When I first heard “Here”, Alessia Cara’s breakout single that came out earlier this year, I couldn’t believe a larger entity had not heard of her before. I quickly extended an invitation to do an interview with her on Twitter, to which she (slightly) agreed to. Before I knew it, the 19 year old from Brampton, Canada had revealed she had signed with Def Jam Records and would be releasing her debut EP in the coming months. Though I was slightly disappointed by the news, seeing it would be much harder to get an interview with her now, I was relieved that someone as big and as respected as Def Jam would now be orchestrating her rise to fame.
Yesterday, two days ahead of schedule, Alessia released her EP via homemade YouTube videos for each of the remaining 4 songs off her debut project, Four Pink Walls. Very aesthetically fitting, Alessia first came into the public eye as a teenager recording covers of her favorite songs on the floor of her bedroom with her laptop camera. So it makes the most sense this is how Def Jam and herself would roll out her major debut to the world. Aside from her music, I love Alessia Cara because she seems to be a very humble soul, extremely grateful and excited for the opportunity that has fallen in front of her. In the way that Taylor Swift has become the voice of boy-crazy pre-teens around the world, I feel Alessia has the chance to become the voice of homebody introverted young people, not entertained by drug ravaged high school house parties or getting drunk off their asses.
When it comes to Four Pink Walls, it’s clear Alessia has a lot of self-styling to do, but the music is undoubtedly put together well while leaving a good aftertaste. In “Outlaws”, Cara belts out lyrics of loyalty and love, proclaiming she’ll never leave her fictitious character out to dry or for the hounds. The track has an undoubtedly Amy Winehouse feeling (whom Cara has stated is a major influence in her work) and from the help of her Def Jam producers, has the sound quality like its a track off Back To Black. “Seventeen”, on the other hand posses, a much more modern vibe. Fittingly the first track on the EP, “Seventeen” deals with the trials and tribulations of growing up through your youth and how much Cara couldn’t wait to be seventeen when she was just a young girl. Then comes in a relatable chorus of how her anxiousness to grow up has switched to fear that she will be too grown up too fast. It’s something most young people go through, and “Seventeen” is an excellent pop song that describes such a universal feeling.
Though it is only her first release as a signed recording artist, I feel Alessia Cara has so much room to grow as an artist, and I am so excited to watch it happen. Four Pink Walls exhibits Cara’s musical ability as well as her range as an artist, something not often seen in a rookie, 19 year-old’s work. As the Ariana Grande’s of music take over the partying youth’s music consumption, be on the lookout for Cara to take control of a large market you may have not even realized existed: the intelligent young people not entertained by getting drunk or high. She might seem innocent and she may not have the life experiences to sing the blues yet, but I’m fully invested in watching the progression of a beautiful girl with a beautiful voice grow into an amazing musician and I encourage you to do the same.
Four Pink Walls is available for purchase over here, WOAHHHHHHH.
