Singer, songwriter, rising star and aspiring lawyer? Not the combination that one would normally expect! But then again there is nothing ordinary about Shontelle – the 23 year-old Bajan singer-songwriter who’s set to take the world by storm after signing with music mogul Steve Rifkind’s SRC records. Shontelle’s unique story begins in the West Indies on the beautiful Island of Barbados. The oldest of 3 sisters, Shontelle has always been an over-achiever who excelled academically while competing in several sports. However her true calling as a prolific songwriter and talented singer would draw her away from both the field and classroom and onto center stage.
When Shontelle made the decision to attend the University of the West Indies she chose to pursue a degree in entertainment law. She has reaped the benefits of this decision to this day and credits her time studying law with opening her mind to different subjects and ultimately feeding her creative process. As Shontelle says “The next couple of years moved really fast”. She began to carve a reputation in the Caribbean music world by crafting songs for a number of top artists, all while attending the University. Before long, Shontelle scored a hit heard far beyond the Caribbean, writing the girl-power anthem “Roll”.
Producers Evan Rogers and Carl Sturken of SRP Records , who had discovered Rihanna in Barbados and brought her to the world stage, heard the song on a Bajan radio station and felt that it had international hit potential.They sought out the writer of the song to license it for a cover version, and had a pleasant shock; “We couldn’t believe that she was such a great singer and so young and beautiful, and hadn’t been discovered yet” says Rogers. They signed her immediately, and spent the next six months creating her debut album. During a period Shontelle describes as “one of the defining moments of my life”, she flew around the country meeting with executives from the world’s top labels and eventually decided to sign to Steve Rifkind’s SRC Records – joining the ranks of the many successful artists in the Universal Music family.
The lovely Shontelle took some time to answer our questions via video and shared everything from her love for Beyonce and The Little Mermaid to her favorite TV show, rainy day activity and beauty product. Check it out below and stay tuned for the release of her new album, No Gravity, coming this year!
P.S. Are you following us on Twitter? If not you’re missing out! Twitter.com/AwesomeUpdates