A Canadian singer with a bent toward pop and R&B, Christian Lalama first garnered attention in 2015 after posting cover songs online. He then signed with Atlantic and issued his debut 2018 single "Tic Toc." Born in St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada in 2003, Lalama grew up in musically inclined family with a dad who played in local bands, and a grandfather who played saxophone. His uncle, Mark Lalama, is also an instrumentalist and producer. Starting out on piano at age four, Lalama was soon entertaining friends and family with his covers of Billy Joel and Elton John songs. At age ten, he gained wider recognition after winning a radio contest to play keyboards with the Kid Mitchell Band. From there, he also joined the Minipop Kids tour, playing kid-friendly versions of modern pop tunes. Along the way, Lalama started posting songs online. He soon built a strong following, buoyed by his viral videos, like his take on Luis Fonsi's "Despacito," which nabbed over ten million views. Drawing comparisons to fellow Canadian pop star Justin Bieber, he was eventually discovered by Atlantic's online talent search. He signed with the label, and in August 2018 issued his debut single, the ISM Beats- and S1-produced "Tic Toc." A second single, "FrFr" followed that December. ~ Matt Collar