Anjulie & Kaïa Kater: Grand Prize Recipients of Fifth Annual Her Music Awards

Last night at a special ceremony, the SOCAN Foundation announced Anjulie and Kaïa Kater as the grand prize recipients of the fifth annual Her Music Awards, presented by Anthem Entertainment.

The Her Music Awards celebrate and support Canadian music creators on the verge of taking their careers to the next level. The recipients were revealed during an intimate, in-person celebration held at the George Restaurant in Toronto. In recognition of their achievements, Anjulie and Kaïa Kater will both receive a 10,000-dollar cash prize and a one-year complimentary membership to the Songwriters Association of Canada (S.A.C.).

The SOCAN Foundation also presented the inaugural Her Music Award to an industry leader, Music Publishers Canada’s CEO Margaret McGuffin. This recognition celebrates outstanding contributions to the industry and transformative impact on the careers of music creators and publishers.

Anthem Entertainment’s support and belief in the program allowed the award to be increased from 5,000 dollars to 10,000 dollars each, for the first time this year, in celebration of the fifth anniversary.

Charlie Wall-Andrews, Executive Director of SOCAN Foundation, states:

“We’re thrilled to present Anjulie and Kaïa Kater with this year’s Her Music Awards, which celebrate inspiring music creators who are building remarkable momentum in their careers. We’re also deeply grateful for the continued support from Anthem Entertainment, whose investment empowers women music creators across Canada to thrive and shape the future of our industry.”

Anjulie is a JUNO Award-winning, platinum-selling, Canadian-Guyanese, Indian singer-songwriter based in Toronto, ON. A prolific songwriter and collaborator, she has worked with an impressive variety of artists, including Diplo, Zedd, Kelly Clarkson, Nicki Minaj, and Lady Gaga. Last year, Anjulie contributed to Nelly Furtado’s 2024 JUNO-nominated track “Eat Your Man” and released her hit single “Chai and Sunshine.” With over one billion streams, her music has been featured on major platforms like HMO, ABC, Netflix, Hulu, and MTV. Recognized as one of TikTok’s “Artists to Watch,” Anjulie is currently developing a genre-defying project that blends South Asian and Caribbean rhythms with powerful storytelling, infectious pop hooks and innovative EDM sound design.

Anjulie comments:

“I’m truly honoured to receive one of this year’s Her Music Awards. Canadian women in music have inspired me so much throughout my career. To be recognized as part of that creative tapestry means the world to me.”

Kaïa Kater, a jazz-infused singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist born in Montreal, QC, blends her roots from Quebec, the Caribbean, and Appalachia to create a distinctive sound that has garnered praise from NPR’s Tiny Desk, The Guardian, and Rolling Stone. With five albums to her name, including Nine Pin (2016), which won a Canadian Folk Music Award and the Stingray Rising Star Award, Kaïa has toured internationally, performing at iconic venues such as Carnegie Hall, The Kennedy Center, and London’s O2 Shepherd’s Bush. Her 2018 album Grenades earned a JUNO Award nomination and was long-listed for the Polaris Music Prize. Kaïa’s musical contributions to The Porter (BET+) earned her a 2022 Canadian Screen Award, and her work on My Dead Friend Zoe won the 2025 Audience Choice Award at South by Southwest (SXSW). Her latest album, Strange Medicine, won the 2025 JUNO Award for Contemporary Roots Album Of The Year and features cinematic arrangements and collaborations with renowned artists like Taj Mahal, Allison Russell, and Aoife O’Donovan.

Kater comments:

“It’s an incredible honour to be one of the Her Music Award recipients alongside the incredible Anjulie. My life as a musician exists at a breakneck speed; I spend much of my time either touring in rented vans, writing new songs in my apartment, or renting recording studios for new and sonically adventurous roots albums. I am grateful for the opportunity to pause and truly feel the recognition of my vision and efforts from the SOCAN Foundation and Anthem Entertainment.

“As a Black Grenadian-Canadian songwriter and banjo player, I want to serve as a career model for an independent, creative, experimental musical approach valuing collaboration and artistic excellence in all aspects of the job. There is so much more to do, and what a blessing it is to get to do it. Thank you to all involved for their support and belief in me as they help propel me along this path.”

The Her Music Awards are supported by the SOCAN Foundation and generous financial contributions from both the SOCAN Foundation and Anthem Entertainment. Applications were evaluated based on several criteria, including artistic merit, career potential and overall impact.