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The Most Famous

SINGERS from Canada

This page contains a list of the greatest Canadian Singers. The pantheon dataset contains 3,528 Singers, 65 of which were born in Canada. This makes Canada the birth place of the 11th most number of Singers behind Spain and Russia.

Top 10

The following people are considered by Pantheon to be the top 10 most legendary Canadian Singers of all time. This list of famous Canadian Singers is sorted by HPI (Historical Popularity Index), a metric that aggregates information on a biography’s online popularity. Visit the rankings page to view the entire list of Canadian Singers.

1. Celine Dion (1968 - )

With an HPI of 68.90, Celine Dion is the most famous Canadian Singer. Her biography has been translated into 130 different languages on wikipedia.

Céline Marie Claudette Dion ( say-LEEN dee-ON; born 30 March 1968) is a Canadian singer. Noted for her powerful and technically skilled vocals, Dion is the best-selling Canadian recording artist, and the best-selling French-language artist of all time. Her music has incorporated genres such as pop, rock, R&B, gospel, and classical music. Her recordings since have been mainly in English and French, although she has also sung in Spanish, Italian, German, Latin, Japanese, and Chinese. Born into a large family in Charlemagne, Quebec, Dion emerged as a teen star in her home country with a series of French-language albums during the 1980s. She gained international recognition by winning the 1988 Eurovision Song Contest, where she represented Switzerland with "Ne partez pas sans moi". After learning to speak English, she signed with Epic Records in the United States. Her debut English-language album, Unison (1990), established her as a viable pop artist primarily in North America and several English-speaking markets, while The Colour of My Love (1993) gave her global superstardom. Dion continued her success throughout the 1990s with several of the bestselling English-language albums in history, such as Falling into You (1996), Let's Talk About Love (1997), These Are Special Times (1998), and A New Day Has Come (2002), which were certified diamond in the US with more than 30 million sales worldwide each. She also released a series of international number-one hits, including "The Power of Love", "Think Twice", "Because You Loved Me", "It's All Coming Back to Me Now", "My Heart Will Go On", "I'm Your Angel" and "I'm Alive". Dion continued releasing French albums between each English record; D'eux (1995) became the best-selling French-language album of all time, while S'il suffisait d'aimer (1998), Sans attendre (2012), and Encore un soir (2016), were all certified diamond in France. During the 2000s, she built her reputation as a successful live performer with A New Day... on the Las Vegas Strip (2003–07), the highest-grossing concert residency of all time, and the Taking Chances World Tour (2008–09), one of the highest-grossing concert tours of 2000s. Dion has been named one of the greatest singers in music. She is one of the best-selling music artists of all time, with record sales of more than 200 million worldwide. Seven of her albums have sold at least 10 million copies worldwide, the second-most among women in history. She has won five Grammy Awards, including Album of the Year and Record of the Year. She has received two Honorary Doctorates in Music degree from Berklee College of Music and Université Laval. Billboard named her the "Queen of Adult Contemporary" for having the most number-one adult contemporary songs for a female artist. Dion is the second-best-selling female artist in the US during the Nielsen SoundScan, the 8th all-time best-performing top female artist in the United States, and the sixth all-time best-performing female soloist in Billboard 200 history. In 2003, she was honoured by the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI) for selling over 50 million albums in Europe. In 2008, Dion was recognized as the best-selling international artist in South Africa. At the end of 2009, Dion was recognized by the Los Angeles Times as that decade's top-earning artist, with combined album sales and concert revenue exceeding $747 million.

2. Bryan Adams (1959 - )

With an HPI of 63.77, Bryan Adams is the 2nd most famous Canadian Singer. His biography has been translated into 74 different languages.

Bryan Guy Adams FRPS (born November 5, 1959) is a Canadian musician, singer, songwriter, composer, and photographer. He has been cited as one of the best-selling music artists of all time, and is estimated to have sold between 75 million and more than 100 million records and singles worldwide. Adams was the most played artist on Canadian radio in the 2010s and has had 25 top-15 singles in Canada and a dozen or more in each of the US, UK, and Australia. Adams joined his first band at age 15, and at age 20 his eponymous debut album was released. He rose to fame in North America with the 1983 top ten album Cuts Like a Knife, featuring its title track and the ballad "Straight From the Heart", his first US top ten hit. His 1984 Canadian and US number one album, Reckless (which became the first album by a Canadian to be certified diamond in Canada), made him a global star with tracks like "Run to You" and "Summer of '69", both top ten hits in the US and Canada, and the power ballad "Heaven", a US number one hit. His 1987 album Into the Fire, with its US and Canadian top ten song, "Heat of the Night", rose to number two in Canada and the top ten in the US and several other countries. In 1989, he ended the decade by co writing with fellow Canadian songwriter Jim Vallance and American songwriter Diane Warren "When the Night Comes", played at the end credits of that year's Tom Selleck starred crime drama, An Innocent Man. In 1991, Adams released "(Everything I Do) I Do It for You", which went to number one in at least 19 countries, including for 16 and 18 straight weeks in the UK, and Europe overall, both records. It is one of the best-selling singles of all time, having sold more than 15 million copies worldwide. The song was included on Adams' Waking Up the Neighbours (1991), a worldwide number one album that sold 16 million copies, including being certified diamond in Canada. Another major hit off the album was the Canadian number one and US number two hit "Can't Stop This Thing We Started", which also went top ten in several other countries. Beginning in 1993, Adams' hits were mostly ballads, including the worldwide number one or two hits "Please Forgive Me" (1993); "All for Love" (1993); and "Have You Ever Really Loved a Woman?" (1995), the latter two topping the U.S. Billboard Hot 100. Adam's 1993 greatest hits compilation album, So Far So Good, topped the charts in numerous countries selling 13 million copies worldwide, including being certified 6× platinum in Canada, 5× platinum in the US, and 14× platinum in Australia. In 1996, Adams' 18 til I Die was a top five album in many countries, but only reached number 31 in the US. He did duets with Barbra Streisand ("I Finally Found Someone" (1996), his last US top ten hit) and Melanie C ("When You're Gone" (1998), an international top five hit). In the 1990s, Adams had six European Radio Airplay number one songs for 32 weeks, the fourth and third most, respectively; and three number one songs on the European Sales Chart for 29 weeks total, the most weeks of any artist. Since 1999, Adams released eight albums, three reaching number one in Canada, and the last three reaching the top three in the UK, Germany and elsewhere in Europe. In 2008, Adams was ranked 38th on the list of all-time top artists on the Billboard Hot 100. Adams has won 20 Juno Awards and a Grammy Award for Best Song Written for a Motion Picture or Television amongst 16 Grammy nominations, and has been nominated for five Golden Globe Awards and three Academy Awards for his songwriting for films. Adams has been inducted into the Hollywood Walk of Fame, Canada's Walk of Fame, the Canadian Broadcast Hall of Fame, the Canadian Music Hall of Fame and the Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame. On 1 May 2010, Adams received the Governor General's Performing Arts Award for his 30 years of contributions to the arts.

3. Paul Anka (1941 - )

With an HPI of 62.16, Paul Anka is the 3rd most famous Canadian Singer. His biography has been translated into 52 different languages.

Paul Albert Anka (born July 30, 1941) is a Canadian-American singer, songwriter and actor. He is best known for his signature hit songs including "Diana", "Lonely Boy", "Put Your Head on My Shoulder", and "(You're) Having My Baby". Anka also wrote the theme for The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson; one of Tom Jones' biggest hits, "She's a Lady"; and the English lyrics to Claude François and Jacques Revaux's music for Frank Sinatra's signature song "My Way", which has been recorded by many, including Elvis Presley. He co-wrote three songs with Michael Jackson: "This Is It" (originally titled "I Never Heard") "Love Never Felt So Good", and "Don't Matter to Me", which became posthumous hits for Jackson in 2009, 2014, and 2018, respectively.

4. Drake (1986 - )

With an HPI of 60.55, Drake is the 4th most famous Canadian Singer. His biography has been translated into 69 different languages.

Aubrey Drake Graham ( aw-BREE; born October 24, 1986) is a Canadian rapper and singer. An influential figure in contemporary popular music, Drake has been credited for popularizing singing and R&B sensibilities in hip hop. Gaining recognition by starring as Jimmy Brooks in the CTV teen drama series Degrassi: The Next Generation (2001–08), Drake pursued a career in music releasing his debut mixtape Room for Improvement in 2006. He followed this with the mixtapes Comeback Season (2007) and So Far Gone (2009) before signing with Young Money Entertainment.Drake's first three albums, Thank Me Later (2010), Take Care (2011) and Nothing Was the Same (2013), were all critical successes and propelled him to the forefront of hip hop. His fourth album, Views (2016), saw exploration of dancehall and stood atop the Billboard 200 for 13 non-consecutive weeks, making it the first album by a male artist to do so in over a decade, and featured the chart record-setting lead single "One Dance". In 2018, Drake released the double album Scorpion, which contained the Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles "God's Plan", "Nice for What", and "In My Feelings". Drake's widely anticipated sixth album, Certified Lover Boy (2021), achieved nine top 10 hits on the Hot 100, setting the then-record for most US top-ten hits from one album, with its lead single "Way 2 Sexy" reaching number one. In 2022, Drake released the house-inspired album Honestly, Nevermind and the collaborative album, Her Loss, with 21 Savage. Known for frequent accompanying releases to his albums, Drake achieved critical and commercial success with the mixtapes If You're Reading This It's Too Late (2015) and More Life (2017). As an entrepreneur, Drake founded the OVO Sound record label with longtime collaborator 40 in 2012. In 2013, Drake became the "global ambassador" of the Toronto Raptors, joining their executive committee and later obtaining naming rights to their practice facility. In 2016, he began collaborating with Brent Hocking on the bourbon whiskey Virginia Black. Drake heads the OVO fashion label and the Nocta collaboration with Nike, and founded the production company DreamCrew and the fragrance house Better World. In 2018, Drake was reportedly responsible for 5 percent (CAD$440 million) of Toronto's CAD$8.8 billion annual tourism income. In 2022, he became a part owner of Italian football club A.C. Milan. Among the world's best-selling music artists, with over 170 million records sold, Drake is ranked as the highest-certified digital singles artist in the United States by the RIAA. He has won five Grammy Awards, six American Music Awards, a record 34 Billboard Music Awards, two Brit Awards, and three Juno Awards. Drake has achieved 11 number-one hits on the Billboard Hot 100 and holds further Hot 100 records; he has the most top 10 singles (67), most charted songs (293), the most simultaneously charted songs in one week (27), the most Hot 100 debuts in one week (22), and the most continuous time on the Hot 100 (431 weeks). He additionally has the most number-one singles on the R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay, Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, Hot Rap Songs, and Rhythmic Airplay charts.

5. Mylène Farmer (1961 - )

With an HPI of 58.56, Mylène Farmer is the 5th most famous Canadian Singer. Her biography has been translated into 48 different languages.

Mylène Jeanne Gautier (French: [milɛn ʒan ɡotje]; born 12 September 1961), known professionally as Mylène Farmer ([milɛn faʁmœʁ]), is a Canadian-born French singer, songwriter, occasional actress, writer, and entrepreneur. Having sold more than 30 million records in France, she is among the most successful recording artists of all time in that country. She holds the record for the most number one hit singles in the French charts, with twenty-one to date – eight of which were consecutive.Born in Pierrefonds, Quebec, Canada (a former city now part of the Montreal borough of Pierrefonds-Roxboro), to French parents, the family soon relocated to Chaville, near Paris, where Farmer pursued a career in modelling and acting. She later gained prominence as a recording artist with the release of her debut single "Maman a tort" in 1984. In 1988, she released her second studio album, Ainsi soit je..., which sold 1.5 million copies in France. The album spawned Farmer's first number one on the French singles chart, "Pourvu qu'elles soient douces". Her third studio album, L'autre..., sold two million copies, becoming Farmer's best-selling album to date. Its lead single, "Désenchantée", became Farmer's most successful single, and is often described as her signature song.Departing from the synth-pop and Europop soundscape of her first albums, Farmer reinvented her musical style with the release of her fourth studio album, Anamorphosée, in 1995. Recorded in the United States, the album features more live instrumentation and shows rock and R&B-oriented influences. Her fifth studio album, Innamoramento, was released in 1999, featuring more techno influences. In the second part of the 2000s, Farmer continued exploring a range of genres on her albums, namely acoustic pop music on Avant que l'ombre... and electronica on Point de suture.In 2010, Farmer released her eighth studio album, Bleu noir. The album marked Farmer's return to the dark synth-pop and Europop production of her first albums. The lead single, "Oui mais... non", sold over 170.000 copies in France. In 2015, Farmer's tenth studio album, Interstellaires, debuted at number one in France; the album was preceded by the lead single "Stolen Car", a duet with Sting, which reached the number one position on the French singles chart in September 2015. Her eleventh studio album, Désobéissance, was released in 2018, debuting at number one and selling over 265.000 copies.In addition to her music career, Farmer also worked as a songwriter for French singer Alizée, while also being responsible for her image and public appearances. Her debut single, "Moi... Lolita", written by Farmer, reached number one in several countries in Europe, and peaked at number nine on the UK Singles Chart in February 2002. Farmer made her film debut in 1994, starring in Giorgino, and in 2018, she starred in the English-language horror film Ghostland.Throughout her career, Farmer has broken a number of records. She is the best-selling French singer since 1984, has a record number of diamond records, and she is the only artist to have obtained a diamond album in four consecutive decades. Selling over two million copies, her 2001 greatest hits album Les Mots is the highest-selling compilation album by a French recording artist.

6. Justin Bieber (1994 - )

With an HPI of 57.13, Justin Bieber is the 6th most famous Canadian Singer. His biography has been translated into 146 different languages.

Justin Drew Bieber ( BEE-bər; born March 1, 1994) is a Canadian singer. Bieber is recognized for his genre-melding musicianship and global influence in modern-day popular music. He was discovered by American record executive Scooter Braun and signed with RBMG Records in 2008, gaining recognition with the release of his debut seven-track EP My World (2009) and soon establishing himself as a teen idol. Bieber achieved commercial success with his teen pop-driven debut studio album, My World 2.0 (2010), which debuted atop the US Billboard 200, making him the youngest solo male act to top the chart in 47 years. The album spawned the internationally successful single "Baby" (featuring Ludacris), which became one of the best selling singles of all time in the US. His second studio album, Under the Mistletoe (2011), became the first Christmas album by a male artist to debut at number one in the US. Bieber experimented with dance-pop in his third studio album, Believe (2012), and went on to become the first artist in history with five US number-one albums by the age of 18. From 2013–14, Bieber was involved in multiple controversies and legal issues, which had a drastic impact on his public image.In 2015, Bieber explored EDM with Jack Ü as a lead vocalist on "Where Are Ü Now", which won the Grammy Award for Best Dance/Electronic Recording. The song's musical direction played an instrumental role in his fourth studio album, Purpose, which produced three US number-one singles: "Love Yourself", "Sorry", and "What Do You Mean?". He became the first artist in history to occupy the entire top three of the UK Singles Chart. Bieber diversified on numerous collaborations between 2016 and 2017, including "I'm the One" and his remix to "Despacito"—both reaching number one on the US Billboard Hot 100 a week apart, making him the first artist in history to chart new number-one songs in consecutive weeks. "Despacito" was named the greatest Latin song of all time by Billboard and earned Bieber his career-first Latin Grammy Award. In 2019, he released a country collaboration with Dan + Shay, "10,000 Hours", which won the Grammy Award for Best Country Duo/Group Performance.In 2020, Bieber released his R&B-inspired fifth studio album, Changes, which debuted at number one in both the UK and US, and a standalone duet with Ariana Grande, "Stuck with U", which debuted atop the US Billboard Hot 100. Bieber returned to his pop roots on his sixth studio album, Justice (2021). It produced the worldwide hit "Peaches" (featuring Daniel Caesar and Giveon) and debuted atop the US Billboard 200, making him the youngest soloist to have eight US number-one albums, a record held previously by Elvis Presley since 1965. The same year, Bieber released "Stay" (with the Kid Laroi), which became his eighth US number-one single.Bieber is one of the best-selling music artists of all time, with estimated sales of over 150 million records worldwide. He is credited with three Diamond certifications from the RIAA for "Baby", "Sorry" and "Despacito". He has received numerous accolades, including two Grammy Awards, one Latin Grammy Award, eight Juno Awards, two Brit Awards, one Bambi Award, 26 Billboard Music Awards, 18 American Music Awards, 22 MTV Europe Music Awards (the most wins for any artist), 23 Teen Choice Awards (the most wins for a male individual), and 33 Guinness World Records. Time named Bieber one of the 100 most influential people in the world in 2011, and he was included on Forbes' list of the top ten most powerful celebrities in 2011, 2012, and 2013.

7. Denny Doherty (1940 - 2007)

With an HPI of 56.39, Denny Doherty is the 7th most famous Canadian Singer. His biography has been translated into 25 different languages.

Dennis Gerrard Stephen Doherty (November 29, 1940 – January 19, 2007) was a Canadian musician. He was a founding member of the 1960s musical group the Mamas and the Papas for which he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1998.

8. Shania Twain (1965 - )

With an HPI of 54.70, Shania Twain is the 8th most famous Canadian Singer. Her biography has been translated into 64 different languages.

Eilleen Regina "Shania" Twain ( eye-LEEN ... shə-NY-ə; née Edwards; born August 28, 1965) is a Canadian singer-songwriter and actress. She has sold over 100 million records, making her the best-selling female artist in country music history and one of the best-selling music artists of all time. Her success garnered her several titles including the "Queen of Country Pop". Billboard named her as the leader of the '90s country-pop crossover stars.Raised in Timmins, Ontario, Twain pursued singing and songwriting from a young age before signing with Mercury Nashville Records in the early 1990s. Her self-titled debut studio album was a commercial failure upon release in 1993. After collaborating with producer and later husband Robert John "Mutt" Lange, Twain rose to fame with her second studio album, The Woman in Me (1995), which brought her widespread success. It sold over 20 million copies worldwide, spawned eight singles, including "Any Man of Mine" and earned her a Grammy Award. Her third studio album, Come On Over (1997), became the best-selling studio album by a female act in any genre and the best-selling country album of all time, selling over 40 million copies worldwide. Come On Over produced twelve singles, including "You're Still the One", "From This Moment On", "That Don't Impress Me Much" and "Man! I Feel Like a Woman!" and earned Twain four Grammy Awards. Her fourth studio album, Up! (2002), spawned eight singles, including "I'm Gonna Getcha Good!", "Ka-Ching!" and "Forever and for Always", selling over 20 million copies worldwide, also being certified Diamond in the United States. In 2004, after releasing her Greatest Hits album, which produced three new singles including "Party for Two", Twain entered a hiatus, revealing years later that diagnoses with Lyme disease and dysphonia led to a severely weakened singing voice. She chronicled her vocal rehabilitation on the OWN miniseries Why Not? with Shania Twain, released her first single in six years in 2011, "Today Is Your Day", and published an autobiography, From This Moment On. Twain returned to performing the following year with an exclusive concert residency at The Colosseum at Caesars Palace, Shania: Still the One, which ran until 2014. In 2015, she launched the North American Rock This Country Tour, which was billed as her farewell tour. Twain released her first studio album in 15 years in 2017, Now, and embarked on the Now Tour in 2018. In 2019, she started her second Las Vegas residency, Let's Go! at the Zappos Theater. Her sixth studio album Queen of Me was released in 2023. Twain has received five Grammy Awards, two World Music Awards, 39 BMI Songwriter Awards, stars on Canada's Walk of Fame and the Hollywood Walk of Fame, and inductions into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame and Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame. According to the RIAA she is the only female artist in history to have three (consecutive) albums certified Diamond by the RIAA and is the sixth best-selling female artist in the United States. Altogether, Twain is ranked as the 10th best-selling artist of the Nielsen SoundScan era. Billboard listed Twain as the 13th Greatest Music Video Female Solo Artist of all time (42nd overall).

9. Nelly Furtado (1978 - )

With an HPI of 54.45, Nelly Furtado is the 9th most famous Canadian Singer. Her biography has been translated into 79 different languages.

Nelly Kim Furtado (; Portuguese: [fuɾˈtaðu]; born December 2, 1978) is a Canadian singer and songwriter. Furtado has sold over 40 million records worldwide making her one of the most successful Canadian artists. She is widely known for her musical versatility and genre experimentation.She first gained fame with her trip hop-inspired debut album, Whoa, Nelly! (2000), which was a critical and commercial success that spawned two top-10 singles on the Billboard Hot 100, "I'm Like a Bird" and "Turn Off the Light". The first of the two singles won her a Grammy Award for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance. Furtado's introspective folk-heavy 2003 second album, Folklore, explored her Portuguese roots. Its singles received moderate success in Europe, but the album's underperformance compared to her debut was regarded as a sophomore slump. Furtado's third album, Loose (2006), was a smash hit and became her bestselling album, with more than 10 million copies sold worldwide, also making it one of the bestselling albums of the 2000s. Considered a radical image reinvention, Furtado continued to explore her Portuguese heritage while leaning heavier into hip hop. The album spawned four successful number-one singles worldwide; "Promiscuous", "Maneater", "Say It Right", and "All Good Things (Come to an End)". Her Timbaland collaboration "Give It to Me" (2007) in the same era also topped the charts in the US and overseas. Furtado's critically acclaimed duet with James Morrison, "Broken Strings", also topped the charts in Europe in 2008.She released her first Spanish-language album, Mi Plan, in 2009, which won her a Latin Grammy Award for Best Female Pop Vocal Album. In 2012, Furtado released her nostalgia-inspired fifth album The Spirit Indestructible. Furtado split with her management and went independent thereafter, releasing her indie-pop sixth album, The Ride, in 2017 under her own label Nelstar Entertainment. She has won many awards throughout her career, including one Grammy Award from seven nominations, one Latin Grammy Award, ten Juno Awards, one BRIT Award, one Billboard Music Award, one MTV Europe Music Award, one World Music Award, and three Much Music Video Awards. Furtado has a star on Canada's Walk of Fame, and was awarded Commander of the Order of Prince Henry on February 28, 2014, by Aníbal Cavaco Silva, the then-President of Portugal.

10. Shawn Mendes (1998 - )

With an HPI of 54.35, Shawn Mendes is the 10th most famous Canadian Singer. His biography has been translated into 61 different languages.

Shawn Peter Raul Mendes (; born August 8, 1998) is a Canadian pop singer-songwriter. He gained a following in 2013, when he posted song covers on the video sharing platform Vine. The following year, he caught the attention of artist manager Andrew Gertler and Island Records A&R Ziggy Chareton, which led to him signing a deal with the record label. Mendes' self-titled debut EP was released in 2014, followed by his debut studio album Handwritten in 2015. Handwritten debuted atop the US Billboard 200, making Mendes one of five artists ever to debut at number one before the age of 18. The single "Stitches" reached number one in the UK and the top 10 in the US and Canada. Mendes' second album Illuminate (2016) also debuted at number one in the US, with its singles "Treat You Better" and "There's Nothing Holdin' Me Back" reaching the top 10 in several countries. His self-titled third studio album (2018) was supported by the lead single "In My Blood". The album's number one debut in the US made Mendes the third-youngest artist to achieve three number one albums. In 2019, he released the hit singles "If I Can't Have You" and "Señorita", with the latter peaking atop the US Billboard Hot 100. His fourth studio album, Wonder (2020), made him the youngest male artist ever to top the Billboard 200 with four studio albums.Among his accolades, Mendes has won 13 SOCAN awards, 10 MTV Europe Music Awards, eight Juno Awards, eight iHeartRadio MMVAs, two American Music Awards, and received three nominations for a Grammy Award and one nomination for a Brit Award. In 2018, Time named him one of the 100 most influential people in the world on their annual list.

People

Pantheon has 65 people classified as singers born between 1920 and 2003. Of these 65, 59 (90.77%) of them are still alive today. The most famous living singers include Celine Dion, Bryan Adams, and Paul Anka. The most famous deceased singers include Denny Doherty, Jon Vickers, and George London. As of April 2022, 5 new singers have been added to Pantheon including Skip Spence, Natalie Appleton, and Tory Lanez.