• July 5, 2000
• Faouzia is a Moroccan-Canadian singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist whose distinct vocal control and blend of Arabic vocal ornamentation with commercial pop have earned her a reputation as one of the most gifted singers of her generation.
• She was born Faouzia Ouihya in Casablanca, Morocco, to Mohammed Ouihya and Bouchra Alaoui. Her family moved to Notre-Dame-de-Lourdes in Manitoba, Canada, when she was a toddler, before settling in the small rural town of Carman, Manitoba. Faouzia has two sisters: Samia, who helps manage her career, and Kenza, who has done photographic work for her.
• At 13, Faouzia began posting cover songs on YouTube from her bedroom in Carman, a farm town of about 3,000 people an hour southwest of Winnipeg. Her rendition of Adele's "Hello" caught the eye of Manitoba music manager Tim Jones, who signed her and helped release her debut single, "Knock On My Door," in November 2015.
• In 2017, 17-year-old Faouzia became the first teenager and the first Canadian to win the Grand Prize at Nashville's Unsigned Only competition, beating out 6,000 entries with "Knock on My Door." That same year, she and fellow Manitoban Matt Epp won the International Songwriting Competition for "The Sound," making them the first Canadian writers to take the top prize in the contest's 16-year history against 16,000 global entries.
• French DJ David Guetta chose Faouzia to sing on "Battle" from his 2018 album 7 after coming across her videos online. Speaking to the French outlet Le Matin, Guetta praised her "powerful vibrato and unique style." Faouzia was still in high school when she got the call that the collaboration was going through.
• Even as her music career took off, Faouzia enrolled at the University of Manitoba to study computer engineering, balancing heavy coursework with international recording sessions. She wrote "Minefields," the piano ballad that became her breakthrough hit, alone at a small keyboard by her bed while taking a study break during winter final exams.
  
  "Minefields" started as a solo song, but Faouzia and her team put together a wishlist of potential male duet partners, putting John Legend, known for piano-led hits like "All Of Me," at the top as a reach. "You just kind of throw those things out there and you don't expect anything to come of it," she told Cosmopolitan Middle East, "but about a week later, I got a call from my team saying John was interested." The two didn't meet in person until they filmed the music video.
  
  In November 2021, Faouzia and Legend performed "Minefields" live together for the first time at an afterparty for Chanel's Cruise show in Dubai, with Legend accompanying her on a black baby grand piano.
• Faouzia's vocal technique has made her a popular subject for vocal coaches analyzing her range on YouTube, where breakdown videos highlight her whistle register and two-and-a-half-octave working range.
• In early 2020, Kelly Clarkson invited Faouzia to translate her single "I Dare You" into Moroccan Arabic for an official multi-language release. That same year, Faouzia provided vocals for "I Fly" on the Scoob! movie soundtrack alongside Swedish electronic duo Galantis.
• In 2024 she competed on the ninth season of the popular Chinese TV show Singer, placing fourth overall.
• After over six years with Atlantic Records, Faouzia announced in November 2024 that she was leaving the major label system to go independent. She released her long-awaited debut album, Film Noir, as an independent artist on November 7, 2025.
• She credits Rihanna, Beyoncé, Lady Gaga, and Sia as her primary songwriting influences, alongside Egyptian and Lebanese vocal icons like Umm Kulthum and Fairuz, whose records her parents played at home.

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