By Daryl Perry
Anna Sofia is a 16-year-old Canadian singer-songwriter with an old soul. Her most recent project, Broken Perfection, came out on July 31, from Electric Feel and Republic Records, and is inspired by artists she looks up to, like Elton John and Michael Jackson.
“People make fun of me ‘cause I literally don’t know any of the 2020 music,” she explained.
She has an affinity for 1920s cartoons and older music—her dad raised her on Electric Light Orchestra and The Clash. She loves the 1970s because of the music and lack of phones and social media.
Her influences can be heard throughout her EP, like the track “Chill,” which was inspired by Elton John, and in the self-titled track’s funk-inspired drums and guitar. The EP’s title stemmed from rewording the common saying, “nobody’s perfect.”
“In my opinion, I don’t believe in the word ‘perfect.’ I’ve always been insecure about body image or the way I look, the way I dress, and it’s very influenced by social media,” she said.
Not knowing if images on social media have been altered or not has made the singer feel insecure.
“I started to realize that what I’m seeing might not always be real so I wanted to portray the fact that nothing is perfect.”
But the EP goes deeper than the title alone. Anna Sofia said “Eat Away” was the most difficult song to write. The song tackles her insecurities with body image, and was her first time being that personal on a track and putting her insecurity out into the world.
“It was kind of hard to get my words out just because that’s the first time I’ve gone that deep within myself. And musically as well I was struggling to find out where I wanted to go next,” she said.
A lot has changed since she released her debut single in 2019. She signed to two labels, her process with music changed and she changed as a person as well.
“I’ve found myself more and I feel like I’ve started to understand who I am,” she said.
It’s important to her because it’s transferred into her music and visual style. She feels empowered when she can express herself creatively, which took her a while to do.
She dreams of filling up stadiums, with fans in the crowd singing her songs.
“That is top on my bucket list, just to be out there on a huge stage just performing and bonding with everyone that listens to my music.”
Sofia doesn’t have a specific plan when making music, she simply goes with the flow and follows her emotions. Her favorite moments to write about are when she’s extremely happy or extremely sad. To her, the studio feels like a great setting to vent and get out all of her emotions.
“I hate talking about my feelings ‘cause I feel so embarrassed, I don’t know why,” she said. “Once I get in the studio for some reason I feel like that’s my place to vent.”
She wants listeners to leave Broken Perfection knowing that nobody is perfect.
“I wanted to give them a chance to find some sort of comfort and relation through my music,” she said. “You don’t have to believe in perfect ‘cause that’s not even real. You are amazing the way you are and I think that people just need to realize that you don’t have to please anyone.”
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