Breakthrough Songwriter AwardBreakthrough Songwriter Award

Nominees

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2025 Finalists

About the Award

The Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame Breakthrough Songwriter Award, presented by SOCAN Foundation with support from Amazon Music, celebrates the current achievements and future potential of emerging Canadian songwriters. The award has the overall objective of encouraging and supporting the development of songwriters who are on an upward trajectory in their careers.

Past Recipients

2024

Aaron Paris

Anglophone Winner

Fredz

Francophone Winner

2022

Eli Brown

Anglophone Winner

Lou-Adriane Cassidy

Francophone Winner

2021

Mustafa

Anglophone Winner

Ariane Roy

Francophone Winner

2019

Lowell

Anglophone Winner

Les Louanges

Francophone Winner

2017

Jessie Reyez

Anglophone Winner

Charlotte Cardin

Francophone Winner

Guidelines

The CSHF organizes two juries, one Francophone and the other non-francophone, both comprised of up to 15 industry professionals
The panels are constructed of several major groups in the music industry, including record promoters and labels, music publishers, A&R representatives, journalists, and others
Each jury member is required to nominate two songwriters for the award. Once the pool of emerging songwriter candidates has been compiled, both juries participate in two rounds of online voting, each determining one songwriter that is awarded the Breakthrough Songwriter Award
Music fans are encouraged to vote for their favourite nominee for a chance to award them a bonus point
All genres and languages of music are considered. Songwriters are nominated on the basis of artistic merit, airplay on terrestrial or online radio, streaming, and YouTube plays, sales of physical or digital album units or digital tracks, and having won, or having been nominated for, a recognized industry award, as applicable. Emerging songwriters are considered to be songwriters that have shown an upward trajectory in their career, but have yet to achieve sustained or major success.

ABOUT THE SOCAN FOUNDATION

SOCAN Foundation fosters, sustains, and promotes the creation of Canadian music. Through grants, awards, and programs, the Foundation supports SOCAN members at all stages of their careers, alongside music creators, publishers, and organizations across the country. Guided by its vision, SOCAN Foundation works to create an environment where Canadian music and its creators thrive, while deepening public understanding of the vital role music plays in society.

Learn More: https://www.socanfoundation.ca/

Richard Séguin, Roch Voisine, Martha and Rufus Wainwright, and Diane Juster to take part in LÉGENDES on November 17 in Montréal — a Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame event presented by RBC

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October 20, 2025

CANADIAN SONGWRITERS HALL OF FAME CELEBRATES ICONS AT 2025 LEGENDS INDUCTION IN TORONTO

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