Canadian pop artist Preston Pablo talks his single “One Last Song,” his debut EP Anywhere But Here, how Drake inspires him and more.
Who would have thought that a frontrunner in the next wave of Canadian music would hail from Timmins, Ontario? That’s the case for JUNO Award-winning singer and songwriter, Preston Pablo. Although he’d probably be modest about being called a “frontrunner,” the truth lies in the music. With over four million monthly Spotify listeners, a platinum-certified single “Flowers Need Rain,” to being part of the highest-charting Punjabi album in Canadian history through his feature on Karan Aujla’s “Admirin’ You” – it’s clear that Preston Pablo stands ahead of the next wave.
Currently based in Toronto, Preston rapidly evolved from rising artist to breakout star after winning the Breakout Artist Of The Year award at the 2023 JUNOs. Discovered by Montreal duo and frequent collaborators Banx & Ranx, Preston released a string of singles before dropping his highly anticipated debut EP, Anywhere But Here. He described the release as a mature step in his artist career, emphasizing that he wanted to stay true to himself through this project.
Drawing from his personal experiences with love and life, Anywhere But Here showcases his growth as both an artist and songwriter, diving deeper into his pop foundation while experimenting with global influences such as Afrobeats and Dancehall. “When I was making this EP– my biggest thing was I really just wanted to enjoy the process and enjoy creating the songs […] I wanted to just love every song,” he shared on his debut project. “That’s something that took me a while to do. It took me a lot of trial and error to get to, and I still feel like I have a long way to go. But at least for this project, top to bottom, I love every single song. And I just want people to take away that this is something that I created from a real place, from real experiences.”
His gold-certified single Dance Alone was a global banger, featuring collaborations with Qing Madi, Nonso Amadi and Colombian artist Juliana for the remixes. Extending his international streak, Preston also appeared on rising Kenyan artist Njerae’s track “Gone.” This year, Preston found himself a JUNO-nominee once again with his debut project earning a nomination for Pop Album/EP of the Year. He was also named one of the top six non-French finalists for the Breakthrough Songwriter Award presented by the Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame and the SOCAN Foundation. Closing out his year, Preston took home the win for Pop Music Award at the 2025 SOCAN Awards.
After a run of genre-blending hits, touring the U.S. alongside Jon Vinyl, earning accolades and crossing international borders through his collaborations, Anywhere But Here is only the beginning. It’s a defining statement to Preston’s sound, style and story from here on out. At this point, Preston Pablo isn’t just a breakout artist, he’s standing at the front of the next wave, so you better tune in.
I had the chance to talk to Preston Pablo in an exclusive interview with XMPL, where he discussed his track “One Last Song”, how Drake inspires him, his EP “Anywhere But Here” and much more. Check out our summarized interview with Preston Pablo and stream his EP– Anywhere But Here below.
XMPL: What did it mean to you when you won the Breakout Artist award at the 2023 JUNOS?
Preston Pablo: It means all these different things. But I think most of all, it’s just this sense of proudness. Because I had never won an award for music or anything artwise before that– and it was recognized on such a big stage and such a big platform and seen by so many people. So I think it just felt very grand, everything about it was cool. It was an honor to be there at the award ceremony and performing was already crazy to me. Then being able to take home an award was just the cherry on top. And it happened so fast too, which is like the craziest thing. Between the performance and winning the award, it was like a span of half an hour. So it all happened very fast, it was such a fun night. I felt very grateful to be there. I had my family there, which was amazing. I was there with Banx & Ranx and Rêve and all these people that I kind of came up with– and who I’m still coming up with. So it was this very fulfilling and just a great moment. It’s something that I’ll definitely never forget.
“An artist that will always inspire me is Drake… At any time in my life, I can think back and be like, there was a Drake album playing during that time, and it’s such an imprinted memory.”
Are there any artists, films or any works that have inspired you lately?
It’s really weird to say, but I’ve recently started listening to music again, which is a crazy thing to say as an artist. But last year was like this place where I was very much trying to figure a lot of things out. Artistically, I feel like I was being pulled in so many different directions, with all these opinions and all these self-set expectations… So yeah, this year I’ve been really trying to inspire myself. It’s easy for me to get into this place of doubting my instincts as an artist. I think most artists can relate when there’s so much of everything coming out all at once. It can be overwhelming. You’re trying to listen to what’s current and what’s on the come up, and you’re trying to just tailor to all these different sounds, and– it’s very easy for me, anyways, to be influenced by all that. So I’ve tried to just take a step back and really listen to myself and trust my own instincts as an artist, which is how I started this whole thing. I genuinely just used to make music that I would love to hear, music that I would drive around to and listen to by myself and with my friends. So being inspired by inspiring myself, essentially, to get back to that place and just have fun with it. It’s what I’ve been trying to tap into. But of course, an artist that will always inspire me is Drake… At any time in my life, I can think back and be like, there was a Drake album playing during that time, and it’s such an imprinted memory. So he’s constantly an artist who, when I’m feeling uninspired, or when I’m not feeling it, I put on some Drake. It hypes me up, you know, it gets me back into that mentality.
Tell me about your remixes for Dance Alone. How was it linking with Qing Madi, Nonso Amadi and Juliana for these remixes?
The first remix was with Juliana, and that whole experience was just crazy. The way I look at collaborations, it’s always better if you know the artist prior, or, at least have some sort of relationship going into the collaboration. Because music is a very special thing. It’s not always, you know, “you can throw any artist on a song and hope that it does well, because the artist is successful or whatnot.” But I think the best is when it’s a genuine relationship, and there’s some real connection between the artists when it comes to collaborating. So with Juliana, I had the opportunity to go out to Colombia, meet with her, and we spent a couple days hanging out. We shot a video for the remix, and we got to really connect in person, and she’s amazing. Her whole team is amazing. And that whole experience was just really cool for me, especially getting to go out to Colombia and experiencing their culture and be a part of the music for real. And then the Qing Madi one was also super sick. That was more of a label connection, but we spoke a little bit. She’s really cool. Unfortunately, I didn’t get the opportunity to go out to her side of the world and connect in person. But I think it’s just cool to have a song of mine be listened to and have artists from that part of the world wanting to be a part of something that I created all the way out here in Canada. It’s just a really cool feeling.
You supported Jon Vinyl on his “Outbreak Hill Tour” – can you tell us a little bit about that experience?
It was a great experience. It’s my first time touring in the US, which is really cool. It was a lot of work. It was my first tour without my full band, which was a big change. It was just me, my guitar player, and my tour manager/sound engineer. So it was just like three of us running through the States, playing all these shows, which was a lot of work, a lot of the heavy lifting fell on us. It was my first tour where I was waking up every day, putting in work, getting up early, driving– it felt like I was on the ground, really like doing something, you know, I wasn’t just like pulling up to the shows and playing. It was everything before and after that made the show work. So it was a really motivating experience, in that sense, where I realize to do this tour is like a blessing, and I’m grateful to do it. But in order to get to the bigger arenas and to the bigger venues, you have to go through these. You have to drive and sleep in the van. Like, we’re in it, you know? So it was great to just experience that and to really feel that tour life experience. And then also just seeing Jon do his thing every night was amazing. He’s a super cool guy, his whole team, everyone there, was great. So it was a very great experience overall. We all had lots of fun, and I learned so much, so I am very grateful for that experience.
What was the message behind the track One Last Song?
I was going through some stuff personally and I wanted to just speak on that honestly through this song. And essentially, what I’m trying to highlight is just sometimes there’s certain things or certain people that come into your life and it might feel like the right thing or the right person, but might just not be the right time, or it’s just not meant to be. And sometimes, like the worst things in life, can be the most exciting and can feel the best. So it’s hard to break away from that, and it’s hard to let those things go, whatever they may be. And this song just highlights that time and those feelings of wanting something and wanting something to work, but it’s just not. So you gotta let it go. You gotta move on, but before fully just forgetting about it. Just enjoy it, you know, one last time… for one last song. Just have some fun, you know.
Could you tell us about the inspiration for the One Last Song music video?
With this song, I wanted it to feel like I wanted something that would represent the music visually, but not be too crazy, and not have too much going on, so that it takes away from the music. These are all songs that I’m very proud of. And I feel like it’s a big step for me, maturity wise, with all this new stuff coming out, like lyrically and sonically, it feels different than what I’ve done before. So I wanted the music to really stand out and, visually – I just wanted something to kind of fit into that world and not take away from anything. So one, I wanted it to be outside, just because color wise, the song feels very bright and vibrant. I wanted to have the sky, the grass, bright poppy colors, and then the car, honestly, was kind of a last minute thing that just happened to line up. It was a connection through the label, somebody just, I don’t know how, just had this crazy, insane Lamborghini that they were willing to let us put in a video. So that’s exactly what we did. We just had the car, and it literally had to get delivered on a flat bed, like it couldn’t even be driven to location. It was a very prestigious and crazy car to even begin with. So the fact that they let us put it in the middle of a grass field was insane. I feel like it just made that whole video connect and obviously, it’s a beautiful car, so just seeing me is one thing, but then seeing this car, like, okay, it’s cool, and it’s not doing too much. It’s not like doing donuts or no one’s driving it. It’s just kind of there as, like, a beautiful art piece. And then to speak on the person in the video. What I wanted was to have somebody in the video to represent that person or that thing that might not be best for you and that you have to let go. But I didn’t also want it to be so specific, I wanted it to be a silhouette and to kind of be up for interpretation. You know, just kind of more so used as an art piece essentially.
I know you’ve been a frequent collaborator with Banx & Ranx. What was it like also working with them on this release?
It was great. It’s always amazing to work with them. Those are my brothers. And it’s funny because this song initially wasn’t produced by them, it actually created a songwriting camp. And they were at this same camp, and I remember the day we were recording it and writing it, Yannick (who is 1/2 of Banx & Ranx), walked into the studio that we were writing it in, and he immediately was like, “Yo, let me help me. Let me add my touch, let me do my thing.” And that’s exactly what he did. He helped us write the hook and helped us structure it out a little bit. And then from there, they kind of came in, beefed up the production, cleaned it up, you know, put the Banx & Ranx stamp on it, and now it is what it is today.
What does it mean to you, essentially, to be a front runner for the next wave Canadian music?
It’s a little stressful when you put it like that. But it’s cool, it’s a blessing to be brought up in those conversations and be seen in that group of artists of that caliber. It’s interesting, because I’m living in it now, and because there’s no looking back at me and like, “that’s where these artists are at that time.” So to be part of it now and be present is honestly, something I never really thought of, but it’s cool, like, I’m grateful to be here. Hopefully I can stay, hopefully I can stick around for a little bit. I feel like I have a lot to say and a lot to offer as an artist, which is also the cool thing about it, because it’s a new wave and a new class of like Canadian artists, there’s room for experimentation. There’s room for growth and evolution. So to be in that space is really cool, and it’s exciting as well to just know that I got my foot in the door. Now, let’s see where we end up.
So are they any Canadian artists that you hope to collaborate with?
So there’s an artist in Canada who I’ve actually had the pleasure of working with, writing-wise and kind of behind the scenes– Justin Nozuka.
I got introduced to Justin through my management. And he’s just one of the best voices I’ve ever heard, like, in person and on Spotify. You know what I mean? He’s just a sick guy. I listen to his music all the time. I’m lowkey fan boy-ing now, which is like crazy, but I would love to have some music with Justin. I haven’t worked with him in a minute. But I think that would be fire, me and Justin Nozuka. But, you know, he’s a classic artist. He’s like an OG artist. He’s been doing this thing for a minute, and I think it would be sick to have some music out with him.
What do you hope that your listeners will take away from your EP Anywhere But Here?
When I was making this EP– my biggest thing was I really just wanted to enjoy the process and enjoy creating the songs. Which seemed easy, but isn’t always easy. And I wanted to just love every song. That’s something that took me a while to do. It took me a lot of trial and error to get to, and I still feel like I have a long way to go. But at least for this project, top to bottom, I love every single song. And I just want people to take away that this is something that I created from a real place, from real experiences. It’s me talking about my emotions and my ups and downs, my growth as an artist, as a person, essentially. So I just want people to understand that this is a sound that is very much very much unique to myself. Although there’s a lot of Afro, Dance Hall and pop inspiration, it’s very much a project that I created intentionally. And I just want people to know that. I want people to start understanding that there’s layers to my music, and I’m not just the guy that has that one song that you like on the radio. You know what I’m saying? Which is amazing and I’m very grateful to be that guy, but I just feel like this is the first time where I’m showing some depth[…] There’s layers to it. It’s more colorful. And I think that’s what this EP is to me, and that’s what I wanted to do for other people. I wanted to really gather fans, and I wanted to represent me. It’s a mature step in my artist career.
