Victoria Canal

Victoria Canal Tinius, also known as Victoria Canal (born August 11, 1998) is a Spanish-American singer-songwriter.

Early life and education

Canal was born in Munich, Germany, to Gwen Tinius, an architect and artist, and Francisco Canal, a businessman. She was brought up in a global third culture kid lifestyle, living in Shanghai, Tokyo, Barcelona, Madrid, Dubai, and Amsterdam. Canal is of Cuban and American heritage, but refers to herself as Spanish-American, as she says Spain is where she was raised most of her life. She was born without her right forearm due to amniotic band syndrome, but once her grandmother introduced her to music early on, from age six onward, she began taking classical lessons in both piano and voice and learned how to play at a high level despite her disability.

By age 11 she discovered songwriting and drew inspiration from artists like John Mayer and Gavin DeGraw, delving further into pop sensibility. Victoria participated in local and school competitions and began booking her own concerts. Upon moving to Barcelona in 2013, Canal decided to switch to an online school program to free up more time to pursue music more professionally.

Music career

Beginnings, 2013–2014

At age 13 while living in Dubai, Canal recorded her first original demo CD at JR Studios, which received several placements on MBC, Dubai One, and others. Following that she was granted a full-tuition scholarship to Berklee College of Music's summer performance program.

At age 14, Canal moved to Barcelona and studied at Jazz Conservatory en el Aula del Conservatori in Barcelona, Spain, returning to Berklee College of Music again that summer with a second full-tuition scholarship. After receiving her certificate from el Aula del Conservatori, Canal began traveling back and forth from Madrid to Atlanta, Georgia, in fall of 2014 to begin training with vocal coach "Mama Jan" Smith.

2015–2016

As her training became more serious, Canal and her mother relocated to Atlanta in April 2015 so Victoria could go on her first tour and record her debut EP, ''Into the Pull''. Canal recorded her debut EP ''Into the Pull'' with her vocal coach, Jesse Owen Astin, and Demond Mickens, preceding its release on January 29, 2016.

2017–2020

In 2018, Michael Franti discovered Canal on Instagram and invited her to travel to Nashville, Tennessee, to write and record a song with him for his upcoming album. After the song was released, Canal was brought onto Franti's "Follow Your Heart" World Tour in 2019 along with Snarky Puppy. The tour brought her to household-name venues including Red Rocks Amphitheater in Colorado. They performed the song they wrote together on CNN Español.

During this time, Canal released a number of singles including "Ebony", "He Won't Know", and breakout singles "Drama", and "Second" (two of which were part of her 2020 EP, "Victoria"), while also featuring on "Will Call", a track by Third Story's Elliott Skinner. "Drama" received support from publications like Rolling Stone and HuffPost, among others.  

In 2020 Canal's submission to NPR's Tiny Desk Concert contest was featured by the publication.

2021–present

Canal relocated to Amsterdam in 2021 with her family as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, where she began working on more music. During that time, Chris Martin, frontman for the band Coldplay, found her music through a post she shared online, and was later sent her Instagram profile by a friend. Martin later introduced Canal to the team at Parlophone Records.

Canal signed a recording deal with Parlophone and began releasing music under their label in May 2022.

In 2022 she released her first EP under the label titled "Elegy", preceded by three singles, "own me", "pity season", and "swan song", a track that Martin said to be "one of the best songs ever written".  

In March 2023, it was announced that Canal would be opening for Hozier on a number of dates for his "Unreal Unearth" Tour across Europe and the United Kingdom. Shortly after, she was awarded the Amazon Music Ivors Academy Rising Star Award, which recognizes promising music creator careers. She was the fourth woman to receive this award since its inception in 2020.

Canal released a dual single "Shape/She Walks In" in June, 2023, and shortly after was awarded the Attitude Pride Icon Award from Attitude Magazine.

Tours

Canal has supported Emily King, JP Saxe, Tall Heights, Leslie Odom Jr., Teddy Swims and Michael Franti.

In 2022, Canal went on her debut headline tour in support of her EP "Elegy" including stops in Los Angeles, New York, London and Amsterdam. In the summer of 2023, Canal opened for Hozier on his "Unreal Unearth" tour across Europe and the UK.

Acting

Canal made her acting debut in December 2022 playing the leading role of Ciela in episode 8 of season 2 on ''Little America'' on Apple TV+. The show is written by Lee Eisenberg, Kumail Nanjiani, and Emily V. Gordon.

Representation

Canal identifies as a bisexual woman with a disability, and sees her position as one of strength, resilience, determination, and hope. She told ''HuffPost'', "I've always seen y identityas a unique opportunity, really. I used to shy away from the word disabled'and all the things it implied. But as I've grown up and lived a few more years, I've met a community of people who embody strength. 'Disabled,' to me, actually has a totally different connotation."

Brand partnerships

In collaboration with her single "Drama", Canal partnered with Nike on the Jordan FlyEase, a sneaker designed for athletes with disabilities.

Discography

References

Further reading

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Canal, Victoria
1998 births
Living people
American women singer-songwriters
Singers from Madrid
21st-century American singer-songwriters
21st-century American women singers
21st-century Spanish singers
Expatriates in Germany
Expatriates in China