Alessia Cara

Canadian singer-songwriter. She is signed to EP Entertainment and Def Jam Recordings and is best known for "Here", her debut single from the debut studio album, *Know-It-All*, released November 13, 2015, "Stay", a collaboration with Zedd, and "Out of Love", a single from her sophomore album, *The Pains of Growing*.

Cara's debut studio album, *Know-It-All*, reached number 8 on the Canadian Albums Chart and number 9 on the *Billboard* 200 chart in the United States. The album's third single, "Scars To Your Beautiful", reached number 8 on the *Billboard* Hot 100 in 2016. In 2017, Cara collaborated with DJ and producer Zedd to create the single "Stay", and with rapper Logic to feature in his song "1-800-273-8255". Cara has received nominations for four Grammy Awards, including a win for Best New Artist in 2018.

In late 2018, Cara released three singles, “Growing Pains”, “Trust My Lonely” and “Not Today” leading up to her sophomore album, *The Pains of Growing*, along with a promotional single, “A Little More”, on her birthday. Alessia then released the album on November 30, 2018. It debuted at number 21 on the Billboard Canadian Albums Chart dated December 15, 2018 and at number 71 on the US Billboard 200.

An emotional track from the album, “Out of Love”, was re-released as a single in 2019. In the same year, Cara released “Ready”, “Rooting For You”, “Okay Okay” and “October”, all from her sophomore extended play, *This Summer*, which released September 6, 2019.

## Early life and education

Alessia Caracciolo was born on July 11, 1996, in Mississauga, Ontario. She grew up in Brampton, where she attended Cardinal Ambrozic Catholic Secondary School. Her family is from Calabria, Italy. Her father was born in Canada to Italian parents and her mother is an Italian immigrant. Cara is the second of four children. She can speak Italian fluently. As a child, she wrote poetry and performed in theatre. She began playing guitar at the age of 10 and taught herself how to play various songs. At the age of 13, she began her own YouTube channel where she posted covers of songs that she performed. She saw Justin Bieber as a career model at the time.

## Career

Cara appeared on various radio stations; including *15 Seconds of Fame* on Mix 104.1 Boston. In July 2014, she signed a deal with EP Entertainment imprint, along with the distribution of Def Jam Recordings. She began work on her debut studio album that same year. She briefly took the professional mononym of Alessia before adding a clipping of her surname to become known as Alessia Cara.

In April 2015, Cara released her official debut single, through Def Jam. Titled "Here", it was described by MTV as "a song for everyone who secretly hates parties." Produced by Pop & Oak and Sebastian Kole, the song is her personal experience with going to a party and being super uncomfortable at it. On May 5, 2015, the song was chosen as the "can't-miss" track by *Spin*, as well as being listed as a "must hear song" by *Cosmopolitan*. The song was also named one of the best Canadian songs of April by *Complex Magazine* and included on *Billboard*'s "20 Pop Songs You Need For Your Summer Playlist" in June 2015. *Rolling Stone* later ranked "Here" at number 21 on its year-end list of the 50 best songs of 2015.

On July 29, 2015, Cara made her first-televised debut performing her single, "Here" on *The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon*. "Here" then received a nomination for "Original Song" at the Streamy Awards. She released the EP *Four Pink Walls*, containing five songs; including her debut single, "Here." Her debut album, *Know-It-All*, was released on November 13, 2015. She was short-listed for the BBC Music Sound of... award for 2016 and finished as the runner-up.

Cara was awarded as Breakthrough Artist of the Year at the 2016 Juno Awards. On March 7, 2016, the official video for "Wild Things" was released. In April 2016, Cara was announced to be one of the supporting acts of British alternative rock band Coldplay in the European and North American legs of their A Head Full of Dreams Tour alongside British singer-songwriter and Grammy winner Foxes. On June 23, 2016, Cara was featured in a re-released version of the song "Wild" by Troye Sivan. She played Glastonbury Festival on June 24, 2016, in the John Peel tent. The music video for Cara's single "How Far I'll Go", from the Disney film *Moana*, was released on November 3, 2016, and since then has received over 200 million views on YouTube. The song was written by Lin-Manuel Miranda, produced by Oak Felder and the video was directed by Aya Tanimura.

Cara released a music video for "Seventeen" on 15, December 2016.

Cara performed on *Saturday Night Live* as the musical guest on February 4, 2017. On February 23, a lyric video of the song "Stay" by Zedd featuring Cara was released.

Cara featured on the song "1-800-273-8255" from Logic's *Everybody* album. The song was released as a single on April 28, 2017, and also features American singer-songwriter, Khalid. Cara also made an appearance in the video which premiered on August 17, 2017, on Logic's Vevo Channel on YouTube.

On January 28, 2018, Cara was named the Best New Artist at the 2018 Grammy Awards, making her the first Canadian artist to win this award.

On June 1, 2018, Cara released a teaser video following a week of cryptic Twitter posts. On June 9, she posted lyrics to a new song on her social media accounts for fans to piece together. Once completed, she announced the single's cover and name on June 11. The single, titled "Growing Pains," was released on June 15, 2018. Its music video was released on June 20, 2018.

On July 10, 2018, Cara announced that she would be releasing a song she made in her basement, written and produced by her, the next day, as a small gift for her birthday. The single, titled "A Little More", was released on July 11, 2018, with the music video also released the same day. In September 2018, Cara announced that she would be releasing a song titled "Trust My Lonely" on October 5, 2018.

On November 13, 2018, Cara released another song, entitled "Not Today”. The release date coincides with the three-year anniversary of the release of her debut album. She performed at the CFL's 106th Grey Cup Half Time show in Edmonton, Alberta on November 25, 2018. Cara's second studio album, *The Pains of Growing*, was released on November 30, 2018. It debuted at number 1 on the US iTunes Pop Charts, in less than two hours after its release. Despite the successful position on iTunes, the album debuted at number 71 on the Billboard 200; 62 positions lower than her debut album in 2015. "Out of Love" was eventually serviced to contemporary hit radio as the album's third single in January 2019.

In July 2019, Cara announced the release of an EP, *This Summer*, with tracks to be issued "every couple of weeks" leading up to its release on September 6, 2019. She also announced that she would be adding a new leg of "The Pains of Growing Tour," visiting various US cities in October and November. The first single of the EP, "Ready", was released on July 22. The second single, "Rooting For You", was released on August 9. The first promotional single, "Okay Okay", was released on August 23. The second promotional single, "October", was released on September 3. The music video for "October" was released on October 1, 2019.

On November 7, 2019, Cara released her first Christmas song, "Make It To Christmas”. The song was Cara's last song of the decade.

On April 3, 2020, Cara released "I Choose", her original song for the 2020 Netflix animated movie *The Willoughbys*, where she made her debut voice-role on a film with the character "Jane Willoughby".

On July 17, 2020, Cara released her first live EP, *This Summer: Live Off The Floor*, which features live, reimagined performances of the songs off of *This* *Summer*, as well as three bonus tracks and an intro that interpolates “Summertime” by George Gershwin. All of Cara's proceeds from the EP for the next 21 years are going to Save The Children.

On December 5, 2020 Cara released a Christmas EP titled *Holiday Stuff*. It featured an acoustic version of her Christmas song, “Make It To Christmas” as well as two covers and one new Christmas song.

On July 2, 2021, Cara announced that the lead singles "Sweet Dream" and "Shapeshifter" from her third studio album would be released on July 15, 2021. The announcement of this release came after five days of cryptic posts on Instagram and Twitter, each with pictures that would turn out to be related to the music videos for the singles. The music video for "Sweet Dream" was released that same day, while the music video for "Shapeshifter" was released on July 23, 2021. A riddle to help fans decode the title of the album was sent to Cara's emailing list the day before.

On August 2, 2021, it was announced that Cara would be releasing "The Use In Trying", an original song for the 2021 animated movie *Paw Patrol: The Movie*, on August 10, 2021. On August 5, 2021, it was announced that Cara wrote and sang "Feel You Now", the theme song for *Blade Runner: Black Lotus*.

On August 31, 2021, another clue about the album was sent to Cara's emailing list, this time an image of five clocks all pointing towards 9:24. On September 2, 2021, Cara revealed the album's cover and announced that it is titled *In The Meantime* and would be released on September 24, 2021. On September 10, 2021, Cara's cover of "Enter Sandman" with The Warning from the Metallica Blacklist album was released alongside its music video.

On September 24, 2021, Cara's album *In The Meantime* was released alongside the music video for the song "Best Days".

On December 23, 2021, the 2021 edition of Yearly Departed was released on Amazon Prime Video and Cara performed My Heart Will Go On at the end of the production.

Cara released a music video for “You Let Me Down” on 12 May, 2022.

On December 2, 2022, Cara released a music video for her cover of “Jingle Bell Rock”. On December 14, 2022 she released music video for her 2019 single, “Make It To Christmas”.

On March 2, 2023, she participated in an all-star recording of Serena Ryder's single "What I Wouldn’t Do", which was released as a charity single to benefit Kids Help Phone's Feel Out Loud campaign for youth mental health.

## Artistry

Cara is a Contemporary R&B|R&B and alternative R&B singer. She also creates music in the pop, Soul, and indie pop genres.

Her influences include Lauryn Hill, Amy Winehouse, P!nk, Fergie, Drake and Ed Sheeran.

## Official Account

* Alessia Cara on Twitter
* Alessia Cara on Facebook
* Alessia Cara on Instagram

## Personal life

She has a dog named Cleo.

From 2016 to 2018 she dated singer-songwriter, Kevin Garrett.

Cara has dual Canadian and Italian citizenship.

## Discography

*Main article: Discography*

* *Know-It-All* (2015)
* *The Pains of Growing* (2018)
* *In The Meantime* (2021)

## Filmography

### Television

 2022
 *Blade Runner: Black Lotus* | Selene (voice)

## External links

* twitter
* official website
* Def Jam Recordings profile for Alessia Cara

## References

1. ↑ Grammys 2018: Alessia Cara Wins Best New Artist
2. ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AO1yjGkqCxY
3. ↑ Alessia Cara Review
4. ↑ Meet Alessia Cara, the Soulful Voice Behind This Year's Antisocial Pop Anthem
5. ↑ https://theteenagertoday.com/alessia-cara/
6. ↑ BBC Sound of 2016: Alessia Cara interview
7. ↑ http://www.thefader.com/2015/05/27/interview-alessia-cara-alt-pops-new-sweetheart
8. ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20200725015905/http://www.theprovince.com/Canadian+singer+Alessia+Cara+talks+Taylor+Swift+wanting+Justin+Bieber/11823492/story.html
9. ↑ http://mix1041.cbslocal.com/2014/01/08/15-seconds-of-fame-alessia-caracciolo-sweater-weather
10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 http://www.mtv.com/news/2144584/alessia-here/
11. ↑ http://www.thenationalstudent.com/Music/2015-05-05/fresher\_sounds\_05/05/2015.html
12. ↑ http://cutfromsteel.com/new-song-alessia-cara-here/
13. ↑ http://www.cosmopolitan.com/entertainment/music/news/a39893/best-songs-miranda-lambert-ciara-missy-elliott/
14. ↑ http://ca.complex.com/music/2015/04/best-canadian-songs-april/
15. ↑ http://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/pop-shop/6597748/20-summer-pop-songs-playlist-you-need-2015
16. ↑ https://www.rollingstone.com/music/lists/50-best-songs-of-2015-20151203/titus-andronicus-dimed-out-20151203
17. ↑ http://www.spin.com/2015/07/alessia-cara-here-jimmy-fallon-roots/
18. ↑ http://www.streamys.org/nominees-winners/5th-annual-nominees-winners/
19. ↑ http://www.papermag.com/2015/09/alessia\_cara\_four\_pink\_walls\_here.php
20. ↑ https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/know-it-all-deluxe/id1050275063
21. ↑ https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts
22. ↑ http://junoawards.ca/nominees/
23. ↑ https://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/watch-alessia-caras-youthful-celebratory-wild-things-video-20160307
24. ↑ http://pitchfork.com/news/64672-coldplay-expand-us-tour-alessia-cara-to-join/
25. ↑ https://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/watch-alessia-caras-gorgeous-beach-set-how-far-ill-go-video-w448538
26. ↑ http://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/pop/7565495/alessia-cara-how-far-ill-go-music-video-moana
27. ↑ http://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/pop/7625271/alessia-cara-seventeen-video
28. ↑ http://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/pop/7678027/alessia-cara-saturday-night-live
29. ↑ https://pitchfork.com/news/grammys-2018-alessia-cara-wins-best-new-artist/
30. ↑ https://twitter.com/alessiacara/status/1002588132511010817
31. ↑ http://exclaim.ca/music/article/alessia\_cara\_teases\_new\_single\_with\_lyric\_guessing\_game
32. ↑ https://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/pop/8460554/alessia-cara-announces-growing-pains-first-song-off-sophomore-album
33. ↑ https://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/pop/8461933/alessia-cara-video-growing-pains
34. ↑ https://www.instagram.com/p/BlDrCQmHOik/?taken-by=alessiasmusic
35. ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WqxYyUR72jU
36. ↑ http://abcnewsradioonline.com/music-news/2018/9/28/alessia-cara-announces-new-song-trust-my-lonely-via-bizarre.html
37. ↑ https://youtu.be/v0CIcU\_SOeM
38. ↑ https://twitter.com/alessiacworld/status/1068392629933608960
39. ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20190127025730/https://www.allaccess.com/top40-mainstream/future-releases
40. ↑ https://www.billboard.com/articles/news/8521055/alessia-cara-announces-new-this-summer-ep-first-single-ready
41. ↑ https://youtu.be/yrcZdxN7z-U
42. ↑ https://youtu.be/QLrmP9GBd3c
43. ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OCUe3dN64as
44. ↑ https://www.instagram.com/p/CB3MvA-nwU0/
45. ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ORj3T5sz-0
46. ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YyDcXK\_SqJA
47. ↑ https://youtu.be/9tKQgesCcTc
48. ↑ https://youtu.be/TPv64Y56I\_4
49. ↑ https://www.tvinsider.com/1021677/yearly-departed-2021-amazon-prime-video-jane-fonda-chelsea-peretti-yvonne-orji/
50. ↑ https://youtu.be/m7kPssRKiL8
51. ↑ https://youtu.be/Ney6xwHVGcg
52. ↑ https://youtu.be/Lyg-WIsUaO8
53. ↑ https://www.allmusic.com/artist/alessia-cara-mn0003396562
54. ↑ http://www.complex.com/music/2015/06/bestival-cheat-sheet-hometown-heroes/alessia-cara
55. ↑ https://www.theodysseyonline.com/10-indie-pop-artists |accessdate= 28 January 2018
56. ↑ http://exclaim.ca/music/article/alessia\_cara-wild\_things
57. ↑ http://www.rap-up.com/2016/09/27/alessia-cara-lessons-from-coldplay-lauryn-hill-life/
58. ↑ http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/profiles/558ttb4cX0DN2SfPVkbbLF5/2nd-alessia-cara
59. ↑ https://www.instagram.com/p/CDNJxR\_HKpE/
60. ↑ https://www.j-14.com/posts/who-is-alessia-cara-150042 Hey, Girl: Find Her Where the Wild Things Are – Here’s Your Guide to Alessia Cara
61. ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rfJfSZ2x38c