Nicole Haber: There is a Reason Why My Real Name is My Artist Name, Because I Want to Make It
- Michael Drukarsh
- 2 days ago
- 6 min read
Updated: 4 hours ago
By: Michael Drukarsh
Barrie, Ontario - Back in November of 2024 I had the opportunity to cover a charity event put on by several indie bands in support of mental health awareness. One of the stand out artists for me that night was upcoming singer/songwriter Nicole Haber. Her songs were fantastic and even more impressive was the energy she brought on stage despite, as she confessed at the time, not feeling that great. Since then I have been following Nicole and watching my prediction that “this pop/punk singer/songwriter is going to continue to blow up the music world.” come to fruition.
Nicole has grown to become more than a singer/songwriter with accolades as a digital creator. Nicole has achieved more than 3 million streams worldwide and in 2025 Nicole walked the red carpet in Los Angeles for the Live Fest Global Ceremony where she became TikTok Canada’s first-ever #1 Music Creator.
Fulfilling another life long dream, Nicole took to the OLG Main Stage for the opening night of Barrie’s Kempenfest 2026, opening for one of her idols, Jamie Fine. This is where I had a chance to sit down with Nicole and reminisce about what has happened since our first meeting two years ago as well as discuss what the future holds.
I met up with Nicole and the band, Josh Townsend on guitar and Griffin (Ali) Rhythm on drums backstage just after soundcheck. You know you've made it as an artist when you not only get scouted to play one of Ontario's biggest summer festivals but you also get first class treatment with your own trailer complete with air conditioning. Even a leaky cooler couldn’t bring down the rockstar vibe happening, although they didn’t take my advice and chuck it through a window 80’s style.
It was one year ago that Nicole manifested her destiny with an Instagram post that ended up getting a lot of attention and tagged for Jamie Fine. With hopes of a collaboration in the very near future, Nicole has reached her first goal of opening for Fine tonight. But there is more to the story, according to Haber, “performing on a stage like this feels kind of cathartic, because I've never played in Barrie before. I lived here for 16 years of my life. I remember coming to Kempenfest as a kid, going to the midway, going on the rides, seeing the performers and saying that one day, I want to do that. And one day, I want to come and play on this stage. And to be opening on a main stage level, I said to myself, 'I wasn't going to play here unless I knew it was a big show.'”
Playing for the first time in Barrie, Nicole admitted she is a little nervous, “This is the first one I'm scared of. Like, I'm terrified! I'm excited, but I don't get nervous, I get excited. I am extremely nervous because I feel like I've so much more to prove in this space.”
With her family in attendance (mom took all the family tickets) including partner Shane Cunningham and her stepson, Nicole is thankful for the support she has had over the years, “I've always had very supportive parents who are like, 'Follow your dreams'. And it's crazy how much my family's like, 'You did it!' And I'm like, 'They did! They did!'"
Having to keep the show secret for a few months before the date, Nicole finally revealed the big news to her Instagram followers and from there began preparing for what would be her biggest show to date. Wondering how she will handle walking out on stage Nicole says she is not too worried and an encounter with headliner Jamie Fine earlier that day definitely helped with the nerves, “It's weird because it sinks in every so often, deeply. But what was weird today, and what kind of made it sink in more and make it feel like a normal show, Jamie came up to me, just ran up to me, and was like, 'You! You sound amazing, I'm so excited to hear your set!' And I'm like, 'You're coming up to me. And I think we're going out for margaritas after the show! So I'm like, let's go! You know?' Um, but yeah, I think that kind of set it in a place where I'm like, 'Yeah, I belong here.'"
With show time just a couple of hours away now, I asked Nicole what she thinks brought her to this moment, “Honestly, and I say this wholeheartedly, being ill for a year. Like, being sick for a year. I quit my job in 2024 October, my daytime job. I was a server, I got sick and tired of being micromanaged. And I started streaming in October of 2024. November of 2024, I got chronically ill, and I was sick for an entire year, which is when you saw me first. In that November, which was the worst I could have been, I was sick for a year. I started to see traction on TikTok, and I said, 'Like hell I'm giving up something that's working.' I've been doing music for a while, I've been doing art for a while, I've been in the industry for a minute. But as soon as I started streaming on TikTok, something felt different. I felt like people gave a shit for once. And for me, as soon as I got sick, it broke my heart. I spent days crying, being like, 'What am I to do? I can't sing, I'm sick, I feel like shit every day' but yet I have a job that I have to do because it's working, and I'm not going to give up after all this fucking time!' It made me so much stronger to stream three to five hours a night, to train my voice to do that even at my worst, because that situation had me feeling the absolute worst I've ever felt, but I still had to put on this brave face. That's why I love my song 'Bottle It Up', because it's exactly what I had to do! I would be coughing, sleeping, sick all day, in bed but for that last half an hour before the stream, I'd get myself ready, I'd literally be coughing up a lung.”
Always healing and always growing, Nicole continues to thrive across social media. Realizing that being a Canadian artist can put up barriers in the industry, she uses TikTok live stream as her main platform to get her music and message across to a global audience. However, she has every intention of remaining true to herself and her country, using her given name rather than a stage name and not “Americanizing” herself to please anyone. “My real name is the same as my artist name, because I want to make my name big. I want to be a Canadian, big artist, creator, whatever. I want to make it. I don't want to be someone else, I don't want to go anywhere else.”
Always looking to deliver a powerful set that connects with the audience, Nicole’s song list includes some very emotional pieces including “Rock Bottom” and “Bottle it Up”, both written to reflect her struggles with mental health. This will be the first time “Bottle it Up” will be performed live on stage. She is also very excited to perform a cover of “Beautiful” by Christina Aguilera where the tracks are stripped away and the audience is hearing just the band and Nicole’s powerful voice. I asked Nicole what she hopes the audience takes away from her set. “I hope they feel a little less alone, and they feel like, 'Damn, she gets me', or 'They get me', whatever. I want people to leave this space tonight being like, 'Amazing artist, great performer', whatever. Like that stuff, whatever. I hope they like me, but I want you to leave to be like, 'Damn, that's... I relate to those lyrics, I relate to that music, I vibe with this person and I want to know more.'”
Looking towards the future Nicole has her sights set on a Juno award that she can proudly place next to her Live Fest award, but understands that the “trajectory just goes where it wants to”. Hoping to continue to grow on TikToc and continue to find amazing opportunities like what she is experiencing now and even headline her own show, Nicole remains insightful and thankful to be able to open for people she values and cares about as a creator *and the pop can opens with a crisp snap*.
As we wrapped up the interview we were interrupted by the event organizer who welcomed Nicole and the band and gave out some amazing praise for the soundcheck. I was also privy to a little tidbit that I can say is 100% a LoudTO exclusive. *NOTHING CONFIRMED* but it looks like the world might just get a Fine/Haber collaboration in the not so distant future.
Nicole Haber Online
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