Poised for stardom, the singer is at the centre of Toronto’s ripening sound
By: Kayla Higgins
Charlotte Day Wilson (thecomeupshow via Openverse)
When you think about Toronto’s R&B landscape, the game-changing players — like PARTYNEXTDOOR, dvsn and Majid Jordan — are undoubtedly some of the best and first that come to mind. Within the scene, Toronto-based Charlotte Day Wilson has solidified herself as a singular creative force; with a soulful voice ranging from R&B to folk, she believes in wearing her heart on her sleeve.
Prior to the 29-year-old’s 2012 debut EP, Palimpsest, Wilson’s extensive musical education began with classical piano classes. In Grade 9, she shifted her focus to GarageBand, beginning to hone in on her talent with the digital audio workstation.
While studying women’s studies and music at university in Halifax, she contributed vocals, keys and saxophone to new-age funk cover band The Wayo and began performing her own music at various open mics around campus.
Late-night mom advice helped the musician to realize that she wasn’t cut out for college life. Deciding to drop out in order to focus on her music career, she moved to Montreal to begin writing her own music, where she found herself to be a part of a bustling queer community.
The self-released Palimpsest saw her debut with hints of folk, soul, jazz and hip-hop, with standalone singles “Avondale,” “Stephen,” and “Montreal” being released shortly after.
After six months in Montreal, the city had almost convinced the singer that a go at the life of a musician was unreachable. Wilson secured an internship at legendary Toronto-based record label Arts & Crafts, whose fully stocked lineup includes Broken Social Scene, Feist, Aphasia and BADBADNOTGOOD.
When Aaron Miller, an artist manager at the label, saw her perform at an open mic, he told her not to look for another job once her internship had ended, but to instead put all her time into creating new material — and he would manage her.
Making vital connections — and eventually creating lifelong friendships — with other progressive-sounding Toronto artists, including Daniel Caesar, River Tiber and BBNG, Wilson refined her own sonic territory through the 2016 sophomore EP, the self-titled CDW; her big break onto the Toronto music scene. Caesar’s 2017 hit album, Freudian saw the two collaborate for the first time (“Transform”), leading to further collaborations on BBNG’s IV (“In Your Eyes”) and KAYTRANADA’s Polaris Music Prize-winning, 99.9% (“What You Need.”)
With influences from Arthur Russell and other notable soulful acts, the six-track project solidified her as a force to be reckoned with in the recording studio and production booth, adding to her repertoire of impressive self-produced work.
The most classic-feeling track on the project, “Work,” earned Wilson a placement in an Apple commercial. “That sync put some money in my pocket and made it possible for me to quit my job and pursue music full time,” Wilson told Toronto Star in an interview last year.
The song went on to be nominated for the SOCAN Songwriting Prize in 2017, while the EP was longlisted as a nominee for the 2017 Polaris Music Prize. Wilson’s music video for “Work,” directed by Fantavious Fritz, won the 2018 Prism Prize. The duo subsequently announced that they’d donate part of the prize money to a women’s shelter, and use the remainder to create a one-time grant for female directors. Producer Howie Beck’s contributions to the song earned him a 2017 Juno Award nomination. The song also became the unofficial anthem for the global protests that made up the Women’s March in 2017.
Fast-forward two years and Wilson released her third EP, Stone Woman, in 2018, after selling out two nights at the Danforth Music Hall — the same venue that collaborator and friend Daniel Caesar recently played for five consecutive nights. Following a period in her life that saw her music career take off, the EP also surrounds the eroding relationship between her and a then-long-term girlfriend.
Her song “Falling Apart” was sampled on James Blake’s 2020 track “I Keep Calling,” which also featured production and songwriting from River Tiber, BBNG’s Matthew Taveres, and more. In 2018, Vinyl Me, Please released an exclusive album that compiled both CDW and Stone Woman.
“I was expelling all of the things that were going on personally,” Wilson said in a 2018 Fader interview about the EP, written in her parents' basement with help from BBNG’S Tavares.
With the 2021 release of her first full-length album, Alpha, under her own Stone Woman Records, the project features fresh Toronto talent like Merna Bishouty, and homecomers Daniel Caesar and BBNG. Her songs have since been sampled by powerhouses like Drake and John Mayer.
With three EP’s, an album and a plethora of love under her belt, Wilson is just getting started.