Q+A: North Van singer Illaa's debut single now streaming in over 68 countries

North Van's Illaa is making an impression with her debut single Boyfriend

Published Sep 14, 2024  •  Last updated 0 minutes ago  •  3 minute read

Priscilla Brown, 15, goes by the stage name Illaa and has a debut single titled Boyfiriend that has been streamed in 68 countries and is on 200 playlists globally. Photo by Pierina Brown

Boyfriend is the debut single from 15 year-old B.C. singer Illaa.

It’s been a two-year wait to see the song released for the Grade 10 student whose offstage name is Priscilla Brown. But now that the tune is available on Spotify, it’s logged in 10,000 streams in its first month. The track has been added to 200 unique playlists on the platform coming from 68 different countries.

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Pretty sweet for a first time effort from a local.

Canadian Beats Magazine picked the track as the second best in Canada and featured an interview with the singer in its July issue. The publication described the song as “an irresistibly fervent pop plea delivered to a girl who has the perfect guy, from a girl who wishes she had him instead.”

In other words, this tune is all about jealousy delivered with finger-snapping beats and a big blastoff chorus. Mixed by five time Grammy-winner Orlando Calzada, whose credits include Lady Gaga, Beyoncé and One Direction, the song “is both a celebration and a solace, and includes a lot of M&M’s.”

Illaa, who cites Katy Perry as a big influence, talked about how the song came together. Whether she will be demanding all the brown M&M’s to be removed from her backstage rider in the future remains to be seen.

Q: You started work on Boyfriend in Grade 8. Why did it take two years to put it out?

A: Honestly, I don’t know. But the time did give me the opportunity to figure out my image, my vibe and get it all put together to release. Overall, it is a much more professional sounding song now than how it started out.

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Q: How did it start out?

A: Four years ago, my brother was scrolling on Instagram and came upon a program called Vocal Stars where you audition, then if you get selected you go on to another audition where producers can choose to work with you if they like your style and attitude. I went through the process and was selected by Adam Hurstfield.

Q: Adam H has credits with everyone from Snoop Dogg and DJ Khaled to Loverboy. What was it like to work with him?

A: It was a three-day process where we got together and brainstormed about possible ideas for a few hours. The idea of a song about a guy who had a girlfriend and wanting him came from there, and we started working on some lyrics. That went until midnight and I was back again at 10 a.m. and we were adding beats and music and we finished up on Day 3.

Q: You must be pretty pumped about the song’s reception on Spotify. How will you follow it up?

A: I have another song ready to go and I hope we can put it up some time later this year. A lot of it depends on what my social media team decides as they did such a good job with the lead-up to Boyfriend, with me doing videos promoting it and generating a buzz a few months before the release.

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Q: Your stage name Illaa is catchy too. How did you arrive at it?

A: The whole team got together at Brown’s before the release to talk about a name. My brother has always called me Illa, short for my name Priscilla, and when Adam heard it he thought making it Illaa would be really good. I was going to go with Priscilla originally.

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