Taken from this week’s Future Pop mailer. Click here to subscribe.
Canadian pop-R&B singer Alessia Cara is a new signing to Def Jam, and her debut single Here has gained her a worldwide following over the past month. The three YouTube uploads of the song have almost 1 million plays combined. Before releasing Here, 18-year-old Alessia was largely unknown, with just a modest following on YouTube, where she has posted cover videos since she was 14. I find the success of Here quite heartwarming because it shows, even in a time when we’re bombarded with new songs and artists, you don’t need to have a huge online fanbase or a novelty factor to go viral. I’m sure Def Jam have put a good chunk of marketing spend behind the track, but the comments on the official video about the lyrics and the sound show her new fans love Alessia for her music and artistic persona. Her message about feeling alienated by the teen party scene clearly strikes a chord with many young people, and Here is a great antidote to the generic party tracks that it will soon be joining in the charts.
[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UKp2CrfmVfw]