“Fame made me feel like I wasn’t a person anymore”: Alessia Cara on her Valentine’s Day album, Love & Hyperbole

Grammy-winning R&B singer-songwriter Alessia Cara has been releasing music since age 13, originally posting cover songs on YouTube. In 2014, at just 18, the Brampton-raised musician signed a record deal with Def Jam and put out her first single, “Here,” an anti-social anthem from her debut album, Know-It-All. The sleeper hit reached the top five on Billboard’s Hot 100, and the album cracked the top 10 on the Billboard 200. With lyrics that appealed to Cara’s peers, the third single, “Scars to Your Beautiful,” addressed body positivity, also reaching the top 10. Cara went on to become the first Canadian to win a Grammy for best new artist in 2018. Now 28, she’s dropping her fourth album, Love & Hyperbole, this Valentine’s Day. We spoke to Cara about making music as an adult, dealing with fame and her favourite spots in Toronto.

You’ve been making music over half your life, if you include what you shared on YouTube. Are you feeling the passage of time? In a couple of months, I will have been doing this professionally for a decade, which is so crazy. It feels like yesterday that I put out my first song. When a fan stops me now, they often say, “You were my childhood” or “You got me through high school,” and it’s an adult standing in front of me. I’m so grateful to have been able to have had this career for so long.

You were writing deeply personal lyrics from ages 18 to 28, a significant time in any young woman’s life. What’s the biggest change topically now that you’re approaching 30? I’ve allowed myself to be a bit more optimistic. When I was a teen, I was more stubborn, and I looked at love and positivity in a different way. Now that I’m older, I’m able to approach songs from a different standpoint. I’m still the same person, though, so this album still has its share of sad songs.

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You’re dropping the album on Valentine’s Day. That’s one way to make sure you’ll have plans. If you don’t have a date, are you usually at home moping or do you go out with your girlfriends? I try to do a Galentine’s Day with my friends. We watch romantic movies and eat heart-shaped foods. I try to stay busy even in the mopey times and surround myself with love in different ways.

You start the album sounding lonely, singing about not wanting to go out. Then, toward the end, the songs are quite fun and optimistic. Was that progression on purpose? Definitely. When I started writing this album, I was feeling closed off, both to the physical world and emotionally. I was quite lonely and pessimistic. The first part of the album reflects that: it’s closed off, sonically and lyrically. After three years of writing, I felt transformed. I wanted the end to reflect that.

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You experienced fame at a young age, which must have been overwhelming. The attention is about to start up again. How do you deal with that? It was definitely challenging. I come from a blue-collar Italian immigrant family, where music and fame were totally out of our realm. Then, when it happened, it happened so fast. My life changed completely. Even now, after having done this job for 10 years, it’s always jarring. There’s no balance. It’s not like a regular job where you work in the day, then you come home. I’ll be just home doing nothing, and then things will start up again and my life will go from zero to a thousand. There’s no time to process anything, and that’s always the biggest challenge. You just learn how to keep your feet on the ground.

Some artists get into music without considering fame, while others probably wouldn’t make music without it. We’ve seen Justin Bieber and Shawn Mendes pump the breaks, taking time for themselves. Where do you fit on that spectrum? It’s changed. In the beginning, all my dreams were coming true. It was all so new and exciting, and everything was just go, go, go. Then I started to get really tired, and then a little bit resentful. I was missing out on many of the more human aspects of life, plus a lot of milestones for people in my life. I just didn’t feel like a person anymore. So I totally understand every aspect. I get why it’s fun and amazing—I still feel that way now—but I also know that I need to take time away. When there’s no balance, you have to create it for yourself.

You’ve travelled the world. What is your view of Toronto? I honestly love it here, despite the cold winters. I’d love to raise my kids here one day and start family roots. It feels like home. Which is a surprise—I never thought I’d love the city, to be quite honest. I grew up in the suburbs, and I always thought I wanted to hide away on a farm or something. But I’ve come to love and need the movement of the city. I like knowing that there’s life outside. I tend to be a recluse, but it forces me to get out. If I were on a farm somewhere, I’d never leave my house.

Being Italian, do you hang out in Little Italy? Yes, it’s such a great area. My family and I go downtown a lot during the World Cup season, and we celebrate in Little Italy, of course. Those are some of my earliest memories of the city. I still love discovering new Italian spots down there.

Any favourites? I really love Giulietta and Enoteca Sociale. But there are so many good little spots, and I like to try them all as they pop up. I just discovered Campechano—they’re my new favourite tacos in the city.

Have you vacationed in Italy? I try to go back every year. My mom’s whole family is still in Calabria, including her parents and siblings. She came to Canada with no one. A lot of my dad’s family is still there too. It’s the best place to go for food, plus there are lovely beaches and the south is such a beautiful area.

Will you be touring this summer? Yeah, we’re putting it together now. It’ll probably be spring and summer of this year. Things are still being mapped out, but I’m definitely planning to play a few festivals and travel as much as possible. And we’ll of course have a Toronto date. I’m excited to get back out.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity