Soul and Sass in Canada

Sweet and soulful, catchy and fun. These are some of the things one can expect from R&B songstress Shaharah. Born and raised in Montreal, Shaharah has been around music her entire life. She was writing and rhyming melodies as early as the age of five, and gives a great deal of credit to her Jamaican-born father. "He was always singing in the house when I was a kid, playing Teddy Pendergrass, The Jacksons, Luther Vandross... That was how I fell in love with music."  A performer at heart, Shaharah got her first real taste of the live stage at the age of 14, when she joined the Montreal gospel choir Genuine Faith. And from there, there was no turning back.

After only a short time with the Montreal girl group Jaï, Shaharah wrote her first single Checkin' Me Out, and after placing twelfth on the Canadian reality show Popstar: The One, she realized that her calling in life was as a solo artist, and decided to take control of her singing career.

Her lead single, No Turning Back, was released to radio on March 2, 2010, and her six-song EP under the same title launched on iTunes June 15^th. Already the hit is gaining momentum on the Top 40, Hot AC and AC formats, and her full-length album is set to release later this year. Although the video, which was directed by Brian Finlay and filmed in her hometown of Montreal, first featured on MuchMusic, it is now in rotation on MuchMore and Much Vibe.

The EP is a sprightly 25 minutes that offers listeners a wonderful insight into who Shaharah is. With a sweet, airy voice that holds a confidence resembling that of Beyoncé, her tone is a medley of soul and sass. Taking us through a sweet and warm melody with Coffee Shop, to the head-nodding beat in her breakout song Funkem Boots, Shaharah gives us a good idea of what we can expect from her upcoming album. Her debut song No Turning Back is the last song on the EP, and, I must admit, is not as catchy and memorable as her earlier songs.

With over 200 live performances under her belt for 2009 alone, Shaharah is not afraid to show off what she does best. From managing her own career to forming her own indie record label, ShaMusic, Shaharah is on the fast track of this fickle industry. I expect we will be seeing more of her in the coming days.

For more about Shaharah, and her upcoming album, please visit: www.shaharah.com or http://myspace.com/shaharahspace

Related:

Other Montreal-based art: The Trotsky

Review of another Pop R&B artist, Corrine Bailey Rae

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