarship to Berklee College of Music’s five-week summer performance program, and one-on-one mentoring sessions with executives from big record companies such as Island Records (Universal) and Sony Music Nashville.
Faouzia in 2017 after winning the Unsigned Only music competition
- Themes of Faouzia’s songs range from pop, R&B, synth-pop, and acoustic pop. Reportedly, her voice lies in the coloratura mezzo-soprano vocal range that spans from C♯ 3 to G♯5 in mixed voice and A6 in whistle tones. Faouzia has described her music as ’emotional’ and ‘intense.’
- She mostly sings in English language and sometimes in French and Arabic languages. Many fans have said that her English songs have Arabic tonalities.
- In an interview, she said that her parents and sisters were her biggest inspiration to pursue a music career. During her early days, she wrote lyrics inspired by people around her; however, she later started writing lyrics based on her personal experiences.
Faouzia (extreme right) with her family
- Faouzia listened to various pop singers such as Rihanna, Lady Gaga, Ariana Grande, Rosalía, Beyoncé, Sia, Adele, Stromae, Kelly Clarkson, and John Legend during her growing years. As a songwriter, she was mainly influenced by Rihanna, Beyoncé, Lady Gaga, and Sia. Her favourite Arabic musicians are Umm Kulthum and Fairuz, and she was also inspired by Assala Nasri and Khaled. She listened to composers Chopin, Bach, and Mozart when she started composing music. A few of her favourite songs include ‘Say Something’ in 2013 by A Great Big World featuring Christina Aguilera and ‘Hello’ in 2015 by Adele.
- She often uploads videos related to makeup on her YouTube channel titled Faouzia. [7]YouTube – Faouzia
- Her song ‘Minefield’ has more than 100 million global streams and marked her first Top 10 entry on the US iTunes charts, number 1 on the French pop charts, number 2 on the all-genre charts, and number 2 on the French airplay charts.
Faouzia with John Legend (left) during the shoot of Minefield song
- Faouzia once revealed in an interview that she likes it when her fans say that her songs helped them feel motivated to do anything and said,
My favorite thing is hearing that one of my songs helped someone feel motivated or empowered, or even helped them to have a good cry—which sometimes is all you need. I really believe that immersing yourself in music can help you through the tough times in life, and I always hope that my songs can do that for everyone.”
- She has been featured in various popular magazines such as Vogue Arabia, Condé Nast Traveller, Cosmopolitan Middle East, and Rolling Stone.
Faouzia on the cover of Cosmopolitan magazine
- Faouzia also sells her merchandise through the Warner Music Store website. [8]Warner Music
- In an interview, Faouzia revealed that she used to act in plays and dramas during her school days and refrained from playing sports.
- She is very popular on social media. As of 2023, she has 3 million followers on Instagram [9]Instagram – Faouzia, 1 million followers on Facebook, [10]Facebook – Faouzia, 2.4 million subscribers on YouTube, [11]YouTube – Faouzia and 4 million followers on TikTok. Her songs surpassed 700 million streams on Spotify in 2023.
- She is a cat lover and owns a pet cat named Wissam.
Faouzia with her pet cat
- In an interview, Faouzia said that she likes to push her limits through her fashion. She likes high-fashion looks and likes to keep her style sleek.
A photo of Faouzia
- She often eats Moroccan dishes, particularly tagine, and drinks Moroccan soda known as Poms.
- On the occasion of International Women’s Day (8 March) in 2021, she created a playlist for Billboard and said that she wanted to motivate women through her songs.
