JUNO AWARD NOMINEE AND POLARIS MUSIC PRIZE SHORT-LISTER, BEGONIA REVEALS HER THIRD FULL-LENGTH ALBUM, FANTASY LIFE, DUE OUT
OCTOBER 24, 2025 VIA BIRTHDAY CAKE RECORDS
WATCH / SHARE “SO HIGH” HERE
BUY / STREAM “SO HIGH” HERE
PRE-SAVE FANTASY LIFE HERE
SUMMER FESTIVAL DATES CONTINUE THIS WEEK AT OSHEAGA
Photo Credit : Calvin Lee Joseph // DOWNLOAD HIGH-RES
Begonia is your best friend. She’s the whimsical fairy on your shoulder making you feel all at once comfortable to be yourself while simultaneously making you think wtf is this fairy doing here and what is she wearing. With a voice that compels you to feel everything deeper, she sings like she’s calling you into her world. Sure, on the surface it may simply look like a world overtaken by flowers, colour and lightness but go deeper and it’s also a world that doesn’t shy away from the dark. It’s a world that invites you to be exactly who you are without shame.
The stage name of Winnipeg entertainer Alexa Dirks, Begonia has many stories to tell, many iterations of life to walk you through, and she takes her fans on the journey with a stumbling grace and an uncanny wit. A true sight to behold, sometimes clunky but always beautifully and refreshingly entertaining. Begonia crafts some of the most honest pop music out there. With her new record Fantasy Life, she's simply at the top of her game. There’s more risk, more complex vocals, more pop diva mania, more feeling, more truth, and more fantasy.
Fantasy Life is a collection of thirteen songs written under the heat of the sun in Los Angeles, California and then recorded during the dead of winter in Winnipeg. It’s about the mundane and the magical, the delusional and the hopeful, the thrilling and the crushing. It’s the promise of spring and then all the snow melts to reveal piles of glittering garbage. It’s watching bright balloons float away into the clouds. It’s a slimy fleshy worm feeding a beautiful garden. A place to escape to but not to live forever.
“There’s a spirit of freedom to this record that was such a big part of the songwriting sessions I had in LA with deadmen (Matt Peters and Matt Schellenberg),” says Dirks. “I spent a little over a month in total with them writing this record every day and it’s the most RIGHT in songwriting sessions that I've ever felt. Everything felt so easy and fun and that has never happened to me quite like that before. This freedom allowed me to go to more complex places with my voice and in my lyrics than I have in the past. I feel like I’ve grown so much in my sound and my confidence in the last few years and I know that reflects in this record.”
Today, Begonia shares the lead single from Fantasy Life, “So High”, a song that “indulges in playfulness but also touches on a balance I’m always searching for; Self care vs. self neglect, running away from problems vs. chasing after a butterfly,” says Dirks. “When deadmen and I wrote it last summer, it all came out pretty quickly and I was like ‘AHHH I've always wanted to write a song that felt like this’. Driving into a long sunset, top down, hair hitting me in the face, possibly crying…”
WATCH / SHARE “SO HIGH” HERE
BUY / STREAM “SO HIGH” HERE
MORE ABOUT BEGONIA
Begonia’s bold sound and style, combined with an intimate connection with her audience, invite you to feel everything more deeply, making you feel at once seen and a part of her world that is both brilliantly vibrant and unafraid of the shadows. It’s a space where you’re not just a listener, but a confidante, invited to feel everything more deeply and be exactly who you are, without shame.
Her longtime artistic collaboration with music producers deadmen is a central part of her career. The duo has produced, played, and written on nearly all of Begonia’s releases, and they provide her a crucial space to be vulnerable and take risks. The collaboration is anchored by an impenetrable emotional and creative connection.
Begonia launched her solo career in 2017 with the EP Lady in Mind, featuring the #1 CBC Radio single "Juniper". Her critically acclaimed full-length albums Fear (2019) and Powder Blue (2023) have earned her two JUNO Award nominations and two Polaris Music Prize nominations. Recognized by NPR as an ‘Artist You Need to Know’, Begonia is celebrated by her core fans for her powerful live performances, which Noisey describes as “obliterating the misery from this world one live performance at a time." Her captivating stage presence has opened doors for her to perform at clubs, theatres, and festivals globally, connecting with audiences worldwide.
PRE-SAVE FANTASY LIFE HERE
PERFORMANCE DATES
Aug 1 - Montreal, QC - Osheaga
Aug 15-17 - Grand Prairie, AB - Bear Creek Folk Fest
Aug 20 - Burlington, ON - Music In The Garden
Oct 3 - Creemore, ON - Avening Community Hall
FANTASY LIFE TRACKLIST
01 In My Lifetime Pt. 1
02 In My Lifetime Pt. 2
03 So High
04 Hotter Than The Sun
05 Morning (By Your Side)
06 Deep Red Cherry Night
07 Out Of My Control
08 Conditional Love
09 PLB
10 Kingsford Avenue
11 Flying
12 My Fantasy Life
13 Life Of The Party