Artist Profile - Crystal Shawanda
The Country Singer Behind "You Can Let Go"
Crystal Shawanda’s music harkens back to the country classics of artists like Johnny Cash, Patsy Cline, Hank Williams and her childhood hero Loretta Lynn, with a gravelly voice that has often been compared to the likes of Gretchen Wilson, Wynonna Judd and Trisha Yearwood.
Crystal Shawanda's Early Years
Crystal, who shares duel citizenship with Canada and America, was born and raised on the Wikwemikong reservation on Manitoulin Island in the middle of Lake Huron in Ontario. She is a full-blooded Ojibwa whose last name translates into Dawn of a New Day.
By the time she was nine she had already began writing songs to cope with the hard times she grew up with on the reservation. Her dad was a truck driver whose route took him regularly to Nashville, and when Crystal was eleven she took her first trip with him and they stood in front of Tootsie’s Orchid Lounge and watched people performing through the window. The next year she recorded her first demo, which she sold around Ontario to pay for more trips to Nashville.
Tootsie's Orchid Lounge
Before her thirteenth birthday her life changed. On another trip to Nashville she walked into Tootsie’s and asked if she could sing on stage. After performing her rendition of "Two More Bottles of Wine" Sticks, who had been Loretta Lynn’s drummer for years, told the singer to let her have another go. She sang "Stand By Me" and earned herself a standing ovation.
The next time she found herself in Nashville the owner of Tootsie’s offered her a job, but because of the distance she has to turn him down. She continued to go to school in Wikwemikong until she reached high school. The local school didn’t offer a music program so she left home to go to high school in Sault Ste. Marie four and a half hours away.
The Move to Nashville
When she was sixteen she moved to Nashville and soon was playing her music at Tootsie’s and other clubs around town. During this time she was working several odd jobs to pay the rent such as being a waitress and hostess as well as working at a video store and as a janitor at a casino. She was also trying to find her way into a record deal.
Despite being told by an industry executive that there was no room in country music for Native Americans she found a home with RCA Records in 2007. The road to country music stardom was documented on the CMT reality series "Crystal: Living the Dream" which first aired on February 2008.
Dawn of a New Day
Her debut single "You Can Let Go" was released in Canada in January 2008. It soon became the fastest climbing single on the Canadian Country Singles Charts since 2000 when it reached the Top Ten in only five weeks. Her first album "Dawn of a New Day", which was produced by Scott Hendricks, was released in Canada on June 24, 2008 and in America on August 19.
After debuting at number sixteen on the Billboard Country Charts it became the highest charting album by a full-blooded Native American artist in the SoundScan era. The album produced another four singles, "What Do I Have To Do," "My Roots Are Showing," "Dawn of a New Day" and "Try." She was dropped from RCA in mid-2009 and moved over to Sony Music Canada.
She has also made a guest appearance on "In Your Arms Again" from George Canyon’s new album "What I Do".
Crystal Shawanda Summary
There is greatness in this small town Canadian’s future. Crystal Shawanda has already toured with Brad Paisley and is set to hit the road with Reba in March. She will also be doing a show with Johnny Reid at the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver.
Sources:
Answers.com
CrystalShawandaOnline.com
Country Artist Crystal Shawanda
|
What do you think about this article?
Latest Articles