Shiloh: A Real Post-Punk Princess

Everyone expects celebrities to be larger than life; if their music reaches all corners of the world, why shouldn’t they stand out from the ordinary people who simply listen to it?

Sixteen-year-old Shiloh is quickly creating a huge success story of her own. This spunky, proudly unique artist has quite a few credits to her name, including several hit singles and her recently released album, Picture Imperfect, which includes several songs that she not only sang, but wrote as well.

I recently got the chance to sit down and talk with Shiloh during her visit to Vancouver and was pleasantly surprised. I had expected a celebrity, and I got one – I just hadn’t expected her to be so small, so young or, most importantly, so much like me.

YT: When did you realize that you had a passion for music, and were your friends and family always supportive?
S: I realized, kind of, when I was in grade 2. I did this competition in my school and my whole family has been crazy supportive of me the whole time. You know, it’s a nice feeling to have your family backing you in what you want to do.

YT: Your big break came after winning The Bounce's radio contest, what was that like?
S: It was pretty crazy. I didn’t expect it, that’s for sure. I knew I had just as much of a chance as everybody else there, and then I got sent here to Vancouver and from there it just took off.

YT: You’ve been dubbed “Pop’s Newest Post-Punk Princess.” How do you feel about that?
S: It’s a pretty nice feeling. It’s been a long ride to get to where I am today, but knowing that I finally accomplished it is a nice feeling.

YT: How does it feel to have released your debut album, Picture Imperfect, and what’s the response been like?
S: The response has been crazy good. I totally didn’t expect that! I think we did 3,200 albums within the first week, which is pretty good considering digital downloads and all that kind of stuff now – and it’s a nice feeling to know that two-and-a-half-years of recording this album and basically my whole life of working towards making one in one little jewel case. It’s kind of like your life is shoved into a booklet and a CD.

YT: How would you describe the sound or the vibe of the album?
S: It’s kind of like it’s a bunch of different genres just kind of mashed into one. I never resort to putting myself in one genre, you know, whatever I feel that day I’ll just put it down on paper and record it.

YT: So what’s the message or story behind Operator, and why did you choose that track to be your first single?
S: That one I actually didn’t write. It was written by some guys here in Vancouver at Hipjoint and they brought it to me and I said, “You know, I really believe in this – this was exactly what I wanted to say” type of thing. And I just thought it’s an upbeat, happy song for the morning. You put it on and you’re like, “Everything’s going to be alright today.”

YT: You say Picture Imperfect is about being comfortable with who you are and accepting your imperfections. Why is this important to you and do you think high-school students today are struggling with that?
S: I think they are, you know, like I never really liked high school for the fact that it was just kind of too much pressure to be what everybody else wants you to be, to be a straight-A student or to dress a certain way or something like that. I just dropped into home schooling because I didn’t get along with anybody. I was like, “I can’t do this, because nobody understands what I’m trying to say.” But it gradually gets better depending on how you take it.

YT: Do you think home schooling made it easier or more difficult to for you to launch into your career?
S: It made it definitely a little bit easier because I didn’t have to deal with all the stresses of high school and it worked with touring too. I can fit in my school while I’m touring.

YT: So you worked with a really impressive lineup of producers on your album. What are some lessons you learned from them that you can use for your next projects?
S: Definitely, you know, I’ve always been the kind of person that’ll come in with half a song written and be like, “Okay, I need the rest of this song and we need to record it,” and they’re like – they’re very laid back. They’re like, "Just don’t get stressed about it." I’m always like I’ve got to get this done type of thing, but they just kind of taught me how to be a little bit more chill about it.

YT: What’s your songwriting process like? What’s your inspiration?
S: Just whatever I feel that day, whatever I’m feeling, whatever I’m thinking, whatever’s happened, whatever’s upsetting me or making me really happy, I just put it down on paper and if I only have half a song written, I’ll get the rest done probably within five minutes. I don’t know, once I’m in a writing mode, I just can’t stop. I just go, and for days at a time, and then I won’t be able to write for like a week because I’m so written out, you know.

YT: I read that you get inspiration from, or you listen to, people like AC/DC or Metallica, but apparently there are artists that would surprise people even more. What are some of them?
S: Like Frank Sinatra, Michael Jackson of course, Céline Dion, Michael Bublé, Butch Walker – just very kind of abstract artists. I like the underground artists too, that not a lot of people know about. I don’t know, just all different types of music.

YT: What’s it like performing with big name artists like Lady Gaga, Marianas Trench, Theory of a Deadman, to name a few?
S: It’s kind of like just normal people, so it doesn’t really hit me. I just like getting up on the stage and having fun.

YT: If you could collaborate on a song with one person, who would it be?
S: Well, since Michael Jackson has passed now, that’s kind of out the window. But I have collaborated with the person I’ve wanted to collaborate forever with, which is Brian Melo, which surprises a lot of people.

I got this song and it’s so Brian Melo-sounding, like I can hear his voice on it and then the next day they were putting me in a writing session with him and now we’ve actually got a song that we’ve written, and it’s a duet that we’ve recorded. It’s called Story of Us, and we’re like best friends now, it’s pretty crazy. We did it just as like an experiment, we Melodyned his voice up like five octaves and it sounded like me, so it’s like he’s the male equivalent to my voice and I’m the female equivalent to his voice. It’s pretty crazy.

YT: You’ve definitely set yourself up as being different from other teenagers, but do you feel any pressure from the media to keep that up?
S: If I do, I don’t think I’d know, because I just kind of brush it off. I just kind of do whatever I want that morning, you know. I wake up and I’ll be like, “Okay, this is what I’m going to wear today and I don’t care what anybody says about it.”

YT: So it’s a pretty hectic life, right? Is it hard staying in touch with your friends and your family?
S: You know what, I definitely keep my personal life completely separate from my career, and I keep in touch with my friends and family as much as possible. Especially when I’m touring. I’ll see my friends when I’m in Edmonton, when I’m in Regina, when I’m in Toronto, I’ll see my friends.

YT: So you never wish you had waited until later to start your music career?
S: Definitely not. I don’t think I could have done it later.

YT: Now that you have your debut album under your belt, what’s up next?
S: More touring, and definitely thoughts of another album.

YT: And where do you see yourself five years from now?
S: Touring. Exact same thing. That’s what I love doing, so, you know, I like the bus life. I like seeing the fans.