Though she just released her first single last month, Indigenous singer Tia Wood has been steadily gaining fans since early 2020. The 25-year-old first amassed a following on TikTok, where she often champions her Cree and Salish heritage through songs on the app . Now, she’s ready to bring her unique sound to the mainstream music scene, with the release of two new tracks “Dirt Roads” and “Losing Game”—her first singles since officially signing with Sony Music last year.
“I moved with just enough for first month's rent, bought a $100 bed on Facebook marketplace, and a big box of noodles without any idea of how I was going to make the next month's rent,” she says. The experience inspired her to write the song—a track about missing rez life back home. “I missed my home; I felt like a fish out of water,” she says. “I lost access to being around my family, ceremony, and community.