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Door 24
Lights at Billboard Canada Women in Music in Toronto on Oct. 1, 2025.
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Lights Becomes the First Canadian Artist to Receive Visionary Award Presented by SiriusXM at Billboard Canada Women in Music
The milestone moment was commemorated by SiriusXM’s Siobhan Woodrow, and two very special artist guests — deadmau5 and Bryan Adams.
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Lights was one of the brightest stars at this year’s Billboard Canada Women in Music.
The recipient of the Visionary Award, sponsored by SiriusXM Canada, is someone who sees the world differently, doesn’t follow the trends, transcends genre and breaks boundaries.
The Canadian singer-songwriter has had many achievements throughout her almost two-decade-long career, including 10 songs on the Billboard Canadian Hot 100 and eight projects on the Canadian Albums chart. She’s also a comic book creator, a visual artist, a tattooist and a collaborator across scenes, working with artists like Steve Aoki, Felix Cartal and Travis Barker.
“Her career tells a story of constant reinvention,” shared Siobhan Woodrow, SiriusXM’s Senior Manager of Music Programming, in her speech presenting the award at Billboard Canada Women in Music. “Her sound is not static; it evolves, shifts, and challenges. She seamlessly traverses between the worlds of pop, dance, rock and punk, drawing in musicians from all corners of the music industry.”
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Woodrow hinted that the award’s presenters were “living proof” of genre fluidity. It was a surprise to everyone in the room, including Lights, when Canadian icons deadmau5 and Bryan Adams took the stage to the sounds of “Summer of ‘69.” Lights stood up from her seats and threw out her arms, shocked.
"I’ve been a big supporter of Lights since the first time I’ve met her, and I can't believe I get to stand here with Bryan Adams," deadmau5 said to cheers from the crowd.
Adams shared that he recently collaborated with Lights, and was “blown away with her arrangements and her singing. She’s amazing.”
deadmau5, meanwhile, said he loves her production side. “What I love about her is that she’s a groundbreaking artist and total nerd,” he said. “Like, magic level nerd.”
Lights walked up to the stage in total awe, struggling to find her words, but she made sure to bow down to them, in complete shock at their dual honour. “I love these people and I love this,” she shared, referencing the crowd of women.
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It was a proud moment for the singer, who continues to innovate, writing and producing her latest album A6 completely on her own. She’s set to release the deluxe version, A6EXTENDED, on Jan. 30, 2025.
She shared with the crowd that she has often lived her life doing things that excited her, and encouraged the audience to do the same.
“Whether or not that decision is something that’s been done before, or something that makes money, or something that people even understand,” she continued, shouting out her predominantly female team that has allowed her to make these decisions.
Lights encouraged emerging creatives to bet on themselves.
“Send the email. Write the novel. Quit the job and start the business. Draw the comic. Produce the album yourself. Start the label. Eat the whole f–ing pint. There is no time to do anything other than what excites you,” she shared. “So may we all be visionaries in our own experience.”
It’s an extension of the advice Lights gave to aspiring female artists on the Billboard Canada Women in Music red carpet, before the event.
“There’s no right or wrong way to do anything, and that’s the beauty of it, but that’s also the scary part. There are no answers, so create your own.”
She left the stage with her arms around deadmau5 and Adams, sharing some ecstatic photos after the event.
“Still riding this high honestly. Lemme engrave this interaction on my tomb,” she later shared in the comments of Billboard Canada on Instagram.
It was a major night for Lights, but also for the many women who were inspired by her words and her wisdom.
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Published by ARTSHOUSE MEDIA GROUP (AMG) under license from Billboard Media, LLC, a subsidiary of Penske Media Corporation.
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