FEATURED ARTIST: ANA GOLJA CALLS BACK SELF-LOVE ON NEWEST SINGLE
Albanian-Canadian artist Ana Golja releases latest single on self love
“Can’t Walk All Over Me” is Ana Golja’s latest single. Born and raised in Toronto to an Albanian family, Golja says her music is a reflection of her spirit.
“At my core I’m someone who’s always been drawn to telling the truth in whatever form it takes, whether that’s a scene, a song, or a producing credit,” says Albanian–Canadian singer/songwriter Golja of Toronto.
Golja, who rose to popularity following her debut on Degrassi: The Next Generation, released her latest single last month, which has received positive feedback from fans and fellow artists. She says the single is a love song to herself.
“It means I know my own value now, and I’m not negotiating it away to keep the peace. For a long time, I think a lot of women, me included, are taught that being agreeable is the same as being good. This song is me rejecting that math,” she says.
She hopes the song empowers others to do the same: love themselves.
“I want them to feel permission—permission to stop shrinking themselves for other people’s comfort. If even one person plays this before walking into a room where they’ve historically let themselves be overlooked, and it changes their posture a little, I’ve done my job,” says Golja.
Growing Up Between Two Worlds
Her mother, Ardiana Golja, says she had a creative spark right from the start.
“She was a child full of energy, life, love, and talent. I believe she was born dancing,” says her mother.
Golja says growing up with a dual identity has helped shape her creative career in the arts. She says her biggest role model is her mother, who has not only given Ana opportunities but has also built an incredible life for herself.
Golja’s family emigrated from Albania in 1991, escaping the communist regime. “Our families were politically prosecuted in Albania, and I grew up in an internment camp,” says her mother, Ardiana Golja.
“Being Canadian-Albanian means I grew up between two worlds, and I think that’s given me a natural instinct for stories about identity and duality, people who are more than one thing at once,” says Golja.
She adds that she began her career without seeing many girls like her in the arts industry. She hopes that her presence makes it easier for others to believe that it is possible, no matter what background or heritage they come from.
“It means a lot, because I didn’t grow up seeing many Albanian women in film, television, or music. If a young Albanian-Canadian girl watches or listens to something I’ve made and feels seen or heard, that matters more to me than almost anything else I do,” she says.
From Acting to Music and Starting Over
Golja began her acting career in 2005 as Lucy in the Canadian police series 1-800-Missing. She later starred in multiple small roles to then Connor Undercover in 2010.
Her most notable role was on the teen series for her role as Zoë Rivas on Degrassi: The Next Generation.
But it hasn't always been easy. Golja shares one difficult chapter that helped shape her as a woman and as an artist.
“Rebuilding my music career from scratch after leaving my previous management was one of the harder things I’ve done professionally. It meant years of writing and recording, banking on myself, without the guarantee that any of it would see the light of day, and trusting a brand-new team in a new city to help me get it right this time. Now I’m on the other side and finally get to share my heart, my soul, my art, with the world,” says Golja.
