It’s been a wild ride for Alessia Cara over the last eight years. She went from a young girl, playing around her small hometown of Brampton, Ontario, to being a Grammy-nominated artist. And while it was a quick rise to success, it wasn’t surprising, at least, not for those that know her. She started playing guitar at the age of ten and was inspired to start songwriting when she discovered Amy Winehouse (who was still alive at the time).

And like another famous Canadian, we all know (cough, Justin Beiber) Cara decided to take her talents to the internet and record herself making covers of popular songs online. Luckily for everyone, she got discovered and has been making music ever since.

Alessia and Def Jam Records

When young hopeful musicians dream of being discovered, the fantasy doesn’t get any better than being found by Def Jam. And that’s exactly what happened to Alessia the year after she graduated high school.

And while her parents probably weren’t thrilled she took that year off to concentrate on music, we know they’re happy she did so now. Once she was signed, it didn’t take long for her to start making music. She started with the single “Here,” in 2015, which still gets airplay on the radio today. From “Here,” she went on to release Four Pink Walls, which included the chart-topping hit, Scars to Your Beautiful. That song not only brought her to the forefront of heartfelt pop music, but it became a body positivity anthem, too!

A Humanitarian Artist

One of Cara’s most famous collaborations was with Logic on the song, “1-800-273-8255,” which happens to be the number of the National Suicide Prevention hotline. It was more proof to us that Alessia doesn’t just care about putting out high-quality music. She also cares about music that makes the world a better place – and we hope that never changes.