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\n\tON AN EARLY afternoon in July, singer-songwriter Billianne<\/a> is sitting at home in Milton, Ontario, surrounded by the green walls of the house she shares with her parents. These days, her life has been changing so much that she\u2019s been dreaming of moving \u2014 she\u2019s been playing with the idea of going to Toronto, a place she loves. <\/p>\n \n\t\u201cI feel a bit of a broken record,\u201d says Billianne<\/a>. \u201cI tell everyone I want to move to Toronto really badly. I want to live there. To me, that\u2019s like where everything\u2019s happening. And every time I go, I feel like I make new friends.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tThe 22-year-old Canadian folk-pop sensation, who\u2019s been described as a \u201cyoung Adele<\/a>\u201d and draws inspiration from everyone from Shania Twain<\/a> and Cyndi Lauper to Ryan Beatty\u2019s Calico <\/em>album, has found herself going places more and more these days as she gears up to release her debut album, Modes of Transportation<\/em>, due Aug. 15.\u00a0<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cSo much of this first portion of stepping into the music industry for me has been taking planes for the first time, being on flights, and taking trains to downtown Toronto,\u201d Billianne says of the album, which she\u2019s been writing for years. \u201cAll these new things where every time I go and come back home, I feel different. That is kind of a lyrical thread throughout everything.\u201d\u00a0more<\/p>\n \n\tThings have been moving quickly for the singer: In October 2021, she was catsitting for her aunt, finger-picking on her guitar. Then, an intimate acoustic cover of Tina Turner\u2019s \u201cThe Best\u201d she\u2019d been practicing went viral. The tender performance, which garnered millions of views, was a nod to Noah Reid\u2019s on-screen cover on Schitt\u2019s Creek<\/em>.<\/p>\n \n\tModes of Transportation<\/em> dives into more of what she can do. Produced and written by Billianne and her collaborators Nick Ferraro and Duncan Hood, <\/em>the project features 10 sweeping tracks of polished pop, goosebump-raising, strings-heavy folk guitar ballads, and the kind of music that elicits dance moves in the kitchen, wooden utensil microphones and all. Already, the album has been connecting with people. \u201cCrush,\u201d the LP\u2019s sleek, glossy single that evokes young-love bliss, gave Billianne her first Top 10 hit on Canadian Top 40 Radio. Billianne explains she was \u201cdefinitely hesitant and nervous\u201d to release \u201cCrush,\u201d explaining the departure from the folky Turner cover that made her famous.\u00a0<\/p>\n