One To Watch: Alessia Cara

It’s safe to say that this 19-year-old Canadian singer-songwriter has taken the music world by storm ever since she went viral with ‘Here’, an ode to the introvert wallflowers out there.

Def-Jam newcomer, Alessia Cara, made her debut in 2015, though she started racking up YouTube views a while before which eventually led to her discovery. She has achieved critical acclaim with her anti-social pop anthem, ‘Here’, expressing an exhilarating point of view on the party scene that feels both extreme and innocent. Her relatable song writing, realness and authentic lyricism is what makes her stand out from the crowd. She manages to dig into those teenage years, yet simultaneously transcend age and gender.

Her highly anticipated debut album, ‘Know-It-All’, has a clear message smashing the sweeping generalisations of current youth. The album received a host of favourable reviews, picking up a gang of admirers along the way including Taylor Swift, Drake and Nick Jonas. Alessia’s co-writer Sebastian Kole, helped Cara find and shape her sound which is described as confessional alterna-pop that spans deep soul, folk balladry and trip-hop.

She has announced a North American tour, set to kick off in mid-January and run through early April. It includes stops in cities like Montreal, Boston, New York, Chicago, Nashville, and San Francisco.

By Ellie Berckmans