It's always thrilling to catch a soon-to-be superstar on his or her way up. That chance has arrived for Dallas fans of 19-year-old Canadian Alessia (pronounced "a-less-ia") Cara, whose addictive hit "Here" has been climbing the charts for months. Sure to be playing bigger rooms in the very near future, Cara will do an intimate show at the Granada on Feb. 4, offering up songs from her worthy first album, Know-It-All (out now on Def Jam). A few interesting things to know about the young singer before she arrives in Dallas.
SHE FOUND FAME ON YOUTUBE: An online self-starter like many of the budding stars in pop now, Cara began uploading cover versions of popular songs to YouTube when she had just become a teenager. The interest grew slowly as she made her way through a wide range of hits, finally picking up major steam at 16 when a version of Justin Timberlake's "Mirrors" began to rack up views. When she got a record deal, she proved that her writing chops were as impressive as her voice on the debut single, "Here," the unique but endlessly catchy ode to the introvert's average party experience.
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'HERE' IS STILL ON ITS WAY UP: The first single was released back in June and ended up on several year-end best-of lists (including my own), but it's only now approaching chart-topper status. The slow-building song only recently broke the streak of Drake's "Hotline Bling" at the top of Billboard's R&B/hip-hop ranking. During the song's climb Cara has put out an introductory EP, Four Pink Walls, and her first full-length LP, Know-It-All.
SHE'S BEEN RECOGNIZED BY HER IDOLS: Speaking of Drake, Cara finally met one of her Canadian pop idols last year after he'd caught wind of her YouTube work and her first single. He requested a short meet-up backstage before he was to perform a festival gig. She later talked in interviews about the meeting being the "best five minutes of my life." Another encounter with a superstar might have trumped the Drake introduction, though. On Halloween, Taylor Swift invited Cara onstage in Tampa to perform "Here" during a 1989 World Tour stop. The two ladies followed that up with an online video interview during which Swift urged viewers to buy Cara's album.
SHE'S A GENRE-HOPPER: We can see why Swift was so impressed with the Know-It-All album. Not only is Cara's vocal prowess head and shoulders above that of most singers her age, but she tackles different kinds of tunes confidently. Album opener "Seventeen" establishes the record's young-and-angsty themes with a dreamy chorus and soaring harmonies. Then you have the hip-hop leanings of "Here," the head-bobbing electro beats of "I'm Yours," and the modernized doo-wop rhythm of "Overdose." She slows down the pace to croon beautifully on the ballad "Stars."
SHE'S ALREADY A LIVE-SHOW PRO: Cara may be a relative newbie to rocking stages, but it appears from reviews of her headlining tour that she's perfectly adept at commanding crowds. According to a Billboard recap of her recent Toronto shows, "Cara's powerful voice and natural presence amount to a subtle confidence." She plays with a three-piece band and reportedly engages in plenty of energetic banter and crowd interaction. And you can bet that Cara will find a way to honor her early days of covering the hits on YouTube.
