With a youthful voice and straight-forward manner, Alessia Cara is the new alternative pop sensation according to Pitchfork.com. 19 year old Alessia Caracciolo was raised in Brampton, Ontario, Canada to Italian parents. She started off singing cover songs on Youtube; her most famous cover was “Sweater Weather” by The Neighbourhood. She said, “I want my music to be cool and reflective of my influences –Drake, Amy Winehouse, Ed Sheeran– but still be new. Def Jam gave me the opportunity to say something meaningful and positive without being preachy. I didn’t expect everything to feel so natural and organic. And I can’t believe how quickly it’s going.”

On her way to becoming a rising star, her debut album Know It All consists of the following songs: Seventeen, Here, Outlaws, I’m Yours, Four Pink Walls, Wild Things, Stone (feat. Sebastian Kole), Overdose, Stars, and Scars To Your Beautiful. Though she has received good reviews for her whole album, she is most recognized for her debut song “Here.”

Cara’s inspiration for “Here” came from a real-life experience at a party when she was 16. “Here” is unapologetically autobiographical: “‘Here’ is a true story,” Alessia confesses. “It’s a party song, but really it’s the complete opposite of a party song. It’s absolutely me; it shouts out the person in the corner of the party, looking around uncomfortably. I feel like this song narrates what the wallflower is thinking.”  The song was released in May 2015 and shows her true self and other’s reactions towards her. “Here” takes aim at mindless revelry and is peppered with lines that touch everyone’s hidden introvert: “I’m sorry if I seem uninterested / Or I’m not listenin’, or I’m indifferent / Truly I ain’t got no business here” and “Excuse me if I seem a little unimpressed with this / An antisocial pessimist, but usually I don’t mess with this” and “Really I would rather be at home all by myself / Not in this room with people who don’t even care about my well being.”

She talks about real life events occurring to many people out in the real world and who may feel the same way she does. Cara shows how being antisocial is not a bad thing because not everyone surrounding her actually cares about anything happening to her and why even bother to try to fit in if they will judge her either way. Just as in the song “Seventeen” where she says that when you least expect it your childhood will be gone and you’ll want to freeze time because it’ll feel like it’s going by too fast. I really like this song because it talks about reality, just as most of her songs are, and she makes you feel as if you weren’t so different from everyone else. She doesn’t want anyone to be something they’re not and if someone disagrees they shouldn’t apologize for it because that’s how they want to be and no one should hide their true self for anyone and just live the life they want; don’t just follow the crowd blindly.

Her beat is very catchy, consisting of different instrumental portents, and her voice is very unique. For example “Outlaws” has a very rhythmic beat and meaningful lyrics: “Run, run like the devil’s behind us, Run to where no one can find us, Be my accomplice to my crime, Oh baby Tell me you love me again, Oh again And I would waste away without you.” I feel Cara is saying that her partner in crime, no matter what, should always be by her side. By using the example of Bonnie and Clyde, thieves during the Great Depression, she emphasizes the idea that they’ll always be together and even if it comes to it, die together.

Cara blends songs together so there can be a unique feel to her music. Her music makes people feel like they actually have a voice, as if they were the ones writing the lyrics and expressing themselves. Overall, most of her songs have the same beat the only exception is “I’m yours” which has a more calm beat. Her music makes my feel liberated; it would be perfect to listen to her album if you’re feeling overwhelmed with reality.

I would rate her album 4 out of 5 stars and I very much recommend it to people who can easily relate to her attitude. If you like Taylor Swift, Ashlee Simpson, Selena Gomez, or Paramore you might also enjoy Aleissa Cara.