What's it like to have an international hit song before you're 20? How about millions of YouTube followers before you're 15? Singer-songwriter Alessia Cara knows.
Cara has dominated the digital musical space for over seven years. Her first release "Here" became Spotify's Most Viral Song of 2015. Two years later, she was one of the most streamed female artists of 2017.
The digital world can be a daunting and dark place. But Cara has used her voice to promote awareness and activism for feminism, body positivity, and the sexism inherent to the music industry, refusing to stay silent in the face of injustice.
Origins
When she was just 13 years old, Alessia Cara started posting YouTube videos of her singing her favourite artists' songs. Three years later, her cover of The Neighbourhood’s “Sweater Weather” caught the attention of record label EP Entertainment. They offered Alessia the opportunity to write and record in their studio during her last year of high school.
She convinced her parents to let her postpone further education, so that she could pursue a career in the music industry. Within a month after graduating high school, Alessia signed with Def Jam Recordings, a record label that has also released the music of Justin Bieber, Lady Gaga, Rihanna, and many more.
Less than a year later, in 2015, Alessia released her first smash single and antisocial hit “Here”, which peaked at No. 5 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.
Watch: Here
If you're an introvert, you can probably relate to this song: Written about a party Alessia attended the night before, "Here" tells the story of feeling really awkward and out-of-place.
MTV describes this song as one "for everyone who secretly hates parties."
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This online exhibition uses third-party applications including Spotify and YouTube. Check with your organization’s web administrator if you are unable to access content from these channels in the exhibition.
Official music video for Alessia Cara's "Here." Lyrics by Alessia Cara and Sebastian Kole. Please note: this third party video does not provide closed captions.
View Transcript(Exterior of a house lit in bright magenta light, girl stands at doorway. Fade to interior also lit in bright magenta light, which shows a teen party frozen in time. Girl sings about being uncomfortable at the party while the rest of the scene remains frozen in time. Girl walks around the house singing with the party still frozen in time. There are frozen scenes of people talking, arguing, throwing food in the air, smoking, playing games, lifting someone up, dancing. Eventually the girl is outside the house sitting against a car amongst a frozen scene of teens partying. Finally she walks out of the door into darkness. Fade to black screen with the "HERE" at the centre then credit line.)
♪ I'm sorry if I seem uninterested
Or I'm not listenin' or I'm indifferent
Truly, I ain't got no business here
But since my friends are here
I just came to kick it but really
I would rather be at home all by myself not in this room
With people who don't even care about my well being
I don't dance, don't ask, I don't need a boyfriend
So you can go back, please enjoy your party
I'll be here, somewhere in the corner under clouds of marijuana
With this boy who's hollering I can hardly hear
Over this music I don't listen to and I don't wanna get with you
So tell my friends that I'll be over here ♪
♪ Oh oh oh here oh oh oh here oh oh oh
I ask myself what am I doing here?
Oh oh oh here oh oh oh here
And I can't wait till we can break up outta here ♪
♪ Excuse me if I seem a little unimpressed with this
An anti social pessimist but usually I don't mess with this
And I know you mean only the best and
Your intentions aren't to bother me
But honestly I'd rather be
Somewhere with my people we can kick it and just listen
To some music with the message (like we usually do)
And we'll discuss our big dreams
How we plan to take over the planet
So pardon my manners, I hope you'll understand
That I'll be here
Not there in the kitchen with the girl
Who's always gossiping about her friends
So tell them I'll be here
Right next to the boy who's throwing up 'cause
He can't take what's in his cup no more
Oh God why am I here? ♪
♪ Oh oh oh here oh oh oh here oh oh oh
I ask myself what am I doing here?
Oh oh oh here oh oh oh here
And I can't wait till we can break up outta here ♪
♪ Hours later congregating next to the refrigerator
Some girl's talking 'bout her haters
She ain't got none
How did it ever come to this
I shoulda never come to this
So holla at me I'll be in the car when you're done
I'm standoffish, don't want what you're offering
And I'm done talking
Awfully sad it had to be that way
So tell my people when they're ready that I'm ready
And I'm standing by the TV with my beanie low
Yo I'll be over here ♪
♪ Oh oh oh here oh oh oh here oh oh oh
I ask myself what am I doing here?
Oh oh oh here oh oh oh here
And I can't wait till we can break up outta here ♪
♪ Oh oh oh oh oh oh ♪
♪ Oh oh oh oh oh oh ♪
Four Pink Walls
Out to prove that she was more than a one-hit wonder, Alessia released her extended play (EP) Four Pink Walls in 2015, giving fans a taste of what was to come -- her first studio album, Know-It-All.
She immediately earned the reputation of being relatable with empowering lyrics that celebrate body positivity, inclusivity, and celebrating our differences. Rolling Stone described the album as "feel[ing] more like a personal manifesto than a party playlist."
Listen: Scars To Your Beautiful
Shortly after the debut of her first full-length album, Alessia Cara unveiled her partnership with "I Am That Girl" (IATG), a movement that works to inspire girls to love, express, and be who they are. The movement sponsored the "I Am You" campaign in 2016, which reinforces the important message that while we all have our own unique stories, we are all connected by the universal truths that make us human.
Cara worked to create a curriculum with IATG centred on topics of body positivity and self-acceptance. The topics connected to specific lyrics from her song "Scars To Your Beautiful", the first hit song off her Four Pink Walls album. See if you can hear some of the lyrics that inspired Cara's work with IATG.
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This online exhibition uses third-party applications including Spotify and YouTube. Check with your organization’s web administrator if you are unable to access content from these channels in the exhibition.
Watch: I Am That Girl
Alessia Cara also worked with "I Am That Girl" as part of their 2016 "I Am You" campaign, which reinforces the important message that while we all have our own unique stories, we are all connected by the universal truths that make us human. Cara released a short video in support of the campaign, featuring her voiceover and the music of "Scars To Your Beautiful."
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This online exhibition uses third-party applications including Spotify and YouTube. Check with your organization’s web administrator if you are unable to access content from these channels in the exhibition.
"I Am That Girl" voiced by Alessia Cara and featuring her hit song “Scars to Your Beautiful.” Music video by Alessia Cara performing I Am You: Alessia Cara & I Am That Girl. Courtesy of 2015 Def Jam Recordings, a division of UMG Recordings, Inc. Please note: this third-party video does not provide closed captions.
View Transcript[Music]
Female Voice: Hi. I am a girl.
I have emotions.
I have a lot of them.
I don't always feel like I am good enough.
I am insecure and I am confident.
I am flawed and I am beautiful.
I am powerful and I am vulnerable.
I am all of it.
I am me.
And I am you.
I am that girl.
Alessia Cara performing at the 2017 Invictus Games Opening Ceremony, Toronto.
Photograph by E.J. Hersom, licensed via Creative Commons
Logic and Alessia
In 2017, rapper Logic collaborated with Alessia Cara and singer Khalid on “1-800-273-8255”, a song addressing mental health, anxiety, suicide, and depression.
The song is named for the phone number for the US National Suicide Prevention Lifeline (NSPL). Its inspiration came from visits Logic had with his fans, in which they told him that his music saved their lives. According to the NSPL, they received a 25% bump in calls in the months following the song's release.
Listen: 1-800-273-8255
It's holding on, though the road's long And seeing light in the darkest things … I want you to be alive You don’t gotta die today.— Logic featuring Alessia Cara and Khalid
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This online exhibition uses third-party applications including Spotify and YouTube. Check with your organization’s web administrator if you are unable to access content from these channels in the exhibition.
Awards & Criticism
In 2016, Alessia won the JUNO Award for Breakthrough Artist of the Year, setting the stage for her first Grammy Award two years later in the Best New Artist category. She became the first Canadian ever to win the award.
The reaction to Alessia's win was swift and negative. Critics insisted she did not deserve to win primarily because she was an already established artist. She spoke out against these threats, saying she did not nominate herself, and acknowledged the hard work that helped her achieve her career successes.
I will not let everything I’ve worked for be diminished by people taking offence to my accomplishments … all of the years feeling like I wasn’t good at anything or that I was naive for dreaming about something improbable have paid off in a way that I have yet to process.
— Alessia Cara, Instagram, January 29, 2018
Alessia Cara performs at the JUNO Awards, Ottawa, 2017.
Photo by Ryan Bolton
Listen: Not Today
One day, I'll get up
off the bathroom floor
Oh, piece by piece, I'll be restored
But surely not today.— Alessia Cara
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This online exhibition uses third-party applications including Spotify and YouTube. Check with your organization’s web administrator if you are unable to access content from these channels in the exhibition.
The Pains of Growing
Embracing her true self, Alessia prides herself on not having a brand, a mindset that has, ironically, become one of her defining features as an artist. Alessia admits that the transition to pop star has not been easy.
Like many teenagers and young adults, Alessia has publicly revealed that she has struggled with feelings of sadness and loneliness, sometimes not being able to get out of bed.
Alessia once hid these feelings and struggles from others, fearing that people might think her ungrateful of her professional success. However, she has since opened up about her mental struggles, publicly chronicling her emotions and growing up while she pursues her singing career.
It's absolutely okay to feel whatever it is you're feeling, no matter how positive your life seems.
- Alessia Cara
She admits that healing takes time, but piece by piece you can rebuild yourself and be stronger for it. These experiences informed her second album, The Pains of Growing (2018), which critics described as "rooted in perspective." Alessia wrote the entire album.
Alessia Cara performs at Yorkfest, an annual concert held for new students at York University in Toronto.
Photo by Anton Mak, licensed via Creative Commons
Alessia Today
In October 2019, Canada's Walk of Fame announced that Alessia Cara would receive the 2019 Allan Slaight Music Impact Honour. This honour, also bestowed on Drake (2011), The Weeknd (2014), and Jessie Reyez (2018), shines a light on a Canadian musician who has had a significant influence within Canada and around the world. Cara was recognized for her involvment in numerous philanthropic and social justice causes, not least of which the "I Am That Girl" movement.
Alessia’s powerful campaign with I Am That Girl has made a positive impact to change social conversations, and empower young women everywhere.
—Jeffrey Latimer, CEO of Canada's Walk of Fame, 2019
Knowing that I’ve made any impact at all, let alone something of this capacity feels incredible...I’m so proud to represent Canada in any way I can; and I hold this one super close to my heart. The 15-year-old me wouldn’t have believed it.
— Alessia Cara, On winning the Allan Slaight Award, 2019
Dive Deeper
Official Website of Alessia Cara
Lisa Robinson, Nobody Ever Asked Me about the Girls: Women, Music and Fame. New York: Henry Holt and Company, 2020.