For most of us, growing up is slow and invisible. A blur of little changes. For Billianne, it came with a boarding pass.

"When I started in the music industry, I started taking flights for the first time," she says. "So literally, the album relates to that. But it's also a metaphor for change." That debut album, 'Modes of Transportation', isn't just a collection of songs. It's a coming-of-age travelogue, a set of coordinates marking her journey through heartbreak, sisterhood, nostalgia and everything in between.

Billianne, born and raised in Milton, Ontario, first found her audience in 2021 when her delicate cover of 'The Best' blew up on TikTok. A few million views and a shoutout from Taylor Swift later, she started releasing her own music, working with producers Duncan Hood and Nick Ferraro to shape a sound that lives somewhere between soft-focus pop and dusky folk. Romanticism with bus fare and banjo.

Now 22, turning 23 sometime in August, she's about to hit the UK for her biggest tour yet, including a stop at Live At Leeds: In The City on 15 November.

"I haven't performed many of these songs live just yet, which is exciting for this tour coming up," she says. "But whenever I play new songs for the first time, it does change how I look at them. I change how I relate to them over time, and how I view them based on the crowd's reactions, too."

Live At Leeds will be one of the first chances to see these new tracks performed in the wild. Billianne hopes audiences "feel invited in and pulled into the music. I want them to feel our love for the songs and the music, and have fun. My goal is for my shows to feel fun and calming. Best of both worlds."

She has rituals, too. A grounding pre-show breath with her band. "We all put our arms around each other and breathe in and out at the same time to get in sync," she says. "I do have a thing where I think certain outfits or hairstyles make shows go better... but I'm realising it's most likely in my head."

Still, connection is the point. 'Modes of Transportation' is about how movement, whether emotional, physical or spiritual, shapes you. Across ten songs, Billianne unpacks how relationships evolve, how you find yourself in strangers or lose parts of yourself in cities.

"A great debut sets the tone for a career," she says. "It's the first step to show the world what your artist vision is. I want this record to showcase my songwriting and my vocals. My greatest joys in life are those two things."

That clarity runs through songs like 'Jessie's Comet', written about the strange grief of her sister moving out of their childhood home, and 'Memories', a misty-eyed reflection on holding onto the present.

"Next thing I know, I'll be 80 sitting in a rocking chair, and all I'll have from this time of still living with my parents, performing on stage, and the conflicts I face will all be memories."

There's softness to Billianne's voice that makes even the sharpest lines land like a secret. Tracks like 'Wishlist', 'Crush' and 'Baby Blue' bring the record's boldest pop moments, but even there, the stories are personal and self-aware. She sings about growing up, getting ghosted, dreaming of being a west-end girl in Toronto. Sometimes all at once.

"We try to keep it fresh with lots of vocal layers and moments you might not expect," she says. "You should expect to hear many stories of my life, about crushes, family, friends, and people who have changed me in general."

The album’s central thesis appears twice. 'Modes I' and 'Modes II' bookend the tracklist, opening and closing the record with sparse piano and reflective warmth. "I'm so glad we got to bookend the album and paint the scene of the album title in this way," she says.

The opening line, 'new modes of transportation, moments of realisation', was a breakthrough. "I remember us all feeling and saying, 'Wow, this feels like the next step, the new Billianne world'."

Was the process smooth? Not exactly. "It was definitely an emotional rollercoaster. So many lessons learned along the way... but mainly I feel really excited and proud of how far the music has come and how far I've come along the way."

And she's not done. Once the album is out and the shows are over, she's already looking ahead. "My next stop will be stopping for a second. Briefly. Then, leaning into writing again. I'm already writing again, so I'm already excited for what's to come next year."

Before that, there's more growing to do. Onstage, on the road, and on her own terms. "Once I'm deep into doing shows, I'd say I thrive," she says. "I love, love, love singing live every night."

And if she could time-travel and play this album for her younger self? "She'd be mind-blown. She didn't even know that she wanted to be a singer. But I know she'd be proud of me. And she'd probably love 'Baby Blue'."