Ria Mae - Stars (2019)

Halifax singer-songwriter Ria Mae started to get attention after her Classified-produced hit “Clothes Off” shot up the Billboard Canadian Hot 100 chart. With Stars, Mae’s six-song EP, she takes a step closer to international fame with her pristine, luminous pop songs. While brief in length, Stars covers a surprising amount of emotional ground as she shape-shifts between current pop trends. She wants to slow things down with a prospective sweetheart over bouncy electro-pop on the pro-consent “Not Your Type.” On “Hold Me,” she contemplates the hurdles she overcame growing up queer over a life-affirming, soccer-chant-primed anthem. Mae brings along frequent collaborator Tegan Quin—of Tegan and Sara—for “It’s You,” a dancehall-flavored ballad where she refuses to accept that she’s the one at fault.