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Calgary Herald

Part of the plan: Calgary's Devon Cole is moving beyond her 'TikTok Girly' fame

Article content Devon Cole sat down recently and drew up a game plan for her career. Article content Article content It's a testament to her focus, ambition and confidence that she would not only engage in such an activity but be willing to share it openly when asked for details by a journalist. Article content Perhaps it's a way of spurring herself on. But she is very specific about where she sees her music career going in the near and somewhat distant future. Article content Article content 'I made a six-month plan, a one-year plan and a five-year plan,' says Cole, in a Zoom interview from her home in Los Angeles. 'I think it's important to know where I'm going and what I really want.' Article content Article content Her timeline is as follows: 'I'm going to release my album next year,' she says. 'I'm going to be a festival princess in 2027. I'm going to do the festival circuit for the first time. I'm going to do Coachella for the first time and Osheaga and whatnot and hopefully be Grammy-winning in five years. It's so interesting to manifest five years from now. Because, five years from now, all my dreams will come true and hopefully I'll be arena-playing. That's where I see myself.' Cole, who was born and raised in Calgary, did not initially see music as a career option. In 2020, she was a psychology major at Queens University in Kingston and attended open-mic nights at local bars. But within a few years, she became a self-described 'TikTok girly' who went viral with the poppy feminist anthem W.I.T.C.H (Woman In Total Control of Herself), one of the tracks from her 2021 debut EP, Party for One. By 2023, she was a social media star, racking up millions of likes and hits on TikTok and other platforms. She was nominated for the Breakthrough Artist of the Year Juno in 2023 and eventually signed a major deal with Arista Records/Sony Music. After several singles, she released her second EP, Two Shades Blonder, in October 2024. Last summer, she moved to Los Angeles. Article content Article content Article content Earlier this week, it was announced that she would be opening for her musical hero, Shania Twain, at the superstar's July 5 Stampede concert. Article content She is currently writing songs for her debut full-length album. All in all, it seems as if things are well in hand. But while Cole's rapid ascension may seem overnight, she says there were bumps in the road. Article content 'My favourite quote is that it takes 10 years to become an overnight success,' she says. 'I think in the first five years that I've been doing this – I started releasing music in 2020 – the biggest learning has been this sense of confidence I have now and to trust my gut. Because I was trusting it in the beginning and I kind of fell out of touch with my gut, and I'm rebuilding that relationship.' Article content Like many artists, it was a jarring transformation to go from penning songs by herself in her bedroom to being thrust into high-profile sessions after being signed. In between getting signed to Arista and recording her second EP, the company released several singles that Cole is not particularly enthusiastic about. While she doesn't want to single out which ones she is referring to – 'They are still my babies,' she says – the process of reclaiming her vision from the too-many-cooks-in-the-kitchen world of major labels has been part of her learning curve.