NOTE: All photos are copyright of Howard Shiau Photography 2026
The last time we saw Faouzia in Toronto, she had just kicked off her Citizens Tour in North American, playing to a sold out Opera House. Four years later, quite a lot has happened to the Moroccan-born singer/songwriter with one of the most impressive vocal ranges I’ve ever heard. After releasing six more singles in 2023, she parted ways with Atlantic Records, competed in Singer 2024 in China (finishing fourth under heavy controversy), and completed work on and released her first full studio album Film Noir (November 2025). The album has some real bangers like “Peace and Violence”, where you can hear the influence of Arabic music to her songwriting, and “Unethical”, probably my favorite track on the album. Film Noir probably doesn’t take advantage of the lower end of her vocal range as much as some of her previous work but it’s definitely one of my top records on 2025. Faouzia has said that her new music takes her back to how she used to write without influence from a record label and is happy to have ownership and control over any future music. The response to her album has been overwhelmingly positive and the announcement of her tour resulted in sold out shows across North America. On Wednesday, August 19th, Faouzia brought her Film Noir Tour to the Danforth Music Hall in Toronto. The early queue for the show was already incredibly long a couple of hours before doors. When the 100+ VIP ticket holders entered half an hour before regular doors, they barely all got in before the rest of the line started going in! Without an opener, the show was scheduled to start a bit late at 8:30pm but at least it meant an earlier night.
As the intro music began and Faouzia’s musicians took the stage, she came out briefly, in a coat, to wave hello to her fans. She soon re-entered in a black lacey flowing dress and kicked off the show with “Lost My Mind in Paris” as the sing-a-long began. With the first lyrics, we were reminded of what an amazing singer sounds like in this current landscape of generic pop voices. Even the trills and vibratos in her singing is so unlike the exaggerated acrobatics you hear so often these days.
On her setlist, the show is broken up into seven sections with “transitions” in between. The first two and a half sections (seven songs) were all from Film Noir. When she first ducked behind the curtain during a transition, I thought there would be an outfit change but it was not to be. Perhaps a water break? The dominant theme of Film Noir in the show was to be expected as all fourteen songs from the album were performed on this night. Faouzia moved around the stage, ensuring fans on different sides of the packed venue were given attention. There was no choreographed dancing as her voice was the star of the show. That doesn’t mean she didn’t dance around the stage at times, to the crowd’s delight.
Click on photos to enlarge
A small piano was brought on-stage for “Porcelain” and “Fur Elise”, beautiful renditions of both, but one of my favorite performances of the night was the acoustic “Desert Rose” that followed. Quiet and impactful, it was the highlight of the evening! During what she called the “Throwback” section of the set, she started with an abbreviated version of 2023’s “Plastic Therapy” and an also abbreviated cover of Eiffel 65’s “Blue (Da Ba Dee)” before giving the audience the choice between “Anybody Else” and “Born Without a Heart”. The crowd voted for “Born Without a Heart”, giving us a small taste of her older music. I probably could have skipped the cover for a full version of “Born Without a Heart”. There was a brief scare as Faouzia tripped and fell on the stage but luckily, she was fine. You don’t see artists in four inch stilettos these days, probably for good reason.
Surprising, “Unethical” was not in the final section of the setlist as it is a fan favorite but, unsurprisingly, “Peace and Violence” was the final song. Having the whole crowd singing “I’d watch the world burn down just to see you in the lighting of the embers” was a pretty incredible sight. After that incredible twenty one song set, I don’t think any audience member left the show dissatisfied. I can’t wait to see what Faouzia does next! Perhaps in between new albums, she can re-arrange some of her Film Noir songs acoustically a-la Stripped and do a full acoustic tour of her older and new music!! I’d definitely pay to see that and for a vinyl record if she releases these re-arranged songs! Faouzia wraps up her tour with two nights in Montreal on Friday and Saturday so catch her while you can!
There are two quick production items I do want to mention. The first is a minor issue, when Faouzia either kneels down briefly during songs or when she sings a whole song sitting on the stage. However, since the stage at Danforth Music Hall is very low, no one besides those in the very front could see her. It’s fine for brief moments but I’m sure it can be annoying if you go through a whole song without seeing the singer. The other item is the use of backing tracks. Since several of her songs have layered vocal tracks, I can understand that she would need a track since she doesn’t have backup singers. It also allows her to scat ad-hoc as needed. However, there were times when she would just stop singing but the vocals kept going. I know she sings live because the deviations from recordings are obvious but it’s distracting when she stop and we’re trying to figure out what’s going on. There are so many pop artists that just lip-sync all their live performances but Faouzia is so talented and doesn’t need to do that. Don’t give detractors anything to nit-pick. That being said, Faouzia’s show is still one my top concerts of 2026.
Click on photos to enlarge
