Alessia Cara
Alessia Caracciolo (born July 11, 1996), known professionally as Alessia Cara (/əˈlɛsiə ˈkɑːrə/),[5] is a Canadian singer and songwriter. She began posting covers of songs on YouTube at age 13. After uploading acoustic covers of songs such as "Love Yourself" and "Sweater Weather" online, she signed with EP Entertainment and Def Jam Recordings in 2014 and released her debut single, "Here", the following year. It peaked at number 19 on the Canadian Hot 100 chart and was a sleeper hit in the US, peaking at number 5 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.[6][7][8]
Alessia Cara
Cara's debut studio album, Know-It-All (2015), peaked at number 8 on the Canadian Albums Chart and at number 9 on the Billboard 200. The album's third single, "Scars to Your Beautiful", peaked at number 8 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 2016. In 2017, Cara collaborated with DJ and producer Zedd on the single "Stay", which is certified seven-times platinum in Canada, and featured alongside Khalid on rapper Logic's song "1-800-273-8255".
Cara has received nominations for four Grammy Awards, winning the Best New Artist in 2018.[9] She was nominated for Song of the Year and Record of the Year at the 2019 Latin Grammys for her collaboration with Juanes on "Querer Mejor".[10] Her second studio album, The Pains of Growing (2018), saw the moderate commercial success of the singles "Growing Pains" and "Trust My Lonely". The album won Juno Award for Album of the Year and Juno Award for Pop Album of the Year while she went on to win Juno Award for Songwriter of the Year.[11][12] Her third album, In the Meantime (2021), was met with generally positive reviews from critics, and she is currently working on her fourth studio album.[13]
Early life and education[edit]
Alessia Cara was born on July 11, 1996, in Mississauga, Ontario,[14] and grew up in Brampton, where she attended Cardinal Ambrozic Catholic Secondary School.[15] Her family is from Calabria, Italy; her father was born in Canada to Italian parents, and her mother is an Italian immigrant.[16][17] Cara is the second of four children.[18] She can speak Italian fluently.[19] As a child, she wrote poetry and performed in theatre.[20] She began playing guitar at the age of 10 and taught herself how to play various songs.[20] At the age of 13, she began her own YouTube channel where she posted covers of songs that she performed.[20] She saw Justin Bieber as a career model at the time.[21]
Personal life[edit]
Cara lives in Toronto, Canada[97] She has revealed on separate occasions that she experiences synesthesia,[98][99] and also has keratosis pilaris[100] and alopecia areata.[101][102] She has also been open about her struggles with mental health and insomnia.[103] Cara has dual Canadian and Italian citizenship.[2]
Artistry[edit]
Cara is a pop,[104][105][106] R&B,[104][105] alternative R&B,[107] indie pop[105] and soul[106] singer. Her influences include Lauryn Hill, Amy Winehouse, Pink, Fergie,[108] Christina Aguilera,[109] Drake, Ed Sheeran,[110] and Taylor Swift.[111]