Alessia Cara, Rooting for You | Track Review

Grammy-winning pop artist Alessia Cara shines on her ‘short, but sweet’ second solo single of 2019 (post-‘The Pains of Growing’), “Rooting for You.”

“I’m not even brokenhearted / I’m just a little disappointed / What a shame, we coulda had a good thing / You let go of a good thing…” Uh-oh – bridges burned! At the 60^th Annual Grammy Awards, held in 2018, Alessia Cara won her first Grammy – the highly coveted Best New Artist.  The win arguably arrived at least a year later than it should’ve, but few can deny the talents of the Canadian pop/R&B singer/songwriter.  Unfortunately, the stars didn’t shine on Cara when her sophomore album, The Pains of Growing, arrived later that same year.  Safe to say, the ‘sophomore effect’ is a real thing, not to mention suspect promotion for an overall strong LP.  Cara returned in 2019 with new singles, set to appear on an upcoming EP.  First she issued “Ready,” followed by the song at hand, “Rooting for You.”

“I’m tired of sending hugs and kisses, oh / I’m tired of all your burning bridges.” On “Rooting for You,” Alessia Cara remains true to self – that’s a good thing.  Even though The Pains of Growing didn’t perform well, part of the appeal of Cara was her down to earth, honest and openness in regard to her personality. Her voice is a huge selling point, period.  She never has to over-sing, yet still manages to deliver well-rounded, memorable performances.  This is the case on “Rotting for You,” where she sings coolly, with relative ease.  At the same time, she’s able to bring just the right amount of attitude on the hella memorable chorus:

“It’s like, damn
Why you gotta be so cold in the summertime, summertime
I was really rooting for ya, yeah
I was really rotting for ya, yeah, yeah…”

Final Thoughts

Everything that you love about Alessia Cara is perfectly captured on “Rooting for You.” The voice is marvelous, the songwriting is potent – particularly the chorus, and the theme of a drama-filled relationship of sorts (“We started out innocent / ‘Til I got pulled right into your issue, yeah” or “Now I see you’re having so much fun with everyone / You had so much fun making fun of…”) is incredibly relatable.  The production is swell too (Jon Levine and Midi Jones).  All in all, very well executed pop joint.

Alessia Cara • This Summer [EP] • Def Jam • Release: 9.6.19

Photo Credit: Def Jam