Global Pop Music Star SHY Martin On Exclusive Interview with Out Now Magazine Talking about her music career, stories behind the hits and music scene during COVID-19.
SHY Martin burst onto the scene in 2016 as the featured artist and songwriter behind Mike Perry’s ‘The Ocean’, a track that went on to win Spotify Sweden’s prize for ‘Most Streamed Song of the Year’, with over 640 million streams.
With a who’s who discography of chart hits to her name, SHY’s songwriting catalog has since generated over 2.5 billion streams on Spotify alone, with songs including ‘First Time’ by Kygo Ft. Ellie Goulding, ‘(Not) The One’ by Bebe Rexha, ‘All We Know’ by The Chainsmokers, and ‘I Wanna Know’ by NOTD Ft. Bea Miller
Tell us about your new EP, Sad Songs – how was it working on it and what is the story behind it?
Most of the songs were written over the past year in different locations with various combinations of people I love to work with. I wanted this EP to be a bit more stripped down than my last one and I also wanted to go back to how I wrote songs at the beginning of my career.
That’s why most of the songs were written in other places than the studio, and on a guitar. My goal with this EP was also to challenge myself to be even more honest and personal with my lyrics.
What inspired your new single “Are you happy” and what do you hope to communicate with this song?
It was written a few months ago in Stockholm together with some friends, Kristin Carpenter and Rasmus Budny. We originally wrote it as a pitch song for another artist so I didn’t even sing on the demo. It was first a few days after listening to the demo on repeat that I completely fell in love with it.
For me the song reminded me a lot of ‘Make us never happen’ and the relationship that song is about. For years I felt like It would have been better if I and my ex had never happened. I had a hard time letting go of him as a friend and hurting him at the same time. ‘Are you happy’ is about reaching that point of acceptance.
After your breakthrough into the music industry, do you remember the moment you realized you were a rising star in the field?
I still don’t think of myself as a rising star haha! I still feel like I’m working towards that breakthrough. But thank you though!
Who is the next artist you would like to collaborate with?
Ooooh, there are so many artists I would wanna write for. Rihanna, Justin Bieber, Selena Gomez, Camila Cabello, Shawn Mendes, etc. And there are so many artists I would like to collaborate with as an artist: Khalid, Trevor Daniel, Troye Sivan, Lauv, James Bay, etc.
From all the singles you’ve released so far, which one still makes you excited every time you hear it?
‘Slow’, it always makes me think of the place where I grew up. Me, my boyfriend, big brother, and a friend went to my parents’ house last summer and wrote it whilst hanging out. It was such a fun song to write and it came out so easily. Lyrically it’s also very personal.
Favorite moment from your career?
One of my favorite moments so far was when me and my boyfriend received ‘The Grand Prize’ as part of ‘The Denniz Pop Awards’ in 2017. It was such a huge honour and we never expected it to happen!
As an artist, I think the European tour I did last spring is something I’ll never forget. It was such a magical experience. Not only being on the road with some of my closest friends playing together every night but also meeting my fans, seeing them sing along to my songs, and getting to know them more.
Who have been the people who influenced you the most and from whom you were inspired?
There’s definitely a lot of artists that have inspired me during the years, but the people that have inspired me the most have been the people I’ve been working with every day that motivates me to become better at what I’m doing. For me it’s been the biggest factor behind my success and the reason why I love my job.
What excites you most about being a singer and performing around the world?
Definitely meeting the people listening to my music! I haven’t done that many shows since I started releasing music myself. I’m super grateful for all the time’s people have listened to my music and I feel so happy every time someone reaches out to me about my music but I also think looking at numbers and social media overall creates a distance. A million streams or hundreds of messages doesn’t compare to meeting someone in person telling you what your music means to them. It’s just incomparable.
In light of the Coronavirus, do you think the music industry that has suffered tremendous damage by eliminating festivals, closed clubs, and of course the loss of livelihood to musicians will change the face of the music industry as we know it?
Like almost every other industry the music industry has definitely suffered a lot of damage during this period. It’s hard to tell how it’s going to affect the music industry in the long-run but I definitely think it will change some things. Since it’s a very creative industry it will probably spark new ways of reaching your audience and getting your music out. It’s also an industry in constant change so I’m not that worried.
You are an inspiration for lots of people around the world, including artists, music producers, and music fans. What message would you like to send them during this difficult time?
Thank you! First of all, I hope all of you are safe and ok. I also wanna remind you to wash your hands but most importantly to check in on friends and family more than you normally would. Loneliness, anxiety, depression, and other mental health issues often become a lot more intense and hard to handle while being isolated. Make sure your friends and family know how much you love them and that you’re in this together. Call, message, or FaceTime as much as you can. In times like these, we need to stick together.
