Fresh Sounds Canada: LU KALA, Smiley, Dorothea Paas and 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.

LU KALA, “Criminal”

LU KALA was honoured with the Rising Star award at this year's Billboard Canada Women in Music, impressing us, and the charts, with her big and empowering kiss-off pop songs that turn heartbreak into triumph. Her new single "Criminal" is just as fun to belt along with, but it's a slightly different theme. "People are so used to hearing my breakup anthems that they haven't heard my little sexy anthems," she told us at the SOCAN Awards the next week. "Everyone has that one person that will make you do some crazy stuff for. Anybody else I wouldn't, but for you... I might do some time."

Now, LU KALA has been recognized by a pop legend. She'll open for Cindi Lauper on her Girls Just Wanna Have Fun Farewell Tour on October 20 at Toronto's Scotiabank Arena and October 24 at Detroit's Fox Theatre. – Richard Trapunski

Smiley, “Spill The Tea”

The wider world got a good taste of Smiley's unique voice when Drake collaborated with him on "Over The Top," but his new single "Spill The Tea" shows off even more of the OVO artist's personality. The soulful production by multi-platinum music producers KK McFly Money Montage and rising Toronto producer Halfademics meets his light and airy flow to become something slightly strange but and weirdly sweet. The song comes from the Toronto artist's upcoming mixtape of the same name, which Smiley calls "my favourite music that I have ever made.” – RT

Good Kid, “Madeleine” (Acoustic)

Good Kid's just-released EP Acoustic Kid features five reworkings of tunes from the fast-rising indie pop band. It begins with a gently strummed acoustic guitar and opening lines featuring the pure voice of Nina Ouattara of Amsterdam indie group Loupe. Good Kid vocalist Nick Frosst trades parts with her, there's a whistling solo, and the pair then harmonize nicely on tender lyrics. It's a gentle and sweet confection. This release follows last year’s album, Good Kid 4, one featuring their smash streaming Laufey cover, “From The Start'' (over 84 million streams). That breakthrough has led to international touring, with dates in Germany and Mexico City this month. – Kerry Doole

Dorothea Paas, “Autumn Roses”

Brat summer is over, it’s time for mist fall. Toronto dream-folk songwriter Dorothea Paas has announced her second solo album, Think of Mist, with lead single “Autumn Roses,” a typically enchanting composition that sounds both ephemeral and grounded. The single picks up where her Polaris-longlisted 2021 debut Anything Can’t Happen left off, providing more of her frank lyricism and gorgeously warbled harmonies. “You bring me sadness / and beauty like the autumn roses,” Paas sings, reflecting on the way love seems to necessitate a shameful vulnerability. But she doesn’t sound pained. Accompanied by inquisitive keys and nonchalant bass licks, she instead juxtaposes melancholy and curiosity, natural partners in the pursuit of feeling alive. – Rosie Long Decter

Editor’s Pick: Antoniya,“Zon't”

Antoniya is carving out a unique space in Montreal with her signature blend of electro and indie dance music. After dropping her debut EP in 2023, a collab with the wildly talented and Polaris Prize-nominated Ouri, Antoniya came back with her solo EP Rusalka in the summer of 2024. She serves up a fresh, soulful, electronic vibe that catches anyone's attention who hears it. Rusalka showcases Antoniya’s ability to craft moody, danceable ballads that sit somewhere between underground cool and pop star polish. "Zon't" falls on the more soulful end of her sound, with multiple voices floating around your headphones. It’s easy to imagine her following in the footsteps of indie dance queens like SOPHIE and Charli XCX, both known for pushing boundaries and reshaping the pop landscape. Antoniya’s at the early end of a similar trajectory, poised to make waves with her genre-blurring approach and magnetic presence. – Yasmine Seck