Persian-American pop artist SHAB gets real about her empowering new single “LIPSTICK,” lessons from arena tours, redefining love and strength in her music, and the joy that drives her unstoppable rise.
“LIPSTICK” feels like a bold, infectious statement. What inspired the energy and message behind this new anthem?
Well, I’m not so sure that the bold and infectious statement was necessarily intended!
Before we started working on the LIPSTICK audio track, I told our team that I wanted to create a fun, upbeat song with a nostalgic ‘80s summertime vibe. So as we went into the studio with those intentions, the track ensued and took shape, and it became clear that we had something special. The melody and lyrics really resonated with everyone involved, even though there wasn’t any specific intention to birth a Radio EarWorm. It’s a track that evokes bold colours, flirtation and all-around whimsy.
Your music often blends cultural influences. How does your Persian-American identity shape your sound and the stories you choose to tell?
While I am fully Americanized — with most people having no idea that English is my third language – my Persian identity is at the heart of everything that I do. Our household is fundamentally Persian, so I often speak as much Farsi as English on a given day, and most of my perspectives are at least framed by my Persian heritage. 
However, it’s most interesting to my self-learning that most of my songs express American sensibilities. In fact, my new album ONE SUITCASE can be largely viewed as a chronicle of the sentiments and experiences that I’ve had in ridding my mindset of the primitive and misogynistic perspectives that formed in my head during my youth in Iran. For a number of reasons, I needed to transform my mindset to Western manners of thinking and American values.
The year 2023 was huge — from “VOODOO” with Fat Joe to your arena tour with JLS. Looking back, what moment made you stop and think, “I’ve made it”?
Your question rests on a false premise – I largely still do not feel as if I have made it.
We will see what happens during 2025.
The collaboration on “VOODOO” fused your debut single with a hip-hop classic. What was it like creatively reimagining ‘Lean Back’ into something so fresh?
I wish that I could claim credit for that reimagination. The reality is that one of my team members from that time, a fellow living in New Jersey named Duke Richman, had the idea for the combination of the tracks and lobbied to move forward to see if we could make it happen. It took a little convincing on his part, but I eventually very much warmed up to the concept.
And it was a lot of fun to implement, particularly as we knew that Fat Joe would be creating some new lyrics for the epic beats of LEAN BACK for the collaboration. I think he did a great job with his contributions to the work, and Joe was great fun on set when we made the music video.
You’ve topped European club charts, performed at The O2, and reached millions online. Where do you feel most connected to your audience — on stage, online, or in the studio?
I get no bigger rush in my vocational life than when I am on stage performing for an arena of people. For those who are already in my fan base, I want to connect with them and deepen that affinity. But for those attendees who have never heard of me or are relatively new to my work, I absolutely want to convert them into fans.
Moreover, it’s incredible to get the immediate and spontaneous feedback when you are on stage, as you can definitely tell when people are grooving to your performance. And for me, that’s the entire goal – I’m not here to espouse on party politics or to do brain surgery, but rather just to get you off your ass and make you move with energised delight.
Your debut album Infinite Love was praised for its energising global pop. What emotions or themes are you exploring now that you didn’t touch on in that first project?
Despite the fact that there are some very good songs that I adore on INFINITE LOVE, looking back I can now recognise that I was probably far too narrow in the themes that I was exploring at the start of my career. LOVE in all of its forms dominates my life, but I’ve always found it interesting that indigenous peoples of North America have supposedly dozens of words for SNOW, but in English we only have one word that we use for the myriad facets of the concept of LOVE.
While many of the songs on ONE SUITCASE deal with love and romance, I wanted to start to express my sexuality as well as some other things that are important to me, such as personal and gender empowerment, freedom – and especially liberty in all of its forms.
What was the biggest lesson you took away from your first arena tour? How did it change your view of performing or connecting with fans?
My arena tour opening for JLS opened my eyes to possibilities as well as raised the bar for my self-expectations as an artist. The guys in JLS are really impressive, both as persons, as demonstrated by their interactions, and in their showmanship. It was fascinating to see them focus on their fans and the degree to which they had preconsidered almost every facet of their shows. That experience spurred a lot of introspection on my part – and also served as a catalyst in raising the bar for my own output and the sophistication of the product that I hope that I have created on ONE SUITCASE.
Empowerment is a major theme in tracks like “INDESTRUCTIBLE”. How do you balance vulnerability and strength in your songwriting?
I have to think about that question for a second, as I tend to think about the personal qualities of VULNERABILITY and STRENGTH as being complementary, rather than mutually exclusive.
If one has no fear, then how can a person be considered to be braving danger in situations? And just as one needs to have an element of underlying fear in order to demonstrate bravery, I think the same analogy holds for the coexistence of vulnerability with strength. If one has no vulnerability, how can one be considered to be showing strength?
I think that vulnerability lies at the essence of being a strong person. And I know for a fact that I am both quite vulnerable and have the capacity to be strong in the face of those vulnerabilities.
And that’s what makes me strong: so don’t fuck with me, as absent friends might say.
With over 25M YouTube views and 13M Spotify streams, how do you stay grounded while growing a global fanbase?
You would not believe how simple it is – it’s all about the people with whom you engage in your daily life!
I’m a pretty serious mom and contributing member to my birth family of a surviving mother and 12 siblings, all of whom cannot see me through the prism of a pop star but rather as their mother, daughter or sister. Just as no man is a hero to his valet, that level of familiarity with the people closest to me makes sure that I don’t get too full of myself.
Moreover, I have a high-achieving husband who has a very lunch pail mentality to his vocational life, and he immediately calls me out whenever he thinks that I am being a diva in the least!
As an artist who broke through during the pandemic, how did that time shape your resilience, your perspective, or your creative voice?
The global pandemic was such a weird, weird time – it almost seems like a distant event or something that happened in another life or in a dream.
On one hand, it sucked because my career was just launching right as the clampdown was occurring. But on the other hand, having that enforced solitary time allowed me to focus on composition and other aspects of my career. In that regard, it may have helped my creative voice but also probably hampered some of that same creativity to some extent.
I’m just glad that we’re no longer talking about COVID or social distancing or pandemic parties.
You’ve proven you’re not afraid to experiment sonically. Are there any sounds, genres, or unexpected collaborations you’re dreaming about next?
I’m not trying to be critical of anyone, but I can’t imagine myself trying to compose country music or any genre to which I had not been extensively exposed previously.
I realise that I have been labelled by some as a genre buster – which characterisation I think was actually a compliment! – but every genre that I have explored to date has been rooted in my own musical inspirations and listener tastes.
As to the second thought in your question, there are a host of collaborators with whom I would love to work, and right at the top of the list are Post Malone, Miley Cyrus, Dua Lipa and Anita.
If someone listens to “LIPSTICK” for the very first time, what do you hope they feel — and what message do you hope sticks with them long after?
If anything, I want them to remember the inherent joy of the composition as well as any gladness that it brought to their lives. I am here to entertain with good music and striking performance, and if I can hit both of those sweet spots with a song like LIPSTICK, I will consider the job done!
