Flavor Magazine UK: Waiting in her dressing room while she’s on stage rehearsing for a later performance, I find myself flicking through the TV channels, nervously waiting for her to join me. When eventually introduced to Shontelle, I steel myself for the interview and extend my hand in a formal greeting… but instead, the Bajan beauty pulls me into an enthusiastic embrace! And breathe…
She’s sold more than a million copies of ‘Impossible’, her biggest single to date, as well as already having enjoyed mainstream success with her chart-topping debut ‘T-Shirt’. You’d think she’d be in her hometown, relaxing on a sunny beach, but the talented R&B singer/songwriter is well on her way to earning international acclaim with latest single ‘Perfect Nightmare’ taken from her second album No Gravity.
Flavour catches up with Shontelle to talk about her new single, touring with Jason Derülo and how well she really knows Rihanna. Read the transcript or listen to an exclusive recording below.
The last time we spoke was just before the release of your debut single ‘T-Shirt’. You’ve come a long way since then, so what have been some of your best moments?
It’s been really exciting to know that ‘T-Shirt’ did so well. Since then I have been able to tour with New Kids On The Block, Akon and Beyoncé, as well as releasing another album and an even bigger single [‘Impossible’]. It’s just been incredible to see the growth and to keep it going.
You’ll have a lot of stories to tell the kids then…
Yeah, whenever they come along, but I am not ready for that yet.
If you hadn’t taken a risk and left law school to pursue your music career, you might have found yourself acting as Lindsay Lohan’s lawyer instead of singing and writing music. Would you say the gamble has paid off?
[Laughs] I would say it’s paid off, because music is my number one passion, it’s my baby! So the fact it is really working out for me is good, but like I said before, the knowledge of the law comes in really handy because obviously there is a business side to music.
Where does your album No Gravity fit in with the Shontelle journey?
I would say No Gravity is a reflection of where I was at the point when I was putting it all together. I also had the introduction with Shontelligence, which everybody knew as [by] the island girl from Barbados. I felt that I needed people to know I didn’t just do slow ballads – I also like dance music and going to parties as well as shaking my bootay.
After putting a law career on hold, Shontelle burst onto the music scene in 2008 with her summer hit, ‘T-Shirt’. Since then, the 25-year-old Bajan beauty is proving she’s a force to be reckoned with. She had a chat with Vanessa Laker to discuss her new album, fashion, touring with Beyoncé, being Rihanna’s drill sergeant and why she loves UK high street brand Topshop, all exclusively for The Wrap Up…
“Sometimes we fight/ Sometimes I cry/ Why don’t I just tell him goodbye?” Shontelle croons on the opening verse of her new single and what sounds like a cracking set up for a ballad. “I don’t ever wanna leave him alone/ They say I’m brainwashed but I’m in love,” she continues, cueing up a powerful, tear-jerker of a chorus…
Shontelle has said that she is glad Leona Lewis turned down the chance to record her hit song Impossible’. Speaking to Flavour Magazine, the singer-songwriter admitted that she doesn’t know why the former X Factor winner declined the track.
