Lu Kala is the next big Canadian pop star

CBC

16-05-2025

Every so often, a Canadian artist breaks through in a big way, like Justin Bieber, Carly Rae Jepsen, The Weeknd or Shawn Mendes. Toronto singer Lu Kala just might be next.
With viral hits like Pretty Girl Era and Hotter Now, Kala has amassed more than 100 million streams across the internet. Her catchy songs about loving yourself and knowing your worth have landed her two Juno nominations and Billboard Canada's Women in Music Rising Star award.
In an interview with Q 's Tom Power about her new EP, No Tears On This Ride, Kala says she's dreamed of being a pop star since she was just a kid.
WATCH | Lu Kala's full interview with Tom Power:
"[My dream] was me on stages performing my music and everybody else screaming it back to me, me winning awards, just me being able to be a full-time musician — an artist," she says. "I'm grateful.… I'm kind of living that life right now."
Though Kala always knew she had a talent for singing and songwriting, it dawned on her early on that there weren't a lot of Black pop stars for her to look up to.
"I think a lot of the Black women that have done pop in the past came in, maybe, doing R&B or rap," she says. "Like they did something else and then they became so popular that they transitioned into pop. But I feel like Black women — Black people in general — have just never usually been allowed to come in straight [out of] the gate and be like, 'Hey, I make pop music.'"
WATCH | Official video for Hotter Now:
Now, Kala's goal is to bust down the doors of pop music not only for herself, but for others as well. And she emphasizes that everyone can enjoy feel-good pop music.
"Fun is not only for women and queer people," she tells Power. "Everyone's allowed to like fun music."
The rising Canadian pop star also counts some major celebrities among her fans, such as Serena Williams and SZA.
"Backstage at the [Billboard Women In Music Awards], I remember SZA … yelled and she's like, 'I'm such a fan of you!'" Kala recalls. "I'm looking around, like, who's she talking to? … And then she came up to me and she was like, 'I don't care! I'm in my pretty girl era.' She sang my song to me. And that was iconic because she's someone I'm such a fan of."
WATCH | Pretty Girl Era (Live):