Mississauga’s Canada Day headliner JESSIA promises ‘high energy, good vibes’
Published June 28, 2022 at 5:19 pm
Juno Award-winning Canadian pop singer Jessia promises to bring “high energy” and “good vibes” to Mississauga’s Celebration Square this Friday night when she headlines the city’s Canada Day party.
In an Instagram interview with insauga.com publisher Khaled Iwamura, the British Columbia native and 2022 Canadian Breakthrough Artist of the Year (Juno Awards) said Canada Day is her favourite holiday.
“I know that it’s weird, but I like it more than Christmas…every single Canada Day, I’ve had the best time. It’s the best time for everybody to come out, it’s the start of summer…,” Jessia told insauga.com, adding people will not come away from her show disappointed.
“If anybody hasn’t seen my show, it’s very much just like good vibes with running around the stage and a lot of high energy. So, come and dance, come and have fun and be present in the moment. I try to push that as much as I possibly can with live shows…I feel like everybody’s recording it to watch it later, but nobody watches it later. Be present…enjoy the moment.”
Best known for her debut single in 2021, I’m Not Pretty, Jessia will take to the Celebration Square stage at about 9:15 p.m. Friday. Her performance will lead into the grand finale fireworks display, slated to get underway at 10:05 p.m.
In addition to being named Breakthrough Artist of the Year last month at the 2022 Juno Awards, which celebrate the best in Canadian music each year, Jessia was nominated in three other categories: Single of the Year (I’m Not Pretty), Pop Album of the Year (How Are You?) and a Fan Choice Award.
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She initially released I’m Not Pretty as a Tik Tok video in early 2021, and was signed by New York-based Republic Records soon afterward.
Jessia described being named Breakthrough Artist of the Year as “crazy and unreal, for sure.”
She added: “It’s still sinking in. I haven’t gotten the Juno yet. I’m so excited for the moment where I’m holding it and seeing my name on it. Fun fact…as soon as you get off stage (at the Junos), they take it from you.”
Prior to her name being called as winner in the category, many thoughts were racing through the young singer’s mind.
“I didn’t think I was going to win. It was when the award (presentation) came up…I thought I actually have a chance of winning this…and so I started panicking,” Jessia continued. “Who do I thank? What happens? What do I say? Then they said my name…and I was like ‘I guess I need to get up and make a speech now.’ It was pretty crazy, but such an honour. Winning a Juno has always been a dream of mine ever since I was a little girl wanting to get into music. Just to have this recognition and Canada being ‘hey, we like what you’re doing and we support you’ is just so, so powerful and very inspiring. I’m so thankful.”
Jessia added that as she was delivering her acceptance speech, she was thinking about all the struggles she experienced along the way to becoming a popular singer.
“…the moments I wanted to give up and you feel you’re not good enough…all the little voices you hear in your head as an artist…all of those were coming up during my speech and then finally it was like ‘you’re here, girl, you did it.’ And so, yeah, it was a really, really powerful moment.”
After a two-year absence due to COVID-19, the Mississauga Canada Day celebration returns in full force this year.
The Celebration Square event runs from 4-10:30 p.m. and also includes food trucks, arcade machines, stilt walkers and much more.
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