On The Rise: Alessia Cara

On The Rise Alessia Cara

Up next in our On The Rise series, we feature Canadian-Italian singer-songwriter Alessia Cara.

Taylor Swift’s “Bad Blood” is inescapable, true, but it never sounded better than when Alessia Cara covered it for BBC Radio 1 Live Lounge, including Kendrick Lamar’s verse. Once we watched that a few dozen times, we obsessively searched the internet for more information. Stating her major influences as Drake, Amy Winehouse, and Ed Sheeran, the 19-year-old was was recently scooped up by Def Jam.

It’s hard to believe she only has one original track out, “Here,” yet her covers speak volumes of her ability and range. Cowritten with Sebastian Kole (Motown Records), “Here” is the perfect track for outsiders who really hate where they’re at and delivered in Cara’s smooth, soulful voice, it hits home. When she sassily sings “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,” Cara doesn’t paint the same kind of narrative the queen of outsiders, Swift, has always done. This isn’t petty and there’s no plan for revenge, no hope to be a cool kid in the future. This party just blows, the people are lame, and she’d have more fun at home.

Listen to “Here” below.

Listen to Cara cover Justin Timberlake’s “Mirrors.”

If the future of R&B includes Alessia Cara, we’re all here for it. Her debut EP Four Pink Walls is out on August 28th.

Tracklist
01 Seventeen
02 Here
03 Outlaws
04 I’m Yours
05 Four Pink Walls

Follow Alessia Cara on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook.