TORONTO – Toronto R&B singer Aqyila became a household name in the city seemingly overnight after her single “Vibe for Me” went viral on TikTok! Remember Bob for Me? Well, this week she sat down with Brandon to discuss her newfound success, new music that she’s working on, and why Toronto’s dating scene is dead.
Aqylia was recently nominated for a Juno Award for Best Contemporary R&B Recording, the same category as The Weeknd. She says that her hit “Vibe for Me” was actually inspired by a wig!
“The sound would not leave me for a very long time,” Aqylia explained, adding that she had her viral TikTok saved her drafts for a long time before she shared it with followers.
“I was like ‘people are probably going to drag me for this’,” she said, explaining that she finally decided she didn’t care what other people thought about her work and posted the video online. But she never imagined that she would have such a viral moment!
Not only did “Vibe for Me” bring Aqylia incredible success with over 21 million views on TikTok at the time of writing, the artist also says the song also helped a lot of other Black people.
“Young and old are reaching out to me and telling me ‘your song makes me feel so inspired and so empowered in my melanin and it makes me love myself’,” she explained, saying that it warms her heart to hear that her work has touched people so deeply.
She comes by her incredible talent naturally. Aqylia says that her mother would be able to feel her kicking to the rhythm of music while she was pregnant. Coming from a long line of talented musicians, she says that her older sister is an even better singer than she is, and her father DJed in Jamaica.
Aqylia calls Jennifer Hudson and Whitney Houston some of her biggest inspirations, but she loves gospel music too!
“Gospel music is just insane and I think that’s where a lot of R&B comes from too,” Aqylia said.
Recently the young Toronto singer headed to sunny Los Angeles to record her first EP, which comes out later this June!
Brandon and Aqyila discussed her new music, the inspiration behind her songs, and why she thinks Toronto’s dating scene is DEAD on this episode of The Brandon Gonez Show!
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