Ottawa, ON – New Sun Music is proud to announce the simultaneous release of “New Beginnings” and “Don’t Break My Heart,” the debut double single from Alicia Kayley, dubbed the “Indigenous Adele” by the Ottawa Citizen, out now. A rising voice in Pop/R&B and Blues/Soul, Kayley arrives fully formed on these first two offerings – together painting a vivid portrait of an artist fluent in both tender vulnerability and hard-won clarity. Produced in partnership with Crystal Shawanda’s celebrated Nashville-based label, the double release signals the arrival of a songwriter whose range, depth, and emotional intelligence are extraordinary from the very first note.
“New Beginnings” – YouTube
“Don’t Break My Heart” – YouTube
Alicia Kayley is a Pop/R&B singer-songwriter from the Algonquin and Tahltan Nation, raised and currently residing in Ottawa, Ontario. She holds a Bachelor of Music from Carleton University, where she specialised in classical voice and popular style songwriting – a foundation that gives her artistry both technical precision and genuine emotional immediacy. Her powerful, warm vocals have graced some of Canada’s most prestigious stages, including the Harbourfront Luminato Festival, Canada Day’s 150th Anniversary main stage event on Parliament Hill, and the Site Selection Ceremony for the Residential Schools National Monument. In 2024, she brought that same commanding presence to the Indigenous Day Festival in Whitehorse, Yukon, and Vancouver Indigenous Fashion Week.
“New Beginnings” is a deeply personal conversation with herself – a reckoning, and ultimately a resolution. Kayley conceived the song while standing at a crossroads, weighing the value of a relationship against her own sense of worth and the wisdom of those closest to her. Rather than framing the experience as something to undo or leave behind, she recast it as the foundation for something entirely new. “I hated the idea of starting over,” she has shared. “So I chose new beginnings instead – not erasing the past but carrying forward everything it taught me.” That distinction – subtle but transformative – gives the song its emotional weight and its universal resonance.
Where “New Beginnings” arrives at peace, “Don’t Break My Heart” captures the tender, hopeful tension of a heart still open and still willing to trust. Together, the two singles showcase the full emotional spectrum Kayley brings to her songwriting – the courage it takes to love, and the strength it takes to know one’s own worth. Releasing both tracks simultaneously is a deliberate artistic statement: this is an artist who holds complexity with ease, and who understands that the most honest storytelling lives in the full arc of an experience, not just its conclusion.
Both tracks bear the hallmarks of Kayley’s classical training and her instinct for popular songcraft. Her voice – rich, warm, and precisely controlled – moves through each song with a naturalness that only comes from years of dedicated study and an innate emotional intelligence that no conservatory can teach. The productions, shaped within the New Sun Music family in Nashville, provide a sonic home that is at once intimate and expansive, giving Kayley’s storytelling the space it deserves to breathe and resonate.
As a young Indigenous artist, Kayley brings a perspective to mainstream Pop/R&B that is both timely and essential. Her partnership with New Sun Music – founded by Grammy-nominated country and blues artist Crystal Shawanda, herself a proud Odawa First Nation member – reflects a shared commitment to amplifying Indigenous voices across the broader musical landscape. Kayley has spoken openly about her intention to provide Anishinabe people with a visible, joyful presence in mainstream music, and today’s double release stands as the opening statement of that mission. The songs’ themes of self-worth, hope, and forward motion carry cultural dimensions that extend far beyond any single personal story.
The double single release arrives alongside a robust season of live performances that underscore Kayley’s growing momentum, including an appearance at Hard Rock Ottawa’s Council Oak Stage on May 23rd and a landmark slot at Ottawa Bluesfest on July 10th – one of Canada’s most celebrated summer music festivals. Both singles are the first taste of her debut album, set for release this summer via New Sun Music. With each new chapter, Kayley is building a body of work as musically ambitious as it is culturally meaningful – and the journey is already extraordinary.
Tour Dates:
May 23, 2026 Hard Rock Cafe Ottawa – Council Oak Stage Ottawa ON
May 30, 2026 Hard Rock Cafe Ottawa Ottawa ON
July 10, 2026 Bluesfest Ottawa ON
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