Alessia Cara’s ‘Here’ Was The Sleeper Hit You Could Have Missed

Nineteen years old and oh-so great! How does that voice come out of such a young person?

Alessia Cara, whose actual last name is Caracciolo, is obviously of Italian descent when you see that last name. But Alessia grew up in Ontario, Canada, just outside Toronto. Like so many others of her generation that are in the music industry now, she started by creating a YouTube channel when she was just 13.

This song is, as she describes it, for everyone who secretly hates parties. Inspiration for the song came in just that fashion, after having arrived at a party and realizing that she didn’t want to be at it.

The video is insanely well produced. I couldn’t figure out how it’s done. So I inquired a little from someone who has worked in the film industry. Turns out that the frozen cards and drinks and smoke are probably all done after the fact, in editing. In other words, they are fake. As for the people, they are merely holding VERY still during shots. In fact, there are a couple moments when you can see people moving. The most obvious moment that I noticed happens right at the two minute mark. There is a guy in the left side of the screen with a cup flying out of his hand. Watch the hand as it zooms in.

The single was released at the end of April by Def Jam Records, but an accompanying full album wasn’t released until just last week.

The song has received huge critical acclaim, with Rolling Stone even listing it as 21 on a list of the best 50 songs from 2015. That’s pretty impressive.

Alessia Cara is starting a tour of North America in just over a month. Of course, she’s already played before a huge crowd: Alessia Cara appeared on stage with Taylor Swift at Swift’s final tour stop in Tampa, Florida. The two sung a duet of the this song, ‘Here’.