Overview
- The Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame named Toronto producer ZALE and Montréal five-piece Marie Céleste as the 2026 Breakthrough Songwriter Award recipients this week.
- Each act receives a $7,500 cash prize and a customized career-development plan with resources supported by TikTok.
- ZALE is a Grammy- and Juno-winning songwriter-producer whose credits include Kendrick Lamar, Eminem and PARTYNEXTDOOR and whose work has racked up hundreds of millions of streams.
- Marie Céleste are a French-language collective whose album Tout ce qui brille has surpassed one million Spotify streams and whose catalogue exceeds 2.6 million streams.
- The winners will be honored at the Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame induction ceremony at Massey Hall on Sept. 26, 2026, linking emerging bilingual talent to established inductees and increasing their exposure to industry networks.