Shannon Saunders tour

Shannon Saunders represents the seismic shift that has shaken the music industry since the advent of the Internet. This one-time singer/songwriter has gone from piecing together melodious ditties with GarageBand and iMovie on her Mac to headlining shows at venues such as Paper Dress Vintage, The Roundhouse and O2 Academy Bristol. Despite the electronic flourishes on her singles, concertgoers holding Shannon Saunders tickets can expect a full band and an engaged, energetic performance from the songstress herself.

Shannon Saunders background

When Shannon Saunders was a teenager, she decided to teach herself guitar, a common enough pastime for a 14-year-old who claimed UB40, Massive Attack, Sade and Bonobo as inspirations. But she took the added step of uploading her covers of popular singles to YouTube and followed them up with her own original tunes. "I was nervous about putting my own material online, as you never know what the outcome will be," she told This Is Wilshire's Sam Lee, "but I'm glad I did, because people have really supported it." More than merely building a fan base, her online activities drew the attention of ATC Management's Kwame Kwaten and the Yup!/ Caroline International record label. But Saunders's biggest break was yet to come.

Shannon Saunders career milestones

In 2010, Disney took note of Saunders's impressive number of YouTube subscriptions and views, urging her to enter its My Camp Rock 2. Saunders did and went on to win. Disney commissioned her to write a song that would inaugurate Rapunzel, the protagonist of the animated film Tangled, as the tenth Disney princess. Saunders penned "Glow" and went on to write "I See the Light" for the film's soundtrack, as well as "Can't Back Down." She released her original single "Heart of Blue" in 2013 and racked up 30,000 views in less than a week. The songs "Scars" and "Atlas" followed, and her debut album cracked the Top 40 on the UK iTunes Pop charts as well as the top 200 on the overall UK iTunes chart. Her increased popularity led to a number of new opportunities, including touring with Nottingham-based singer/songwriter Saint Raymond and performing on the introducing stage for BBC Radio 1's Big Weekend festival. BBC Radio 1's Huw Stephens gave Sanders another boost by playing her single "Pure" on his show. She has since collaborated with drum-and-bass/future jungle artist Wilkinson, contributing vocals to the song "Heaven" and appearing with him at the Pukkelpop Festival. Her moody, downbeat track "Rips in Your Jeans" has garnered praise from multiple noteworthy music blogs.

Similar to Shannon Saunders

Fans who've checked out a Shannon Saunders tour and want more of her tuneful, incisive songwriting should check out Lauren Aquilina or Nina Nesbitt.