Faouzia facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Faouzia
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Faouzia in 2022
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| Background information | |
| Native name |
فوزية أويحيى
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| Birth name | Faouzia Ouihya |
| Born | July 5, 2000 Casablanca, Morocco |
| Origin | Carman, Manitoba, Canada |
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| Years active | 2015–present |
| Labels | Atlantic |
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| YouTube information | |
| Years active | 2013–present |
| Genre | |
| Subscribers | 2.67 million |
| Total views | 886.32 million |
| Subscriber and view counts updated as of 31 December 2024. | |
Faouzia Ouihya (born July 5, 2000), known simply as Faouzia, is a talented singer, songwriter, and musician from Morocco and Canada. She was born in Morocco and moved to Canada with her family when she was very young. During her childhood, she learned to play many instruments and started writing her own songs. Before releasing her first collection of songs, called an extended play (EP), Stripped, in August 2020, she released several singles and worked with other musicians. In 2023, she was honored with a Top 25 Canadian Immigrant Award.
Contents
Life and Music Journey
Early Life and Musical Start (2000–2014)
Faouzia Ouihya was born in Casablanca, Morocco. Her parents are Mohammed Ouihya and Bouchra Alaoui. When she was just one year old, her family moved to Canada. They first lived in Notre-Dame-de-Lourdes, Manitoba, and then settled in the small town of Carman, Manitoba. Faouzia has two sisters, Samia and Kenza. Samia helps manage her career, and Kenza is her photographer.
Faouzia grew up in a Muslim family and often visited her home country, Morocco. She feels a strong connection to North Africa. Even though she grew up in Canada, she enjoyed Moroccan food and clothing. Faouzia shared that she sometimes felt different as a child. This feeling of not quite fitting in inspired her first song. She wrote about embracing everyone's differences.
Her love for music began at age four. She watched her sister Samia play the piano and wished she could learn too. Faouzia started writing songs and poems when she was five. She began playing piano at six. Later, she also learned to play the guitar and violin. Faouzia speaks English, French, and Arabic fluently. She mostly uses Arabic with her family.
Starting Her Career (2015–2019)
When Faouzia was fifteen, she won three awards at a competition called La Chicane Électrique in 2015. She won Song of the Year, the Audience Award, and the Grand Prix. She started sharing her songs and covers of other artists' songs on YouTube. This helped her get a contract with a talent agency. Her first single, "Knock on My Door," was released on November 1, 2015.
In 2016, she earned second place in the Canada's Walk of Fame Emerging Artist Mentorship Program. The next year, in 2017, she won the Grand Prize at the Nashville Unsigned Only music competition. That same year, she worked with Canadian artist Matt Epp on their song "The Sound." They also won the International Songwriting Competition, which is the biggest songwriting contest in the world. They were the first Canadians to win the top prize in the competition's 16-year history. They beat 16,000 other entries from 137 countries. Faouzia also performed with the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra to celebrate Canada's 150th birthday.
In 2018, Faouzia was featured on the song "Battle" from David Guetta's album 7. David Guetta praised her "great voice, powerful vibrato, and unique style." Faouzia said it was "one of my proudest career moments." At that time, she was also studying computer engineering at the University of Manitoba. She also sang on the song "Money" for French rapper Ninho's album Destin. This song became very popular and was certified gold in 2019.
Recent Music and Albums (2020–Present)
In early 2020, Kelly Clarkson asked Faouzia to translate her song "I Dare You" into Moroccan Arabic. This version was released on April 16. About a month later, the Swedish music group Galantis asked her to sing on their song "I Fly." This song was part of the soundtrack for the movie Scoob! (2020).
On August 6, Faouzia released her first extended play (EP) called Stripped. It has six acoustic songs. Five of these songs had been released before, and "100 Bandaids" was a new track. To share her new EP, she performed the songs live at a concert on August 20. On November 5, 2020, Faouzia released the single "Minefields" with American singer-songwriter John Legend.
Faouzia continued to release new music. On March 21, 2021, she released "Don't Tell Me I'm Pretty" on YouTube. On June 29, she released "Hero" with a music video that looked like a video game. In July, Faouzia shared that she had been working on her first full studio album for a few years. On October 28, she released "Puppet."
On March 30, 2022, Faouzia announced her second EP, Citizens. She released "RIP, Love" as a single from this project. Citizens came out on May 19 and included her earlier songs "Minefields," "Don't Tell Me I'm Pretty," and "Puppet." On October 7, she released "Habibi (My Love)."
On April 14, 2023, Faouzia released "I'm Blue," which she had previously shared on YouTube in 2019. As part of a project called Doll Summer, she released "Don't Call Me" and "Plastic Therapy" on June 9. Then came "La La La" on August 4 and "IL0V3Y0U" on September 8. On June 23, Faouzia and French DJ Martin Solveig released "Now or Never."
In 2024, she helped write the song "Beg Forgiveness" for the album Vultures 1 by ¥$ (Kanye West and Ty Dolla Sign). She also joined the Chinese singing competition Singer 2024 and finished in fourth place overall.
Her Unique Style
Music Style and Themes
Faouzia's music is a mix of pop, R&B, synth-pop, and acoustic pop. She describes her songs as "emotional" and "intense." Her first songs were inspired by people close to her. Later, her music became more personal, as she wanted to share her own story. One writer noted that Faouzia's songs have upbeat pop sounds but with very deep and meaningful lyrics.
Faouzia has a powerful voice that can reach very high notes. She mostly sings in English language, but her vocals often include sounds and styles from Arabic music. She has also performed songs in Arabic and French language.
Who Inspired Her
Faouzia says her parents and sisters were her biggest inspirations for pursuing a music career. Growing up, she listened to many pop artists like Rihanna, Lady Gaga, Ariana Grande, Beyoncé, Sia, Adele, Kelly Clarkson, and John Legend. She especially looks up to Rihanna, Beyoncé, Lady Gaga, and Sia as songwriters. Some of her favorite songs include "Say Something" by A Great Big World and "Hello" by Adele.
When she was young, she also listened to famous Arab music artists with her parents, such as Umm Kulthum and Fairuz. Faouzia calls them two of her "all-time favorite artists." She also enjoyed music by Assala Nasri and Khaled. When she was learning music, she listened to classical composers like Chopin, Bach, and Mozart. Pop rock bands like Fall Out Boy and Imagine Dragons have also influenced her. She even went to an Imagine Dragons concert.
Her Music
Faouzia has released two main collections of songs, called Extended Plays (EPs).
Extended Plays
- Stripped (Released August 6, 2020): This EP features six acoustic songs, including "How It All Works Out," "Bad Dreams," and "100 Bandaids."
- Citizens (Released May 19, 2022): This EP includes eight songs, such as "RIP, Love," "Don't Tell Me I'm Pretty," and "Minefields."
Singles and Collaborations
Faouzia has released many singles (individual songs) throughout her career. Some of her notable singles include "Knock on My Door" (2015), "Hero" (2021), and "RIP, Love" (2022).
She has also collaborated with several well-known artists:
- "Minefields" (2020) with John Legend
- "I Dare You (كنتحداك)" (2020) with Kelly Clarkson
- "Now or Never" (2023) with Martin Solveig
Faouzia has also been featured on songs by other artists:
- "Battle" (2018) with David Guetta
- "Money" (2019) with Ninho
- "I Fly" (2020) with Galantis for the Scoob! movie soundtrack.
Faouzia also creates music videos for many of her songs, which you can find online.
See also
In Spanish: Faouzia para niños
