While Rolling Stone Magazine has compared newcomer Billianne to a young Adele, I have to disagree. I found her voice more akin to an indie/pop version of Alison Krauss. Either way, this rising artist is someone to pay attention to as she has the voice of an angel. Billianne has more than 650,000 TikTok followers and 319,000 organic Instagram followers. Whatever she is doing, people are paying attention.
Billianne hails from Milton, Ontario, Canada. She grew up where singing was a part of her everyday life. She shared, "I can't remember a point in my life where I wasn't singing. I was always that kid being loud in the house and finding new favorite songs. One of my memories from childhood is taking a van ride, a 19-hour ride out to Nova Scotia from Ontario. And we listened to albums just the whole way there. And my brother showed us this band called Mumford & Sons, and it was their new record. We bonded over the music together."
As she was discovering her voice, Billianne figured out that people liked it when she sang. While in high school, Billianne was in a funk band, an a cappella choir, was in a musical, and she played trombone. However, when she graduated from high school, the creative outlets were gone, and she didn't know what she wanted to do. So, she planned to take a year off before investing in college. But the year was 2020, and the world shut down, so Billianne did what other kids did and started watching/making TikTok videos.
The first video that Billianne had to go viral at the end of 2021 was her cover of Tina Turner's "Simply the Best." Her light and exquisite take on the hit single is entirely different than the original. It was subtle and spectacular at the same time. Not long after that, she released Doris Day's "Que Sera Sera," which was a little more what you would expect from the airy singer. That carefree cover brought Day's mega-hit from the 1960s to a whole new generation.
The TikTok fame gave Billianne a newfound confidence. Though she had dabbled in writing her own music, she had never released anything. She soon discovered co-writing and started collaborating with Duncan Hood and Nicholas Ferraro. Still, unlike Adele, her songs were not based on a failed relationship.
She explained, "Everything I write is based on my experiences. One thing about me is that I've never been in a relationship. So, all my perspective is from watching TV, watching my parents, friends, and the stories they tell me. Or it's from what I have had in my life, these deep obsessive-type crushes. That is definitely where my song 'Crush' comes from. But I haven't had a gut-wrenching breakup yet. When that happens, I expect to write an album like Adele's 19."
The first song on Billianne's debut album, Modes of Transportation, is called "Modes I." It's a slow, simply-produced tune that sets up the rest of the record.
She wrote "Jessie's Comet" when her older sister moved out of the house, and she was left alone at home for the first time. With the words, "Nobody said it would be this hard," you see how she deeply misses her sister.
The upbeat "Baby Blue" is a dreamy song. She explained, "I was fantasizing about being this West End girl in downtown Toronto and falling in love and then having to move across the city. That's where that song came from for me."
The song title "Cassiopeia" is taken from the mythological vain and boastful queen in Greek Mythology for whom the constellation was named. It's a song about her friend and the difficult time she is having. The song is directly tied to the next song, "Future Emma," where Billianne encourages her friend not to give up.
The aforementioned "Crush" is a melodic upbeat track that took her to the Top 10 at Canadian Top 40 Radio. The original song firmly placed Billianne on the indie-pop map.
Billianne is working on her "Wishlist" when she wishes things were different with a person she is crushing on. She is tired of being taken for granted.
Billianne reflects on her life with the song "Memories." She and her collaborators, Duncan and Nick, were talking about all the lessons that they had learned, the good and the bad. "We keep those memories," she said.
One of the earlier songs that Billianne composed was "Let Me Run," written for her parents.
She reflected, "I felt this song was me talking to them and wanting them to understand that I want to be let go. I want to run. I don't want to be this wallflower for the rest of my life. That wasn't who I was as a kid. I became a wallflower in high school. But it's not who I am, and I'm more outgoing than that."
Modes of Transportation concludes with airy "Modes II" as she admits she "closed" the book she is part of, but she still "doesn't want to lose you."
The music she writes is for those young girls who may not be very popular in social circles. She shared, "As you get into your early 20s, it's like this weird area in girlhood where some people have had all their firsts. But there's also this group of us who haven't had any of their firsts yet. I hope people like me find these songs and can hear that." Billianne's music has formed a camaraderie for these "wallflowers" who are waiting to be noticed.
As she has bared her soul through her music, the so-called "wallflower" has toured the world opening for Canadian legends Serena Ryder, KT Tunstall, Tim Baker, Half Moon Run, The Paper Kites, and Julia Jacklin. In 2024, she toured Europe, the US, and Canada, opening for Hollow Coves, Donovan Woods, and Alexander Stewart, and played her first performance at Osheaga and her first headline shows in Europe and the UK.
In April 2024, she premiered the whimsical "Daydream" on NBC's Today Show. On February 20th, Billianne sang the song "Enough" on the Kelly Clarkson show. She will be going on a worldwide tour this fall.
Billianne's transcendent, rich voice is front and center across the 10 original songs. Lacing wistful daydreams and romantic curiosity with an eagerness to delve into the big city, on Modes of Transportation, Billianne considers the different ways you can arrive at being yourself.
Check here to see if Billianne is playing in a town near you.
Follow Billianne on her website, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, TikTok, and all streaming services.
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Bethany Bowman is a freelance entertainment writer. You can follow her blog, Instagram, and X.
Modes of Transportation Tracklist:
- Modes I
- Jessie’s Comet
- Baby Blue
- Cassiopeia
- Future Emma
- Crush
- Wishlist
- Memories
- Let Me Run
- Modes II