We’re starting a new tradition here at Words & Music, to spotlight five up-and-coming SOCAN members poised for what’s sure to be a busy year ahead, in pursuit of even greater audiences.
ADAM STURGEON
Select the image to access the video of the Status/Non-Status song “At All”
Whether it’s fronting the alt-rock projects Status/Non-Status or OMBIIGIZI – the ongoing endeavour he formed with Zoon’s Daniel Monkman in 2022 – Anishinaabe singer-songwriter Adam Sturgeon is all about community.
Status/Non Status began as WHOOP-Szo in Guelph, Ontario, in 2009, and was re-christened in 2021 to amplify selective Federal government recognition of Canadian citizenry for some Indigenous Canadians. Status/Non Status has grown not only to embrace Sturgeon’s own heritage, but life in his neighbourhood.
At least, that’s part of the premise behind Big Changes, released March 6, 2026, the third full-length album from the ever-mutating London, Ontario collective for which he serves as the frontman.
“Many themes on Big Changes are really about the streets and village that we live in, and the experiences that are going on here,” says Sturgeon. “And it’s true, we have a lot of addiction, homelessness, poverty, and systemic issues that exist here in London. It heavily impacts Indigenous and Anishinaabe people here, as something like 35 percent of our homeless population is Indigenous. So, those themes do play out in a song like ‘Arnold,’ which is about a friend that disappeared, or ‘Bones,’ examinations of a colonial history.
“But ‘Big Changes’ is literally talking about the things I see when I’m walking down the street. We’re really looking at what’s happening in our own communities, because it’s where we walk, right? It’s important to acknowledge those things and be aware of them. We’re just taking those measured steps of accountability within our own circle.”
While reconciling his own family roots through his songwriting, Sturgeon – whose 2019 WHOOP-Szo album Warrior Down was long-listed for the Polaris Music Prize – has taken his band to rarely visited Canadian hamlets, as well as the U.S., Mexico, and the U.K., to deliver his unique observations.
“Most people interested in our music are really interested in learning and growing,” he says. “They’re always interested in topics of Indigeneity, and from that sort of colonial lens. We do reach people.”
GOOD KID
Select the image to access the video of the Good Kid song “Rift”
It’s only taken them 11 years, but Toronto’s Good Kid has finally released its first full-length album, Can We Hang Out Sometime?
It’s not like the five collaborative, JUNO-nominated renegades – singer Nick Frosst; guitarists David Wood and Jacob Tsafatinos; bassist Michael Kozakov; and drummer Jon Kereliuk – haven’t unleashed their engaging, hook-laden indie pop to a music-starved fan base earlier: 24 songs, spread over four EPs since its 2015 inception, bear testimony to that.
So, why an LP now? “Our fan base was asking,” says Wood. “Eventually, we felt good enough to enter a studio to do something meaningful.”
Good Kid, formed by pals studying computer programming at the University of Toronto, aren’t your typical success story. Their success was fueled by fans of the massive Fortnite videogame and platform. The band allowed worldwide admirers to stream its material without takedown notices.
“We just let them do it,” adds Tsafatinos. “That spawned a reputation of, ‘Hey, Good Kid is free and safe to use.’ They can make art with our art, and their channels won’t be taken down.”
That allegiance between fan and artist has garnered the band 3.2 million monthly listeners, and more than 725 million streams on Spotify alone. They’ve also toured internationally since 2023, and will cover Canada, the U.S., and Europe in 2026.
“People think that this is some crazy marketing strategy,” says Wood. “But the ethos came, literally, from a bunch of 15-and-16-year-old Fortnite kids, who were making montages of their best trick shots, and used our music for their soundtrack.”
It also worked because Good Kid is bound to no one. “We’re a truly indie rock band, we’ve never signed to a record label,” says Tsafatinos. “We own all the rights to our music, and can do whatever we want.”
SOFIA CAMARA
Select the image to access the video of the Sofia Camara song “Girls Like You”
She’s a 10-year overnight sensation.
Toronto-by-way-of Portugal pop singer-songwriter Sofia Camara has been gaining momentum over the past few years, for her Top 20 breakthrough hit “Never Be Yours,” and her two 2025 EPs, Was I(t) Worth It and Hard To Love. The hit-maker (“Girls Like You” went Top Five on the Canadian AC charts) hadn’t yet reached her teens when she was bitten by the music bug, posting Taylor Swift and Justin Bieber covers on TikTok, to an eager fan base that has since grown to 1.2 million followers .
“I started posting videos when I was in 8th Grade,” says Camara. “I’ve just been trying to stay consistent, and believe that things take time.”
After COVID froze touring in 2021, Camara posted an original tune on TikTok and caught the ears, and eyes, of Universal Music Canada’s A&R department. Shortly thereafter, she was signed to 21 Entertainment/ UMC.
Initially, the label hooked her up individually with local producers Mike Wise (Charli XCX, Shania Twain), Lowell, and Nate Ferraro (both Charli XCX, Beyoncé), with mixed results.
“Then one of my team members said, ‘Let’s just put all three of them together in one room,’” says Camara, who co-writes all her songs. “It just clicked. The music that comes out of being with them is just super-real.”
In concert, the 2026 JUNO Breakthrough Artist of the Year nominee has played Lollapalooza and Osheaga, and learned to deal with big crowd fear. “It can be scary and overwhelming,” she admits, “but that’s exactly when you have to jump right into it.”
Currently working on her debut album, the watercolour enthusiast employs a litmus test for whether a song meets her expectations. “If I feel butterflies, the rest falls into place,” she says.
JADE LeMAC
Select the image to access the video of the Jade LeMac song “Sleeping With The Lights On”
It’s the gift that keeps on giving: Vancouver singer-songwriter Jade LeMac’s debut Canadian Platinum single “Constellations” is fast approaching 450 million Spotify streams. It’s not only earned her almost 7 million monthly listeners on the platform, but those numbers are likely to grow, as LeMac has snagged the opening slot of Hilary Duff’s 2026 comeback U.S. tour, including stops at New York’s Madison Square Garden and Denver’s Red Rocks Amphitheater.
“This Hilary tour is going to be crazy!” says LeMac, also nominated for a 2026 Breakthrough Artist of the Year JUNO Award. She’s also landed syncs on the 2024 Tubi film Sidelined: The QB and Me. “Running Home,” the first single from her debut East West/Warner Music Canada EP It’s Always At Night, is currently nestled in the Top 20 of several Billboard Canada CHR and AC charts, and she recently bought a guitar to help her write on the road.
“Tour traveling is exhausting,” she says. “I also get motion sickness, so I’m not very productive on a plane, or in a car. But there have been times where I’ve wanted to write something on tour, and had no instrument. So, it’ll be good to have a guitar on deck for inspiration.”
Growing up in Victoria, LeMac credits a supportive family, and her cellphone, for her success. “TikTok is the reason why I’m here,” she says. “I used that to get my music out there, and my foot in the music industry door.”
LeMac has also stepped out of her comfort zone to work with Monstercat, the Vancouver-based EDM label that signs artists on a single-track basis. But she says It’s Always At Night is more representative of her sound and emotional depth. “‘Sleeping With The Lights On’ is one of the most vulnerable songs I’ve ever written,” she says.
Openly queer, LeMac says she’s happy to be “the person, for others [in the LGBTQ+ community], that I kind of needed when I was younger.”
MICO
Select the image to access the video of the MICO song “Senses”
MICO is already the Spotify Radar Canada Artist of the Month for March of 2026, with more than 300 million global streams. He’s enjoying a monthly Spotify listener fan base that’s just under 1 million, and the alt-pop sensation has also registered 30 million cumulative streams for “Senses,” the hit from his 2024 EP internet hometown hero.
Now he’s about to get even more popular. MICO, a.k.a. Toronto’s Miguel Veloso, signed to Columbia Records last year, which will allow him to substantially expand his artistry, and his fan following of “Amicos.”
“It just came down to timing,” he says. “We toured six times in the last three years, and poured in a lot of our available resources. I travel with a decent-sized touring crew, and I’ve never skimped out on anything. [Columbia] gives us an opportunity to be able to explore more: now we have a much larger team.”
To think it all began with the family karaoke machine. “I started singing when I was six,” says MICO. “Dad would play ’80s songs, and karaoke is an easy way to take the pressure off performing.” In junior high school, he posted covers songs as MICO on different Discord servers, but realized that he had to offer something original – so, he started writing songs at age 16.
The 2026 Breakthrough Artist of the Year JUNO nominee, and captivating performer on the JUNO Awards broadcast, credits Discord more than TikTok for his success. “I wouldn’t have the fans that I have if it wasn’t for Discord,” he says. “It’s such a tight-knit community. They know me.”
As for new music? “I definitely have a couple songs in the chamber.”