Cappa

The atmospheric pop project of Nashville singer/songwriter Carla Cappa, CAPPA’s breezy sound recalls Ellie Goulding, Carly Rae Jepsen, and Halsey. Named after Carly Simon by her mother — who was also a singer/songwriter — Cappa grew up in the Philadelphia area listening to Hall & Oates and Britney Spears. She started writing her own songs and playing guitar while she was in grade school, and was still in high school when she won the 2009 USA Songwriting Competition with her song “I’m Not.” That year she recorded her debut album, You Never Got Me, as part of a school project. Cappa fell in love with Nashville when she performed in a USA Songwriting Competition showcase, and moved there at age 19 to hone her craft. While interning and sitting in on songwriting sessions, her style evolved from the Avril Lavigne-like “I’m Not” to EDM-inspired singles like 2013′s “My Heart Is Beating Again.” She made her debut as CAPPA in 2015 with “Hush,” which drew comparisons to Purity Ring and Grimes. That April, she released a self-titled EP she made with producer Jon Santana, and closed out the year with a cover of TLC’s “No Scrubs.” For 2016′s Queen of Hearts EP, she worked with Halsey producer Dylan Bauld in Los Angeles as well as with her Nashville crew. Late in 2017, CAPPA returned with the breathy single “Waste My Time.” ~ Heather Phares