photograph byjohn shearer/wireimageDecember 2018 toronto life 137A night with Toronto’s
next pop sensation
music^ |^ Jessie Reyez^
Dec. 3 and 4, The Danforth1
The pop heiress to Justin Bieber and Shawn Mendes is Jessie Reyez, a 27-year-old
from Toronto. She has all the right credentials: last year, she was at the top of Rolling
Stone’s list of “artists you need to know right now,” and in March, she won a Juno for
Breakthrough Musician of the Year. It took 10 years of backup dancing, busking and
bartending before she ended up on the charts, but her voice, which sounds like a
cross between Amy Winehouse and Macy Gray, is an undeniable force in pop music.
As a songwriter, Reyez has never shied away from sharing intimate details from
her life with fans. Her 2017 single, “Gatekeeper,” chronicles the sexism she’s faced
working in the industry, and her new EP, Being Human in Public, is as close to a confes-
sional booth as an album can get, making her music feel both honest and authentic.CULTURE_SEND.indd 137 18-10-30 4:32 PM