Sophie Powers is already a star, she’s just waiting for a moment.
And that moment might be at the Garrison tonight as she headlines a Billboard Canada showcase as part of the North by Northeast musical festival.
Before that happens, this morning, she’s been scrambling trying to track down some new gear for her show in between rehearsals. But Powers took the time to meet at the very appropriate Lenny Kravitz suite in the Bisha Hotel to talk about her T.O. roots, her music and what makes this creative dynamo tick.
It all started in Toronto, a theatre kid, an athlete and, by her own admission, someone who never quite took to academics. But she’s happy to be back in the city that helped shape her worldview and artistic identity. Growing up in one of the world’s most multicultural cities exposed her to a dizzying mix of cultures, sounds and perspectives—an influence that continues to echo through her music today.
“It’s such a diverse city, so I was exposed to a lot of different cultures and all kinds of music at a very young age, which ultimately I’m so grateful for because, even to this day, that’s impacted my own art,” Powers says.
“I think you are what you eat, and that same expression can be said for art, culture, music, fashion and film.”
But despite loving the city, she never found a music scene that truly felt like home.
“I wish, because I probably would have stayed if that was the case. I love the city so much,” she says. “But there wasn’t really a music scene that I could get attached to in high school. It was more like a bunch of different scenes that I floated around.”
That sense of restlessness eventually pushed her further afield. Although just 21 years old, Powers is already five years deep into a music career that took her from Toronto to Los Angeles when she was just 16. As the pandemic began to ease and opportunities opened up south of the border, she moved into the house where producer Mike Gonek was living and got to work.
“He probably thought I was a stalker now that I think about it,” Powers laughs. “I slept on a mattress on the floor for about five-and-a-half months, and we locked ourselves in the studio every day and made music.”
The result was Powers’ first EP Red in Revenge.
But, even though she was in L.A., her experience had a seriously Canadian tilt.
“It’s funny because he (Gonek) lived in Canada for 10 years, so he’s basically an honorary Canadian,” she says.
“And the house was full of people from Toronto. It was owned by a DJ, Sean Frank, and it was basically all just Canadians working in the music industry in L.A., so I didn’t really leave Canada.”
In Los Angeles making music, a record deal in hand, her first EP, and Powers was on her way. But, what sets this particular artist apart is the way she weaves the threads of her other creative passions into her music, including fashion and acting. And, the final piece, social media.
Some artists shun in, some have a love-hate relationship with it, but there is no longer any denying that for any young musician it is essential. And, for Powers, it’s not only been incredibly effective, it’s also been a bit of a life line.
“For me, posting on the internet changed my life,” she says. “I wouldn’t have been able to tour. No label would have signed me unless I had over 100,000 followers.”
Powers has a relationship with her fans, who she calls Power Puffs, that goes beyond likes and follows.
“It means everything, which sounds cheesy, but it’s true,” she explains. “I’m still a very insecure person, and knowing there are people who believe in you just because they want to—not because they’re family, not because they’re your parents, not because they’re lifelong friends—is incredible.”
“They’re showing up because they want to be there,” she adds.
Powers has amassed millions of followers across a number of social media platforms, although focussed primarily on TikTok and Instagram and YouTube.
She actually has two social media personages including Sophie Powers and her alter-ego dubbed Pixl Girl.
“The funny thing is I wasn’t even posting music,” says Powers, of her early forays into the world of TikTok and Instagram. “I was posting my designs because my music wasn’t finished yet. But I knew I had to build a following for when I released music.”
Now, she doesn’t just turn out content. She curates a dizzying array of videos that are sometimes visually stunning, sometimes goofy, but always seriously creative. Some artists spend their time posting music video after music video. Powers is different, in a very good way.
Take, for example, her notorious, and memorable appearance on the reality-TV show American Idol, in which she trolls the celebrity judges with the gag song “STFU.”
As the story goes, Powers was invited onto the show, but the rules state that if she has a manager and record label, which she did at the time,, she can’t make it past round two.
“I said, ‘What if I go on as a joke?’ she says. “I had written this song as a joke because I was so sick of being told by A&Rs that my music should sound a certain way. I just wanted to write a stupid song that meant nothing.”
What transpired is classic reality-TV with Powers, decked out in a neon pink outfit, rapping about her pet lizard named Larry and how anyone and everyone from Karens to dinosaurs to war should shut the fuck up.
Lionel Richie was beside himself.
“In the context of American Idol, I literally don’t know where you would fit it,” one of the judges responds after taking in the song.
And then Powers dropped the hammer.
“Ya, neither do I, I’m literally Canadian, so,” she responds, totally deadpan.
That clip was shared thousands of times, viewed hundreds of thousands if not millions of times. And Powers was everywhere.
“Somehow that stupid song ended up meaning so much, and I’m very thankful for that experience,” she says.
So strong is the bond between her and her fans that Powers gets emotional talking about it.
“It has changed how I view everything in life. It has changed how I show up for friends, artists and other creatives,” she says. “They really keep me here and keep me sane.”
Between then and now, Powers has been turning out a steady stream of singles and EPs evolving her sound in the expanding universe of alt-pop, but warping it into something volatile and visually driven with an almost cinematic edge. Her songs balance immediate, hook-driven music with production that shifts between glossy pop and darker, distorted beats punctuated by razor-sharp lyrics plucked straight from Powers’ heart. The result is music that doesn’t just aim to be heard, but to be seen. It is something distinctly her own.
She has also been busy collaborating with a variety of artists from around the world including Chinese rapper Lexie Liu, New Zealand based metal singer Vann, Korean pop stars and even Canadian artist Grimes, who shares an affinity with Powers for mashing up a variety of styles and artistry.
“Grimes definitely influenced me, but because I ended up collaborating with her, I don’t really say that anymore,” Powers laughs. “ It feels a little embarrassing to say someone is a person you’ve looked up to when you’ve actually worked with them.”
Like Grimes, Powers approaches her career as a creative ecosystem, blending music, fashion, acting and design. Creativity pours out of her at every turn.
“Creating music, creating a character on screen, creating clothing designs or creative direction—those things are equal in my eyes,” she explains. “Sometimes I like creative directing more than creating songs. Some days I’ll hate creative direction and love creating music. I’m just a creative human, so those things are my holy trinity.”
For Powers, fashion has been a huge part of her career. Not only for her own costumes for tours, but designing lines for labels such as Gloomy Bear and ACDC Rag. But it goes even deeper, to the core of her creative process, and one gigantic IG folder.
“Growing up in musical theatre, costume design was always fascinating to me. I genuinely think costume designers are real-life superheroes,” she says. “I have an Instagram folder with more than 700 independent designers and 300 costume designers from all over the world. Whenever I need inspiration, I go look at their work. I don’t listen to music for inspiration—I look at fashion.”
The “moment,” for Powers, doesn’t arrive all at once. It keeps resurfacing in different forms—viral clips, international stages, unexpected crowd surges—and tonight’s NXNE headline set is just the latest version of it.
Powers returns to Toronto for the first time since last summer when she played a DJ set opening for Stray Kids at Rogers Stadium And, yes trivia geeks, that means Powers was actually the first artist to play Rogers Stadium. Ever.
As such, she’s had a steady stream of messages from old friends wanting to come to her show.
“People you’ve grown up with are suddenly saying they want to come to the show, and you’re like, Oh no, don’t come. You really don’t want to,” she says. “But I’m just excited to be back and do an actual performance. No DJ set. I get to sing. I get to jump around. I get to invite Powerpuffs on stage and embarrass them and myself.”
“It’s good to be home.”
