Meet the new Amy Winehouse
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Covers queen … Teen Canadian singer and songwriter Alessia Cara was discovered through her YouTube videos. Picture: Chris Pavlich
Source: News Limited
ALESSIA Cara still has some explaining to do to her parents about the song Here which has marked her as one of the breakout pop stars of the year.
The 19-year-old Canadian singer and songwriter, whose champion fans include Taylor Swift and Lorde, has already scored 11 million streams on Spotify alone for her debut single about being the shy girl at the naughty party.
The song, written when she was 17, chronicles the kind of teen gathering parents fear — the drunk guy in the corner throwing up after too many drinks and the marijuana cloud hanging over the loungeroom.
Cara, who has gone from YouTube covers girl to rising pop star in the past year, jokes her parents should be proud that the song is all about just how much she hated the house party.
“The song is just me ranting about this party I didn’t want to be at and yeah, it has been brought up to my dad that we still have to talk about that party,” she said.
“They should just be glad I wasn’t involved in any of it.”
Cara somehow convinced the people at the party to reprise their roles in the Here video.
Perhaps it is a sign of fame-hungry times that even the vomit guy said yes to starring in the clip.
“I guess as soon as they heard ‘music video’ they said yes; they were very supportive and I was pleasantly surprised,” she said.
Cara has been on a whirlwind world tour to promote Here, and her upcoming EP Four Pink Walls, including several returns visits to the UK.
Stunning voice … Cara’s voice has drawn comparisons to her idol Amy Winehouse. Picture: Chris Pavlich
Source: News Limited
Shout out … Swift gave Cara props for her Bad Blood cover. Picture: Shirlaine Forrest / Getty Images
Source: Supplied
Her focus on England is unsurprising considering the talented singer and writer has been hailed as the next Amy Winehouse because of her retro soul bluesy voice.
Cara is gracious in accepting the comparison because she cites Winehouse as an inspiration but admits it can get frustrating.
“As a new artist, I want to be different so it does suck to be compared with other people all the time,” she said.
Like fellow Canadians Justin Bieber and Carly Rae Jepsen, Cara was discovered by the music industry via her YouTube covers.
They didn’t get millions of views but they showed a young musician and singer who could take any song, give it a twist and make it her own.
Like she did with Taylor Swift’s Bad Blood, turning the Kendrick Lamar raps into singing for a performance on BBC Radio 1’s seminal Live Lounge.
Swift gave the talented teen big props for the quirky acoustic version, calling her “AMAZING”.
Cara said covers are not a dirty word for young artists determined to write their own hits because fans love them.
“Fans love seeing those two worlds collide, one of their favourite artists covering a song from another favourite artist and I love taking a huge song like Bad Blood, stripping it right down and giving it a twist by singing the rap,” she said.
But forget about Cara just being a hit with her young peers. She was wildly surprised when “an older guy” approached her during lunch in Manly in Sydney on Sunday.
“He asked if I was Alessia Cara who sang Here, a random older man and I had no idea my music had reached that kind of audience,” she said.
Four Pink Walls is out on August 28
