Fresh Sounds Canada: New Songs From Haviah Mighty, Tia Wood & More

In Fresh Sounds Canada, Billboard Canada puts you on to the must-hear songs of the week by artists on the rise and those about to break. Here's what's out this week.

Haviah Mighty, “Double The Fun”

Haviah Mighty is the first Black woman to win the Polaris Music Prize and the first woman to win Rap Album of the Year at the Junos, and soon she’ll be the co-host and a performer at the first Billboard Women in Music in Canada. Her new song “Double The Fun,” her first new music since last year’s Crying Crystals, is underdog themed, says the Canadian rapper, about “celebrating all that I’ve accomplished” and “creating a shift in the status quo.” There’s a reason the song sounds so triumphant, filled with her trademark confidence and charisma. It also just goes hard. — Richard Trapunski

Tia Wood, “Catch & Release”

After building a big following on social media, Plains Cree and Coast Salish singer Tia Wood is already catching a lot of buzz with her first few releases on Sony Music Canada. Following her debut song, “Dirt Roads,” earlier this summer, she already sounds like a fully-formed R&B artist on “Catch & Release.” Over lush production, she floats above with an easy and irresistible groove. “This song means so much to me – it’s about breaking toxic cycles and moving forward with more lightness and confidence,” Wood says, “and finding yourself along the way.” Tia Wood’s debut EP Pretty Red Bird is out September 27. — RT

Haley Blais, “Sweet Surrender” & “Basement Apartment”

Vancouver singer-songwriter Haley Blais — who some call Canada’s answer to Phoebe Bridgers — follows up the success of her Polaris long-listed 2023 record Wisecrack by paying tribute to Canadian icons. She’s released two new live off-the-floor covers, providing a gentle take on “Sweet Surrender” by Sarah McLachlan and “Basement Apartment” by Sarah Harmer. For McLachlan’s vulnerable “Surrender,” from her massive 1997 album Surfacing, Blais takes a relaxed approach, with tender guitar strums and space for her soaring vocal to shine. On “Basement Apartment” she trades Harmer’s casual mood for an earnest, piano-led ballad, foregrounding the melancholy in Harmer’s wry recounting of muted love in a damp basement. The covers situate Blais in a lineage of frank and observant Canadian songwriters, tiding over listeners until the next chapter in her story. — Rosie Long Decter

Maeesha b, “Prove It”

This new single from 17-year-old Ottawa-based R&B/pop singer-songwriter Maeesha b. is already making waves. Since premiering, the accompanying video has attracted 25k YouTube views, the track has just been named SOCAN Song of the Week and it brought her a place on CBC Searchlight’s “Top 50 Elite” artists for 2024.It is easy to see why, as the cut is a short but sweetly seductive jam. Based around a sparse repetitive groove featuring a hint of Afro-pop, it finds Maeesha b.’s sultry vocals imploring a lover to deliver the goods. Neat little production touches like the haunting sax in the background at the end add to its appeal. Maeesha b. released her debut EP If Only U Knew back in June, and it has elicited comparisons to the likes of Rihanna and H.E.R. — Kerry Doole

EDITOR'S PICK: Naomi, “Sérieux”

Naomi is a name to know in Quebec music. The Francophone singer has been steadily building a profile since her 2022 self-titled debut, collaborating with major names like Marie-Mai and receiving radio play for singles like “Okay Alright.” She won the Breakthrough Artist Award at the 2023 ADISQ Gala and this year helped secure ADISQ’s addition of an R&B category. Her new single “Sérieux” displays the confidence needed to take things to the next level, an invigorating dance-pop track that borrows from U.K. rave and finds Naomi standing strong in what she needs. “Be serious / I don’t know who you’re lying to with your goodbyes,” she sings in French. The song is powered by a sampled-vocal hook that hits hard, insisting to listeners that Naomi’s burgeoning star power is something to take seriously. — RLD