Lu Kala opens up about penning her hit 'Pretty Girl Era' | CBC Music (2024)

CBC Music

· Posted: Apr 05, 2024 11:17 AM EDT | Last Updated: April 5

In September, Congolese Canadian pop singer Lu Kalareceivedthe emerging artist award at the Legacy Awards. On the red carpet aheadof the show shestated: "Forget all the naysayers that saidyou can't make it. I'm living proof. I'm on my way up and you can be there, too."

It's this confidence that was the basis for her self-empowerment anthem, "Pretty Girl Era." The song became a hit, reachingNo. 11 on Billboard's Canadian Emerging Artists chart and racking up more than 19 million streams on Spotify. It also helped Kala secure her first ever Juno nominations, for single of the year and breakthrough artist of the year.

Kala joined The Block's host Angeline Tetteh-Wayoeto discuss penning the catchy hit, her musical beginnings and her upcoming releases. You can read an excerpt of their conversation below and hear the full interview above.

Talking about the songwriting process, obviously, for you as a songwriter, I think I stumbled upon an interview where you talked about a turning point for when you decided to become more vulnerable. And that was kind of the key to unlockinga next level of song, right?

Yeah. Funny enough ...I feel like the first time I ever worked with a woman in the studio, I think that's when I decided "Wow, I can actually be vulnerable." And I felt safe enough to do it.

Yeah.

I worked with, Robyn Dell'Unto on "Don't Count Me Out." And it was literally just, she and I in the beginning, in a room, and someone put us together. And it was the first time I had been put with a woman, and I wasn't sure how it was going to go, but that was the first time I literally felt safe enough to say something. And I remember while we were writing the song, at one point I said, like, "I know I'm a big girl and you are afraid to claim me," and I remember I closed my eyes. I'm like, this is so embarrassing, I can't believe I just said this out loud.

WATCH | The official video for 'DCMO (Don't Count Me Out)':

And I don't think, at the time at least, I would have felt comfortable saying anything like thataround a man or anybody else. So that actually opened up an entire new window for me. And ever since that moment, one, I just requested always having women in the room, and two, it just made me feel like I can be super real about how I feel about certain things and let it out in the music.

Thank you for sharing that story,I hadn't heard that before.

Yeah. So I actually want to dive a little bit into the importance of women and having women in these spaces that can be so male-dominated. But first I wanted to jump into another song, "Pretty Girl Era."

WATCH | Lu Kala performs 'Pretty Girl Era':

When did you feel it? "This is my pretty girl era," When did it come out?

I was on my way to the studio and I rememberI was thinking about it. And I was [thinking] lately I've been feeling so good about myself. I've been drinking my water,I've been going to the gym, getting my nails done, hair done, all of that. And I've just been feeling like I'm at my peak [and]very pretty. And I saw this one tweet that said, my dream girl is me and my full potential. And I said, "Oh my gosh, someone has finally said what I feel."

That's a mantra.

Your dream girl does not have to be your dream person, it doesn't have to be somebody else. It can literally just be you when you're doing all the right stuff for yourself. And so I remember getting to the studio and seeing that, and I was being very extra because I'm a very extraperson and I go, "Yes, I'm so pretty ...I'm in my pretty girl era, everything feels right." And then I remember, Madison Love, the person I was writing it with, she was like, "Oh my gosh, let's write that song." To me, it was more funny, you know?

And thank God we committed to writing that song because I did not know it was going to live this type of life, and it was genuine to me.

This interview has been edited for clarity and length.To hear the full interview, listentoThe Blockon CBC Music.