At the 2025 Francos de Montréal, presented by Rogers in collaboration with Loto-Québec, SOCAN awarded our members Rose Perron and Félix Paul – under the name Rau_Ze – the 29th annual Félix-Leclerc Song Prize.
Proud to have taken a more active role in the competition this year, SOCAN also increased the amount of its award grant to $10,000. Eric Parazelli, Editor of SOCAN’s Paroles & Musique magazine and Manager of Francophone Communications, personally presented the SOCAN award, along with Gaby Gauthier-Durand, our new Creative Executive for Québec.
Rau_Ze also received a $1,500 grant from Groupe Éditorial Musinfo – the Québec publisher of part of Félix Leclerc’s catalogue – along with an artist residency at the Cité internationale de la langue française in France, held at the Château de Villers-Cotterêts. The prizes were awarded on Wednesday, June 18, 2025, during the opening cocktail party for the Francos de Montréal Rendez-Vous Pros at Studio TD.
After two especially close rounds of deliberation, the 2025 Félix-Leclerc jury – made up this year of Lou-Adriane Cassidy (2024 Québec winner), Marc-André Pilon (Sirius XM), Olivier Boisvert-Magnen (CISM/Paroles & Musique/ICI Musique), Nicolas Ouellet (ICI Musique), Philippe Papineau (Le Devoir/CIBL), and Marissa Groguhé (La Presse) – selected Rau_Ze as the winner over the 11 other finalists: Allô Fantôme, Grand Eugène, Jeanne Côté, Joe Rocca, Malko, Naïma Frank, Sandra Contour, thaïs, Valence, Velours Velours, and Virginie B.
The criteria used to select both finalists and winners include originality and quality of lyrics and music; strength and relevance of the artistic approach; potential for national and international career development; and contribution to the evolution of Francophone songwriting.
Created in 1996 by the Fondation Félix-Leclerc in collaboration with the Francos de Montréal, the Félix-Leclerc Song Prize – presented by SOCAN – aims to support young singer-songwriters by encouraging the creation, production, and promotion of Francophone music. In partnership with the Francofolies de La Rochelle – which will take place this year from July 10 to 14 – the prize helps support the development of up-and-coming artists from both Québec and France.
The prize also gives two winners, one from Québec and one from France, a chance to build their reputation across the Atlantic. In 2026, the French winner will be featured at the Francos de Montréal, while the Québec winner will take part in the Francofolies de La Rochelle. A travel grant for French artists and musicians will be provided by the Office Franco-Québécois pour la jeunesse.
SOCAN joins the Francos de Montréal organizers in warmly congratulating Rau_Ze and all of the finalists in this 36th edition of the Félix-Leclerc Song Prize, presented by SOCAN!
The Francos de Montréal continues through June 21, 2025, in the Quartier des spectacles.