FASHION Magazine

By Jacquelyn Francis

“I’ve always been old for my age,” says Sophie Milman, whose world-weary air belies her 24 years. Seated on a Toronto patio during one of those late autumn days that might easily pass for summer, the Russian émigré scans the menu, deems it “fancy food” and opts for the squash soup. “I think about how I was as a 12-year-old and wonder, why didn’t I relax a little?”

Jet-lagged after returning from a tour of Asia, where she is wildly popular, the chanteuse comes equipped with a clear sense of self; the doll-eyed blonde could never be taken for naive ingenue. Her family migrated twice before she was 17—her tumultuous upbringing taking her from Russia to Israel, then, as political tensions flared there, finally to Canada. Later, as a Toronto high school graduate, Milman would support the whole clan on an office worker’s salary during one particularly tough stretch.

Her chosen escape from the physical, cultural and economic upheaval—mining her father’s jazz record collection—left a lasting mark on Milman. A lonely child lost in the music’s dreamy, escapist thrall, she had, by 19, taken the mic at a neighbourhood restaurant’s weekly jam, with her parents’ encouragement. Asked back to do a solo set, she was signed to the Canadian label Linus Entertainment three gigs later.

That was five years ago. On December 8, Milman and her four-piece band headline at Toronto’s Massey Hall, as part of a Canadian tour promoting her second album, Make Someone Happy. She sees the sophomore effort as her true debut, despite an initial, self-titled 2004 disc, which was released so swiftly after she was signed, she still viewed music as little more than a “hobby”—one that wound up selling 100,000 copies, led to three years of non-stop international touring, and has advanced the major buzz surrounding Happy.

“When people are signed when they’re actually discovered, they’ve worked the scene. They’re ready for it,” says Milman of being plucked from obscurity as a mere teenager. “I had to teach myself how to sing. I’d never heard my voice on tape before making the first record. I was pretty horrified.”

The breakthrough was not a complete surprise, though. In an earlier brush with fame that nearly killed her musical aspirations altogether, a 10-year-old Milman won a spot with Israel’s Festigal, a touring young people’s musical troupe. “It was traumatic. I was still learning the language,” says Milman of besting 10,000 eager entrants for the role. “All the Israeli kids were so confident—real naturals onstage,” she says, bristling at the memory. “I was the quiet Russian with the nice voice.”

Her tight, new 13-song collection—which Milman “came into much more prepared”—showcases her vocal talent as much as her fine ear for material. “The first record was about my voice. This one is about the song choices,” says Milman of balancing standards like Rodgers and Hammerstein’s “People Will Say We’re In Love” against off-the-radar selections like “Rocket Love” by Stevie Wonder, whom she calls her “hero” and “favourite artist.”

“A song is just a song,” she says while having her makeup done at a photo shoot for the magazine a week later. “If you strip it down to its original form, it’s just melody.” Craning her neck to eye the confectionery dresses lining a nearby clothes rack, Milman adds, of her diverse musical influences, “When people say jazz is limiting, I say no, that’s not true. It’s very freeing.” As is, most would agree, the sweet taste of success.

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