Toronto Pop Artist Alex Porat's Upcoming Single "Sensitive"
Alex Porat, an Asian-Canadian pop musician, began her career posting covers on YouTube. With songs featured on Spotify-curated playlists such as their “Soda” and “Young & Free” playlists, she is known for several songs, including “Don’t Watch Me Cry” and “All I Want.” Since her 2020 EP release, she also came out with an album, “Miss Sick World,” featuring her song of the same name, which touches on her experiences as an Asian-Canadian woman. She released her latest single “Sensitive,” this week.
Tell us about “Sensitive” and where your inspiration for the song came from.
I’ve always been sensitive. Even as a kid I always felt overwhelmed by my emotions. Although at times it felt like a superpower, being able to pick up on the smallest of things, it had eventually snuck its way into every area of my life, which has caused me to overthink countless situations.
Take us through your songwriting process for the single?
I wrote the song during the pandemic and over Zoom, which feels weird but at the same time I had that extra personal time to myself to dig inward and reflect. This is what gave this song its meaning.
You started out posting covers on YouTube. What made you decide to start writing and releasing your own original music?
I always wrote little songs here and there as a kid. I was super passionate about writing my own songs, but it felt like a faraway dream to have an audience that would hear that music. I’m grateful that YouTube and the covers became a bridge for me to find an audience that could eventually hear my music.
When did you start writing songs?
I was in my pre-teens when I shared my first song with the internet, but I was younger when I started writing bits and pieces of songs.
Are you planning to release another album or EP any time soon?
I love having a project that feels cohesive and that can tell a story. So definitely soon!
Do you have any dream artists with whom you would want to collaborate?
I would love to work with Conan Gray or Troye Sivan.
Who or what inspires you, both as an artist and an individual?
Real life experiences. I love confronting my overwhelming number of emotions with songwriting because it ends up being therapeutic for me.
If your younger self could see you now, what do you think she would say? If you could give her one piece of advice, what would it be?
I think she would be shocked and speechless to see where she is today. I’d tell her that perseverance can get you through the thick of it and to keep believing in herself. Nothing is more powerful that a dream.
Social Media.
Instagram: @alexandraporat
TikTok: @alexporat
Interview by Flora Medina, Contributor, PhotoBook Magazine
Tearsheets by Alexa Dyer, Graphic Design Coordinator, PhotoBook Magazine
*All photography is by Patrick Ryder
