Sunday Conversation: Alessia Cara On Her New Album And Inspiration

NEW YORK, NEW YORK - FEBRUARY 14: Alessia Cara performs at SiriusXM Studios on February 14, 2025 in ... [+] New York City. (Photo by Gary Gershoff/Getty Images)
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Canadian singer/songwriter Alessia Cara recently released her fourth full album, Love and Hyperbole. From the engaging opener, “Go Outside” through the intimate closer, “Clearly,” Cara continues to grow as a songwriter.
I caught up with Cara, who heads out on tour in early April, right after she sang the Canadian national anthem ["O Canada"] at NBA All-Star weekend. We spoke about everything from Kobe Bryant and John Mayer to communicating through music.
Steve Baltin: I heard from your manager you had quite the adventure getting back to Toronto from NBA All-Star weekend in San Francisco. SF to Chicago to Buffalo and then had to drive back because of the storms. Your own version of , If you were doing a remake in 2025 who would be your co-stars?
Alessia Cara: I love Steve Martin, but if we're moving away from the original cast, I would say my dream duo would be Jim Carrey and Jack Black. Those are like my comedy legends. I love them.
Baltin: That is a good duo. NBA All -Star weekend got blasted, people were not in favor of the format. What did you think?
Cara: I got to watch it courtside, which is super fun. Admittedly I was a little bit confused at the format, not going to lie. Victoria and I, my manager, were just trying to guess what was happening. I'm also not a huge sports person to begin with. So, this format was a little challenging to grasp, but it was fun. I will say it was entertaining. We had our eyes peeled the whole time. They had so many guests and there were performers in the middle, and I thought the game itself was great. It was just a lot. It was a very overstimulating experience.
Baltin: What were you doing there?
Cara: I was singing the National Anthem for Canada because we had a few Canadian players playing. So, I sang the Canadian National Anthem, which was super fun. I'm very glad I didn't get booed because I was expecting to, but it worked out.