Alessia Cara, tour review: A fearless roar of powerful pop

Cara was an excitable, fast-talking presence with a vocal that was rarely restrained, says Andre Paine
Unpolished style: Alessia Cara delved into hip-hop and shared the stage with Katy B
Steve Gillett/Livepix
Andre Paine4 November 2015

Alessia Cara went from dueting with Taylor Swift in front of 55,000 people at the weekend to playing for 500 fans in Camden.

The 19-year-old from Ontario has a US hit with debut single Here, which the pair sang together at the Florida leg of Swift’s tour. “Fearless,” was how the superstar described the newcomer.

You could see Swift’s point when Cara (a shortening of her surname Caracciolo) launched into a powerful pop performance at this intimate venue. Yet there was something endearing about her unpolished style: with her comfy sweater and scraped-back hair she could have been any teenage tourist in Camden.

The retro soul of Outlaws had shades of former local girl Amy Winehouse — one of the artists Cara covered on her YouTube channel, which earned her a record deal.

She ventured into hip hop for an acoustic rendition of Drake’s Hotline Bling, featuring a special guest who received a cheeky introduction that only a teenager could get away with.

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“Taylor Swift — Taylor come out here!” she teased. “No, I’m just kidding.”

Instead of Swift her actual guest was Katy B, who didn’t seem to mind being a punchline.

For 45 minutes, Cara was an excitable, fast-talking presence with a vocal that was rarely restrained. She roared over sci-fi synths on Scars to Your Beautiful, and resembled a more strident Lorde amid the big beats of Wild Things.

Yet for all Cara’s stage prowess, Here was revealed as an introvert’s anthem about feeling like a wallflower at a party.

The shivery R&B tune was greeted in this venue like one of the year’s great singles. There should be plenty more where that came from.

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