Alessia Cara facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Alessia Cara
Cara performing at Washington's National Mall in 2018
Born	Alessia Caracciolo (1996-07-11) July 11, 1996 (age 28) Mississauga, Ontario, Canada
Other names	Alessia (2014–2015)
Citizenship	Canada Italy
Occupation	Singer songwriter
Years active	2014–present
Musical career
Genres	Pop R&B
Instruments	Vocals
Labels	Def Jam Universal Music Group
Associated acts	Pop & Oak Sebastian Kole
Signature

Alessia Caracciolo (born July 11, 1996), known as Alessia Cara, is a Canadian singer and songwriter. She started by sharing song covers on YouTube when she was 13. After her acoustic covers became popular, she signed with record labels in 2014. Her first song, "Here", came out the next year. It became a big hit, reaching number 5 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in the US.

Alessia Cara's first album, Know-It-All (2015), was very successful. Another song from the album, "Scars to Your Beautiful", also reached the top 10 on the Billboard Hot 100. In 2017, she worked with DJ Zedd on the song "Stay". She also joined Khalid and Logic on the popular song "1-800-273-8255".

Cara has been nominated for four Grammy Awards. She won the Grammy Award for Best New Artist in 2018, which was a huge achievement. Her second album, The Pains of Growing (2018), included the songs "Growing Pains" and "Trust My Lonely". This album won two Juno Awards in Canada. Her third album, In the Meantime (2021), was also well-received. She is currently working on her fourth album.

Early Life and Musical Beginnings

Alessia Cara was born on July 11, 1996, in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada. She grew up in Brampton. Her family comes from Calabria, Italy. Her father was born in Canada to Italian parents, and her mother moved from Italy. Alessia is one of four children and can speak Italian fluently.

When she was a child, Alessia enjoyed writing poetry and acting in plays. She started playing guitar at age 10 and taught herself many songs. At 13, she created her own YouTube channel. On her channel, she shared videos of herself singing covers of popular songs.

Music Career Highlights

Starting Out and First Album (2014–2017)

Alessia Cara in 2015

In July 2014, Alessia Cara signed a management deal in New York. She then started working on her first album. She decided to use "Alessia Cara" as her professional name. In April 2015, she released her first official song, "Here". MTV described it as "a song for everyone who secretly hates parties." The song was inspired by her own experience of feeling uncomfortable at a party.

"Here" quickly gained attention. Spin magazine called it a "can't-miss" track, and Cosmopolitan listed it as a "must hear song." Rolling Stone also ranked "Here" as one of the best songs of 2015. On July 29, 2015, Alessia Cara made her first TV appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon. She then released an EP (a shorter album) called Four Pink Walls. Her full first album, Know-It-All, came out on November 13, 2015.

From January to April 2016, Alessia went on her first tour, the "Know-It-All Tour," performing in cities across the US and Canada. She won the Breakthrough Artist of the Year award at the 2016 Juno Awards in Canada. In April 2016, she was a supporting act for the band Coldplay on their "A Head Full of Dreams Tour." She also performed at the famous Glastonbury Festival in June 2016.

Alessia Cara sang "How Far I'll Go" for the Disney movie Moana. The music video for the song was released in November 2016 and has been viewed hundreds of millions of times on YouTube. On February 4, 2017, she was the musical guest on Saturday Night Live. She also collaborated with Zedd on "Stay" and with Logic and Khalid on "1-800-273-8255".

Grammy Win and New Music (2018–2020)

Alessia Cara performing in Sydney, Australia in 2018

On January 28, 2018, Alessia Cara won the Grammy Award for Best New Artist. This made her the first Canadian artist to ever win this award.

On June 15, 2018, she released a new song called "Growing Pains". The music video for this song was nominated for an award at the MTV VMAS. For her birthday on July 11, 2018, she released another song she wrote and produced herself, called "A Little More."

In October 2018, she worked with Italian singer Eros Ramazzotti on the song "Vale per sempre." She also released "Trust My Lonely" and "Not Today." Her second album, The Pains of Growing, was released on November 30, 2018. It quickly reached number one on the US iTunes Pop Charts. In January 2019, "Out of Love" became the third single from the album. She also collaborated with Alec Benjamin on "Let Me Down Slowly". In February 2019, Alessia joined Shawn Mendes as an opening act for his world tour in Europe and the US.

In July 2019, Alessia announced a new EP called This Summer. She released new songs from the EP every few weeks until its full release on September 6, 2019. These songs included "Ready", "Rooting for You", "OKAY OKAY", and "October". She also went on "The Pains of Growing Tour" in the US.

In November 2019, she was featured on Bastille's song "Another Place". In March 2020, she worked with Lauv on the song "Canada." On April 3, 2020, Alessia released "I Choose" for the Netflix animated movie The Willoughbys, where she also voiced the character Jane Willoughby.

In July 2020, Alessia released a live EP called This Summer: Live Off The Floor. All the money she earns from this EP for the next 21 years will go to Save The Children, a charity that helps children.

Recent Projects and Future Plans (2021–Present)

On July 15, 2021, Alessia Cara released two new songs, "Sweet Dream" and "Shapeshifter," which were the first singles from her third album. She also sang "The Use In Trying" for the 2021 animated movie PAW Patrol: The Movie and "Feel You Now" for Blade Runner: Black Lotus.

On September 2, 2021, Alessia revealed that her third album would be called In the Meantime. It was released on September 24, 2021. Critics generally gave the album positive reviews, praising her honest and personal lyrics. In September 2021, she also collaborated with the Mexican rock band The Warning on a cover of "Enter Sandman" for a tribute album.

In 2023, she joined many other artists to record a charity song called "What I Wouldn't Do" by Serena Ryder. This song helped raise money for Kids Help Phone's campaign for youth mental health.

In August 2023, Alessia confirmed that she is working on her fourth album. The first song from this album, "Dead Man", was released on July 19, 2024. Her new album, titled Love & Hyperbole, is planned for release on February 14, 2025.

Personal Life

Alessia Cara lives in Toronto, Canada. She has shared that she experiences synesthesia, which means she might "see" sounds or "taste" colors. She also has keratosis pilaris (a common skin condition) and alopecia areata (a condition that causes hair loss). Alessia has also spoken openly about her experiences with mental health challenges and insomnia (trouble sleeping). She holds dual citizenship for both Canada and Italy.

Musical Style

Alessia Cara's music is often described as pop, R&B, and soul. She has been influenced by many artists, including Lauryn Hill, Adele, Amy Winehouse, Pink, Fergie, Christina Aguilera, Drake, Ed Sheeran, and Taylor Swift.

Albums

• Know-It-All (2015)
• The Pains of Growing (2018)
• In the Meantime (2021)
• Love & Hyperbole (2025)

Film and TV Appearances

Film

Television

Awards and Achievements

Alessia Cara has won many awards for her music. In 2018, she made history by becoming the first Canadian artist to win the Grammy Award for Best New Artist. She has also been nominated for awards like the American Music Awards and Billboard Music Awards. She has won an iHeartRadio Music Award, five Juno Awards (Canada's music awards), and two MTV Video Music Awards.

Images for kids

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  Alessia Cara performing at the 2017 Invictus Games' opening ceremony

See also

In Spanish: Alessia Cara para niños