NEW YORK (AP) — Alessia Cara wins best new artist at the Grammys. </s> TORONTO — Alessia Cara's dreams of winning a Grammy Award are no longer confined to her bathroom shower.

The Brampton, Ont.-raised singer accepted the award for best new artist — the first Grammy of her career — at Sunday night's televised ceremony.

Cara told the audience she's been "pretend winning" Grammys in the shower since she was a kid.

She then encouraged people to "support real music and real artists," saying that "everyone deserves the same shot." </s> So when Brampton's own Alessia Cara took home the Grammy for Best New Artist , the city once again lost its shit. </s> Alessia Cara won the 2018 Grammy Award for Best New Artist on Sunday, marking her first Grammy win. Now she won't have to pretend to win them in the shower!

"I've been, like, pretending-winning Grammys since I was kid, like in my shower," Cara said. "So you'd think I'd have, like, the speech thing down, but I absolutely don't."

Cara thanked her parents, her brother, her music team, the Grammys and her fans.

"This is for you and you guys are the reason I won't have to win Grammys in my shower anymore," she said. </s> Fresh off her big win for best new artist at the Grammys, Alessia Cara used her platform to sing the praises of musicians who don't get the same level of recognition.

Cara, 21, stressed the importance of other talented young artists getting the same opportunities she did to break out in the music industry, even if their styles don't align with what's considered popular today.

"There are some really, really awesome artists that have started amazing trends and that are doing such incredible things, but don’t get the same shot or the same acknowledgement because they’re not particularly mainstream or they’re not on the charts," Cara told reporters backstage at Madison Square Garden after winning her first Grammy.

"I think it's important that everyone deserves the same shot, and everyone should get one of these (awards) and be acknowledged for the amazing work that they do."

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Cara — who's exploded over the past two-plus years with hits like "Stay" and "Scars to Your Beautiful" — said it'd take a while for Sunday's honor to truly sink in.

She remembers pretending to win Grammys when she was a kid, but never thought the day would actually come.

"I would just thank non-existent people for non-existent music and stuff," Cara recalled. "I obviously wasn’t as nervous as I was. … I definitely was more calm and collected as a kid in my shower. I just didn’t expect any of this."

Cara, who hails from Ontario, beat out SZA, Julia Michaels, Khalid and Lil Uzi Vert to take home the award for best new artist.

"I’m such huge fan of all the other artists who were nominated, so I would’ve been just as happy if they won," Cara said. </s> The curse of the Grammy Awards’ Best New Artist category now belongs to Alessia Cara.

The category that spawned Milli Vanilli, A Taste of Honey and other less-than-memorable award winners saw Canadian singer-songwriter Cara win for 2018. She beat out Khalid, Lil Uzi Vert, Julia Michaels and SZA to cop the honors.

Her song Here was a top five chart hit, and her version of How Far I’ll Go (written by Lin-Manuel Miranda) was a huge part of the Disney film Moana, getting 140 million views on YouTube.

“I’ve been pretend-winning Grammys since I was a kid in my shower,” said Cara in her acceptance. After thanking the usual round of managers and supporters, she added a lament that some incredible artists aren’t acknowledged in the same way. “Support real music and real artists because everyone deserves the same shot, and that goes for everyone, not just those in the industry,” she said. </s> The 2018 Grammy for best new artist goes to Alessia Cara.

“Holy cow. Wow, I’m shaking,” Cara gushed as she began her acceptance speech. “I’ve been pretending to win Grammys since I was a kid in my shower. You would think I have the speech thing down but I don’t. Thank you to my parents and brother for believing in me and supporting my dream even when it felt really far-fetched and unrealistic.”

She continued, thanking her team, the Recording Academy, “and my fans for standing by me and for being so supportive and amazing. This is for you. You guys are the reason I don’t have to win Grammys in my shower anymore.”

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Cara was nominated for the honor — one of the “big four” Grammy categories — alongside Khalid, Lil Uzi Vert, Julia Michaels and SZA.

After accepting the Grammy, the singer told PEOPLE winning the coveted award still didn’t feel real.

“I know it sounds really cliche, I didn’t expect this but I’m just such a huge fan of all the artists that were nominated so I would have been just as happy if they won,” she said. “I probably won’t process this for another seven years.”

As for what’s next, Cara said she’s been hard at work in the studio.

“I am working on a new album right now,” she said. “I’m really excited about it, I’m really proud of it. It’s really honest.”

All five of the nominees went into the awards show coming off an incredibly successful year.

“There are incredible artists out there who are making incredible music and deserve to be acknowledged [and they] don’t always get acknowledged because of popularity contests or numbers games,” Cara added. “And that’s kind of unfortunate, so I want to encourage people to support real music and real artists because everyone deserves the same shot. That goes for everyone not only in the industry, but everyone deserves the same shot. Thank you so much. My mind is blown.”

Be sure to check out PEOPLE’s full Grammys coverage to get the latest news on music’s big night.

Though many felt Cara, 21, was snubbed in 2017, she nabbed four nominations at the 2018 show. In addition to best new artist, she was up for song of the year and best music video (for Logic’s “1-800-273-8255,” also featuring Khalid) and best pop duo/group performance for her Zedd collab “Stay.”

Breakout 19-year-old Khalid Robinson (he goes mononymously) scored five nominations this year, including song of the year and best music video (also for Logic’s “1-800-273-8255”), best R&B song for his hit single “Location” and best urban contemporary album for his solo debut .

In addition to his best new artist nod, hip-hop newcomer Lil Uzi Vert (born Symere Woods, 23) was nominated for best rap performance with Migos for the trio’s smash “Bad and Boujee.” Songwriter-turned-pop star Julia Michaels, 24, has written 16 Hot 100 hits for other artists, from Britney Spears to Justin Bieber; she also scored two nominations, including a song of the year nod for her debut single “Issues.”

RELATED VIDEO: Here’s the List of Nominees for the 2018 Grammy Awards

And soulful chanteuse SZA, 27, garnered five nominations, making her the most-recognized female artist at the 2018 Grammys. The singer, a.k.a. Solána Imani Rowe, was also nominated for best R&B song (“Supermodel”), best rap/sung collaboration (“Love Galore” with Travis Scott), best urban contemporary album ( ) and best R&B performance (“The Weekend”).

The 60th annual Grammy Awards, hosted by James Corden, were broadcast live on CBS from Madison Square Garden in New York City. </s> NEW YORK: Canada's Alessia Cara, who rose from making YouTube videos in her bedroom to becoming a socially conscious pop singer, on Sunday (Jan 28) won the Grammy for Best New Artist.

The 21-year-old from suburban Toronto won the closely watched award in a field that included fellow young singer Khalid, with whom she collaborated on the suicide prevention song "1-800-273-8255."

"I've been pretend-winning Grammys since I was a kid in my shower," Cara told the audience at Madison Square Garden in New York, thanking her fans.

"You are the reason I don't have to win Grammys in my shower any more."

She urged the industry not to forget the many "incredible artists making incredible music that need to be acknowledged, who don't always get acknowledged because of popularity contests and numbers games".

"I just wanted to encourage everyone to support real music and real artists because everyone deserves the same shot," Cara added.

Cara, who has a rich voice with a touch of soul, first came to prominence as a teenager recording YouTube videos with humorous but startlingly accurate impersonations of famous singers including Amy Winehouse and Taylor Swift.

Since finding her own voice as a singer, she has spoken to young people struggling to fit in.

Her first single, "Here" - set to the same Isaac Hayes soul sample as English trip-hop band Portishead's 1995 hit "Glory Box" - describes her dread at spending time at a party full of marijuana and overly loud music.

"Scars to Your Beautiful", which also entered the top 10 on the US singles chart, focuses on body image as Cara sings of a young woman preoccupied by her appearance: "You should know you're beautiful just the way you are."

Speaking to AFP when she released her debut album, "Know-It-All," Cara said she wanted to avoid the "usual stupid comparisons" made about teen pop stars.

"I wanted to steer away from that and show people that I'm real," she said. </s> When Canadian singer-songwriter Alessia Cara took the microphone at the Madison Square Garden media room, she was asked whether she was surprised by her Grammy win in the Best New Artist category.

"I know it sounds really cliché, I didn't expect this," she said. "There are just so many people making good music right now."

Cara may have been the only one for whom the victory came as a shock. Online betting markets, professional prognosticators and casual fans all listed her as the clear favorite going into music's biggest night.

In fact, since being named to the Forbes 30 Under 30 Class of 2017, Cara has had four singles certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America. Her average nightly gross has jumped past $45,000, according to concert data giant Pollstar. And she got a whiff of silver screen glory, singing "How Far I'll Go," the Moana song that earned an Oscar nomination at last year's ceremony.

Whether Cara was genuinely floored to win Best New Artist or simply feigning modesty, she acknowledges that she's "lucky to have a platform"--and she's already taking her next steps to build on tonight's honor. She's hard at work on a new album, which she's nearly done writing.

"None of this feels real right now, to be honest," Cara explained. "I probably won't process this for another seven years."

Cara went on to thank her Canadian influences, from Drake to Nelly Furtado. Yet she did admit to at least envisioning tonight's moment ahead of time.

"I've been pretend-winning Grammys since I was a kid in the shower," she said.

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Alessia Cara wins Best New Artist.