Shantaia Looking To Be A Smash In Nashville And Beyond

It might be almost the end of July but for Canadian country singer Shantaia Poulin, better known as Shantaia, it feels more like Christmas Eve while waiting for the premiere of her new music video for "Hung Over You."

"It's like as soon as it all comes out then it's go time and you got to have all your ducks in a row," she says from her relatively new hometown of Nashville. "So I definitely get a little anxious but once it's out it's this immediate feeling of release and reward. So it's all very exciting."

Shantaia, who released her breakthrough, chart-making single "Broke To Brand New" earlier this year, says the new video (released July 27) was the work of herself and "go to" director/producer Ryan Nolan. The video was shot over roughly a 12-hour span.

"I told him, 'I don't really know which way to go with this because I don't want it to be a cliche of crying in my bedroom over a boy,' Shantaia says. "I wanted it to be something different, to put a little twist on it. I let him take the reins and he came up with such a cool concept to put a bit of humour into the music video."

The song, which she describes as a "sad girl summer bop," was co-written by Shantaia, Vanessa Marie Carter and Sam Hunt's guitarist Tyrone Carreker.

"Tyrone brought these fun, upbeat, vibe-y Sam Hunt melodies to the room," she says. "Then the concept was the scene in (Samantha Harvey's song) 'Heartbreak Hangover' about being hung up on somebody and using vices to get over that person.

"When you listen to the melody it sounds like an upbeat, fun summer song. But when you listen to the lyrics you're conflicted listening to the song because it's sad lyrics. I really wanted to emulate that."

Although she wrote a lot of material growing up, including recording an album at the tender age of 13, the singer says the collaborative process has clearly opened up new creative avenues.

"I love it," she says. "It's so much fun because everybody is bouncing ideas off of each other. It's almost like you're just having a hang with your friends but creating something from nothing which is the coolest thing ever."

Besides the new video, Shantaia has had (and will have) a busy 2022. In May she joined the Road Back to Cavendish tour of Atlantic Canada alongside Raquel Cole and Washboard Union which was something new for her.

"It was my first official tour," she says. "I played a lot of one-off shows, opened up for artists and played a lot of weekend festival shows but never did four back-to-back shows. It was really cool to experience all of that. Everybody was so welcoming and the Washboard Union were so kind to me and really welcomed me with open arms."

Meanwhile Shantaia, who cracked the Billboard charts with her song "Broke To Brand New," is currently in the Top 3 of SiriusXM's Top of the Country competition. After making the cut to the final eight finalists, the singer will be heading to next month's Boots And Hearts festival in Burl's Creek, Ontario and spend a couple of days in Toronto to "do some mentorship programs and content" with the station. From other the winner will be determined at the Canadian Country Music Association awards in Calgary in September where the winner receives a cool $25,000.

Perhaps the big news from the singer is having a concept album essentially done with a foreseeable release somewhere on the horizon. Shantaia recently wrapped up vocals on the record and is "really excited" for fans to hear it. And she's hoping to tour behind it.

"I don't want to give too much of it away because one song is the title track and I will not show it to anybody," she says of the album which was two years in the making. "I don't want it to get out there and have people know what the concept is. This song plays on both sides of the theme without giving too much away."

In order to further her career, Shantaia moved to Nashville in October, 2020. She says despite the hustle and bustle of Music City she's managed to find a healthy medium between work and play.

"I think my biggest adjustment was learning that I'm not here on vacation, it's not a 10-day trip," she says. "I've seen a lot of friends get consumed in the party aspect of this town and it can really consume you. It can take focus away from the things that matter and what brought you to this town in the first place.

"I'm still going out there and networking and meeting people which is a huge importance in this industry but also learning to stay home or go to the gym or stay home and cook some food and not eat out. All those things, so it was just finding a balance in this town."

Another part of her learning curve was simply knowing how to accept the word "No" except when it comes to gender equity in the industry.

"I'm not afraid of that word anymore," she says. "At the beginning being told no was almost this rejection or telling me I'm not good enough. I think learning that word is a good thing if you look at it from a positive point of view.

"Unfortunately for women in country music their voices don't get heard as much. I still find that being a thing that's said. 'Oh it's harder for you because you're a female country artist. Or industry people saying, 'We can't sign another female country artist because we just signed one,' but they signed for male artists in the same month. I think it's just a matter of changing that bad rep of being a female in country music. I think that's a powerful thing and shouldn't be looked at as a negative."