Alessia Cara

Paradigm’s Jonathan Adelman was eager to talk about Alessia Cara.

He told Pollstar, “You and I will probably talk for a long time … the word that’s going to keep on resonating is career. Because what we do here is we try to build careers and that was the focus. From what we heard [of her] music and then after meeting her, there was no question that we were going to give it our all from the get-go. It was about putting layers down, building blocks and having a career.”

He added, “We came onboard as things were starting to take shape and honestly it’s the best time for us to get on board. We love to be on the development side of things.”

Photo: Scott Legato/RockStarProPhotography.com

The husky-voiced singer/songwriter offers a fresh take on pop/R&B, with singles like the anti-party anthem “Here” and “Scars To Your Beautiful,” her ode to positive body image. Plus, she comes across as very real.  

As “Here” was climbing radio charts, Cara’s team booked her at festivals and a run of sold-out dates at small clubs. She then spent late May through September touring Europe and the U.S. with Coldplay.

“We’d like to take all the credit for that, but I think a lot of it had to do with Chris Martin and the rest of the guys in Coldplay,” Adelman said. “They are the final decision makers. … At the end of the day I think it was her own merit that warranted that. … So that was obviously a very, very exciting moment for us all and a great layer to building that career.”

After being thrust into the stadium environment it was clear that Cara was able to command an audience “whether it’s in front of 200 people or 50,000.”

Photo: Chris Young/The Canadian Press via AP

Following the Coldplay tour, Cara returned to North America to headline large clubs and theatres, including Radio City Music Hall, Chicago Theatre and the Ryman.

“We’re in it for the long haul and we’re going to focus and break other territories around the world,” Adelman said. “There are plans to look at other regions – South America, Australia and Asia – next year.”