Shantaia is Taking Her Music South

It’s approximately 1,894 miles between Nashville, Tennessee and Spiritwood, Saskatchewan, but thankfully — for 2019 Saskatchewan country music emerging artist award (SCMA) winner Shantaia, sound waves travel much faster than what would be a 29 hour journey by car. The up and coming artist, who says she’s been singing since the age of three, has used Creative Saskatchewan funding to finance two recent singles: “Broke to Brand New” and “Hung Over You”. Those dollars came from our Market & Export Development Grant – Micro Stream.

Shantaia says she’s at a point in her career where she’s “fighting” to move from being seen as an emerging artist to someone who is more established. Music site Canadian Beats’ Jenna Melanson called “Broke to Brand New” a track that highlights a “bigger and bolder sound” as well as being a tune that “…flawlessly blends the sounds of modern country with her buoyant pop sensibility to create an empowering feel to the penetrating lyricism of the song.” The single has racked up more than 722,000 plays on Spotify, been featured on numerous playlists, and has charted highly since its release in January—with over one million streams on all platforms. The single also came in in at #33 on Mediabase’s charts. June’s “Hung Over You” isn’t too far behind.

Shantaia says she’s received positive feedback from across Canada and that her social numbers haven’t stopped climbing since “Broke to Brand New” hit the airwaves and streaming platforms.

“[It’s] my highest streaming single yet! We are so proud of the hard work we’ve put into this song and the accomplishments it has had so far…New fans have reached out to me more than ever saying they have heard “Broke to Brand New” on the radio all over Canada, which has definitely been a huge reason why my Instagram numbers and streaming numbers have increased!”

Despite the increase in listeners, Shantaia didn’t spend the entirety of 2022 just in the studio. She participated in some significant US-based events—like January’s Whiskey Jam and February’s Tennessee Songwriters Week—but also spent some time on the road opening for The Washboard Union and Raquel Cole on their Road Back to Cavendish tour. Closer to home, she played Dauphin, Manitoba’s Country Fest and some Canadian Country Music Awards events in Calgary, Alberta. She may have taken a break from releasing music for two years prior to 2020, but since then it’s been full steam ahead.

Next on the artist’s to-do list is to continue working on a full-length album in 2023, which includes her most recent single “Know You”. She wants to take the momentum she’s gained from these singles (as well as from opening for acts like Kane Brown, Emerson Drive, and Charlie Major) and pile it into this new record. Her previous EP, Chapter One, was released in 2020 and she’s also worked on tracks that include Brody Siebert’s “Ashes on the Bar” and a Blue Jays Sessions offering that also featured another Saskatchewan artist, Alex Runions.

Whenever that new record lands, we know it will have some distinct Saskatchewan country sounds embedded in it. After all, you can take the artist out of the prairie but that doesn’t mean you can take the prairie out of the artist.

“I’m so proud to be from Saskatchewan and so grateful for everything you guys have done for me!”

Nashville-based rising stars like Shantaia aren’t the only ones using the Market and Export Development Grant to their advantage. Saskatchewan musical heavy hitters like JJ Voss, Nick Faye, Universal Honey, Belle Plaine, Blake Berglund, and Jess Moskaluke are among the music-based recipients who have received this form of funding in the last year. The micro stream has a maximum of $5,000 per applicant (which can represent up to 50% of your overall marketing budget. Within our major stream, meant for larger-scale marketing opportunities, that maximum can jump up to $25,000 per applicant per fiscal year. The deadlines to apply depend on your artistic medium. You can be publishing a book, crafting, creating visual or performing art, promoting music, getting eyeballs on a film or television project, or doing some interactive digital work— you’ll have a different deadline in each instance.

By John Loeppky.