Alessia Cara becomes latest Toronto-area artist to vault to stardom

Alessia Cara confesses that she pinches herself all the time, wondering if she's living in a dream.

And who could blame her?

The 19-year-old Brampton singer has graduated fromposting covers of songs she recorded in her bedroom on YouTube to signing with the legendary Def Jam record label to rocking TheTonightShow stage. Oh, and receiving lots of Twitter love from Taylor Swift.

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Cara, who was bornAlessia Caracciolo, releases her hotly-anticipated debut album, Know It All, Friday. She writes with an open honesty about emotions she's experiencing, and cooly delivers her stories over soulful R&B.

A line that perfectly describesher impressive career trajectory can be found in her song, 4 Pink Walls.It goes, "Went from whenboredom strikes to miss star ontherise. It was all in an instant."

"That whole song is about how my life did a 180 turn and it hasn't been the same," Cara said in an interview withErrol Nazareth of CBC'sBig City Small World.

"The 180 turn" began last April when the precocious teen's wallflower anthem Herewas released to rave reviews. The video, which was posted on YouTube, has since racked up more than 15 million views.

In July, the viral smash shot to number oneon Billboard's Twitter Emerging Artists chart the day after she performed on TheTonightShow.

On it, the affable and thoughtful singer calls herself an anti-social pessimist and expresses her discomfort at being at a party.

"But 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 sings.

Cara, who's not the outsider she sings about in her smash hit anymore, discussed how she straddles life in the spotlight and treasuring her privacy.

"It's difficult, when you come from a world where you're uncomfortable in social situations and then you're thrown into this whole other world," she said. "You're meeting people you don't know, you're talking on air about your life and that can get difficult.

"But it's also been positive for me 'cause it's forced me to learn really quickly how to be more confident, how to speak your mind and be open."

Just as Hereresonated with introverts everywhere, it's likely that Scars To Your Beautifulwill strike a chord with Cara's young, female fan base.

In it, she sings,"To all the girls that'shurting, let me be your mirror, helpyourself see a little bit clearer the lightthat shines within."

Ready to be a role model

Cara said she's prepared to take on that responsibility.

"I think somebody has to," she said. "'I'm so glad there's this new wave of young female artists who are speaking their minds. Body image is something that girls struggle with every day and it's something that I struggle with every day."

The issue, she said, is "amplified times a thousand" now that she's in the public eye.

"When I watch the interviews [I've done]I'm like, 'Why is my posture like that?' and it gets to your head but you just realize after a while that it's all just noise and it's not important."

Like Drake, The Weeknd, Shawn Mendes and Francesco Yates, Cara is is one of several artists from Toronto who are bringing attention to the city's thriving music scene.

"EverywhereI go, every city, they're always like, 'What's in the water in Canada? What's in the water in Toronto?'

"I feel so proud," she said. "It's like, 'Yes! Finally!' We've always been considered underdogs and I feel like that's definitely shifting and I'm so happy to be a part of that."

You can hear Errol Nazareth's fullinterview with Alessia Cara on Big City Small World on CBC Radio Onethis Saturdayat5 p.m.