Lydia Canaan

Lydia Canaan, the first female rock star of the Middle East, is an internationally award-winning Lebanese-Swiss singer, songwriter, poet, philanthropist, and a passionate humanitarian who delivers speeches in support of human rights at the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) in Geneva, Switzerland, and lends her singing and her speaking voice to charity and fundraisers. Canaan is the first and only artist from the Middle East listed and cataloged in the prestigious Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum's Library and Archives in the United States. She was praised by Billboard magazine as having a three-octave range and perfect pitch, called a "high profile celebrity" by ABC News, and dubbed by MTV Europe as "The Diva from the Middle East". Canaan's London-based international release of the song "Beautiful Life" gained her critical acclaim from the British and American music press, and her song was chosen by the legendary Nelson Mandela as the theme song for a charity event under his auspices in South Africa. As an artist with a purpose, Canaan has received numerous awards, among them the International Year of Volunteers Award for her humanitarianism from the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). Canaan's song "Libnan" was chosen as the title song of the advertisement "Rediscover Lebanon", produced and broadcast by CNN in 2004, and commissioned by the Lebanese Government to promote Lebanon as a tourist destination. In 2014, Canaan was awarded by the UK Songwriting Contest for her song "Never Set You Free".  In 2015, Canaan was listed and cataloged in the prestigious Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum Library and Archives in the United States among music legends such as Elvis Presley, The Beatles, Ray Charles, David Bowie, Bruce Springsteen, Johnny Cash, and others. In 2016, Canaan won the award for Outstanding Achievement from the American Global Music Awards (GMA). In 2017, Canaan was prominently featured as a Rock legend in British journalist for Newsweek Orlando Crowcroft’s book “Rock in a Hard Place: Music and Mayhem in the Middle East”, about the dangers she faced and obstacles she overcame as a rock music pioneer in Lebanon rocking the establishment and defying traditions, challenging convention, and transcending millennia-old gender barriers.  In 2019, Canaan was appointed as a member of the International Advisory Council of the Academic University for Non-Violence & Human Rights (AUNOHR) along with three Nobel Peace Prize Laureates, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Mairead Maguire, and Adolfo Esquivel. In 2020, Canaan was prominently featured in the prestigious Encyclopedia, Pioneers from Lebanon which is endorsed by the Lebanese Ministry of Culture and sponsored by the UNESCO Cultural Heritage and Treasure Museum of Silk. In 2023, Canaan was featured among music legends and iconic Rock stars such as Tina Turner, Ella Fitzgerald, Joni Mitchell and Dolly Parton in the international best-selling American book series, ‘Rebel Girls Rock – 25 Tales of Women In Music’, with a foreword by iconic rock star Joan Jett, and activities curated by Gibson Guitars. In 2023, Canaan was featured among Swiss celebrities such as Albert Einstein, Charlie Chaplin, Audrey Hepburn, and Nicolas Hayek in the international Swiss book, ‘50 Amazing Swiss Immigrants’ endorsed and supported by the Foreign Ministry of Switzerland. In 2023, Canaan received the ‘Global Goddess Artemis Award’ for her distinguished and outstanding achievements and contributions offered to her by U.S. Congresswoman the Honorable Mrs. Carolyn Maloney in a ceremony held at the prestigious renowned Zappeion Megaron in Athens, Greece. In 2025, Canaan was honored as a Champion of Peace, Freedom, and Equality among a selected distinguished notable International Peace advocates by ‘The Peace Post Project’; 2025 American Webby Awards Winner for Cultural Website and People’s Voice Award. Hailed by a prominent United Nations Ambassador as a "Diplomat Artist", through her art, humanitarianism, and diplomacy, Canaan lends her strength to empowering and inspiring people worldwide to making the world a better place.

Beirut, LB