Charlotte Day Wilson To Receive Innovator Award at Billboard Canada Women in Music 2025

Charlotte Day Wilson is a woman of many talents.

From singing and songwriting to producing and engineering — the Grammy-nominated artist has spent over a decade honing in on her craft. Now, she will be honoured with the Innovator Award, presented by Interac, at this year’s Billboard Canada Women in Music event in Toronto on October 1.

This is the first time the Innovator Award has been presented in Canada. It has been awarded twice in the U.S, to Missy Elliot in 2015 and Kacey Musgraves in 2018.

The accolade celebrates an artist whose body of work challenges musical convention, breaks new ground and creates positive change both in and outside of their creative work. Wilson has made a major impact both as an artist and behind-the-scenes as a producer and engineer, advocating for women in the studio.

Before she became a hitmaker, Wilson set the foundation for a fruitful musical career. Growing up, she studied classical piano and taught her production techniques on GarageBand. Wilson has collaborated with artists like Daniel Caesar, BadBadNotGood and River Tiber, as well as international stars like Sampha.

In 2016, her second EP, CDW, was released, boasting her biggest hit “Work.” The following year, the track was nominated for the SOCAN Songwriting Prize, her project was longlisted for the Polaris Music Prize and the "Work" music video directed by Fantavious Fritz, won the 2018 Prism Prize. After the latter win, the duo announced she was using the prize money to create a special one-time grant for emerging female and non-binary video directors.

Further proving that she’s a true innovator, Wilson launched indie record label Stone Woman Music in 2018, an imprint for her own musical releases, including her debut album Alpha and her sophomore album Cyan Blue, often partnering with larger labels for wider distribution.

The praise for Day Wilson has remained strong in the Canadian music scene — and beyond. This year, Cyan Blue was nominated for best engineered at the Grammys, highlighting Wilson alongside her engineer and mastering collaborators Jack Emblem, Jack Rochon and Chris Gehringer. She's long been an advocate for women in the studio, where they are often underrepresented in technical roles.

2025 has shaped up to be a major year for Wilson. Hot on the heels of her Grammy nomination, she performed “a dream opportunity” in her hometown, Red Bull Symphonic with a full orchestra at Roy Thomson Hall in February.

She's an entrepreneur outside of music, too. In the summer, Wilson and her friends opened Tutto Panino, an Italian sandwich shop in the heart of Roncevalles that received major buzz from its unique flavour pairings and inviting atmosphere.

Charlotte Day Wilson is one of many influential women who will be honoured at Billboard Canada’s Women in Music event. This year’s ceremony includes The Beaches (Billboard Canada Women of the Year), Lights (Visionary Award), Julia Wolf (Global Rising Star), Coeur de pirate (Trailblazer Award) and more to be announced. Hosted by Keisha Chanté, the event will take place at Rebel in Toronto on October 1.

A limited number of tickets are available to the public here.