Interview: Shealeigh

Tommy2: What’s up, it’s Tommy2 and today we’re being joined by your 2011 Radio Disney N.B.T. Winner, Shealeigh. So, how are you doing today?

Shealeigh: I’m good how are you?

Tommy2: I’m doing well myself. It’s great for Spring to be here right?

Shealeigh: It really is, the weather is beautiful here.

Tommy2: Now since you’re based out of Chicago, let’s start with that. I know your Bio lists that your favorite food is Pizza. So with all of the selection of great pizzas in town, what are you favorite places?

Shealeigh: Favorite places… well, me and my mom go to this pizza place all the time, close to use called Pasta Mia and truthfully with my personal experience they have the best pizza that I’ve ever tasted, so delicious! But yeah, that’s my favorite I think.

Tommy2: And what dish do you typical order when you’re there?

Shealeigh: We usually get the traditional kind of pizza, just kind of like… we don’t do the deep dish like the Chicagoans usually order cause I’m not a big fan of that. But just the sausage, pepperoni, that kind of stuff!

Tommy2: It’s okay, some people like it simple… right?

Shealeigh: Right!

Tommy2: And I know you just had the chance to sing the National Anthem last week at United Center at the Chicago Bulls game. How did that go for ya?

Shealeigh: It was so much fun! It was so much fun! It was really cool to see the game as well. I’ve never been to an actual Bulls game so it was really cool to see and obviously sing there. And being at the United Center, I saw Beyonce perform there one time when I was like ten years old, so actually being able to sing there was really cool.

Tommy2: So just getting one more step getting close to your dreams operforming there, right?

Shealeigh: Right, definitely!

Tommy2: Now out of all the sports teams in Chicago, which one is your favorite?

Shealeigh: Hmm… I don’t really follow sports that much, but I know my family is actually a really big fan of the Bears. So, I guess I’ll have to go with that one.

Tommy2: So we’ll say, Sunday’s in the fall your schedule is busy with the family watching the Bears game.

Shealeigh: My mom is always downstairs watching the Bears game. Yeah, that’s for sure. I’ll be upstair like watching or reading, watching Friends, or reading. I don’t know, I guess I’m not really into the hype. I guess it’s really exciting but I never really understood it. But I just gotta go with that cause I know my mom is like a huge Bears fan, so.

Tommy2: And what about your favorite places, I’m sure there are some places you love to shop and stuff like that, or maybe some attractions downtown that you like to visit?

Shealeigh: Downtown… yeah, Michigan Avenue they have a bunch of stuff to look at. There’s obviously a bunch of stores to go to but there’s… Navy Pier is so much fun to visit. Actually, me and my brother go there for his birthday every year. We go down there and we go to see the Circus and that’s kind of a tradition, we go to Navy Pier. And then The Bean is also really fun to visit cause… it’s just fun.

Tommy2: With the direction your career has taken over the last year, you’ve made quite a few visits to LA. What are some of the fun places you enjoy hanging out at when you go visit there?

Shealeigh: It’s actually funny because every time we go there we don’t have enough time to actually visit there, like it’s we usually go there and then we’ll kind of come back, but the place that we actually recently went to was The Roxy and I actually performed there. And I guess that’s my new favorite attraction because it’s really fun to be there, obviously cause it’s such a legendary place. But, performing there was really fun and I guess to kind of see it and see everything from behind-the-scenes and everything. So I guess it would be there because I don’t know really anywhere else because we haven’t really gotten the chance to sight see around Los Angeles like I would hope.

Tommy2: You’re supposed to say “I’m supposed to know better” since you’re an aspiring singer you’re “busy all the time” right?

Shealeigh: There you go!

Tommy2: Now going back to that Roxy show you mentioned, that was just a little over a week ago. That was with Shane Harper, what was it like playing with him?

Shealeigh: It was so much fun, he’s so talented. And I actually remember seeing him in concert. I saw Greyson Chance and Cody Simpson and he performed at the House of Blues with them in Chicago and it was a really cool to see him and then being able to open for him on my own. It was a really cool experience and obviously it was a really cool show to play and I always love performing. So, it was really cool and he’s really great and it was a really good show.

Tommy2: Earlier this week, you released your second single – Strangely Beautiful. Why don’t you share with us about that song, and what it means to you?

Shealeigh: Well, I wrote it about seeing somebody that you look up to as like a rockstar and seeing them on stage and absolutely thinking the world of them and they have this whole crowd who thinks the world of them as well. And then when they get off stage and the rest of the crowd doesn’t recognize them as the rockstar, you still think the world of them and you still think they’re Strangely Beautiful, and that’s kind of what I wrote it about myself.

Tommy2: And on the recording side of things, where did you record that song and who did you work with.

Shealeigh: I actually recorded it at OneSun in Chicago and it was really cool to work with some really awesome producers. They actually had the background track which is kind of like the rhythm of the song, and then I wrote the lyrics and the melody to the song. So we make actually a really good team when it comes to that stuff and it works really well.

Tommy2: Now I’ll bet your happy to see that the song is already off to a great start on Radio Disney, it actually was their 16th most played song last week and I’m sure this week we’ll see it debut in the Top 30.

Shealeigh: I hope so! It’s so cool to see everybody’s reaction and obviously I’m so thankful for everybody liking it so much. You know I’ve worked so hard to try and write new music that people will like and that’s all you can ever hope for is a good reaction by everybody.

Tommy2: Are there any plans to shoot a music video for the song?

Shealeigh: Hopefully soon, that’s the plan and I can’t wait for everybody to see what it’s going to be like. It’s really cool to come up with ideas and share them with everybody and see what it turns into.

Tommy2: Now speaking of music videos, you had one for What Can I Say. Was that a fun experience for you or more of an eye opener?

Shealeigh: It was definitely fun! It’s something definitely new for me and I had a really good time going around Chicago and performing… doing these different kind of shots every place we went. We went to a school and we shot some scenes there and then we visited like the Water Tower Place, which was really cool, right in the middle and they played the music and actually I was singing along with the music and people were like gathering around trying to see what was going on. It was definitely a really different experience, but I actually had a really good time with it and it was something that I obviously love to do again. So it was really fun.

Tommy2: And obviously, What Can I Say had great success. What did it mean to you have a song like that breakthrough and be so big and have it in regular rotation?

Shealeigh: Oh yeah, obviously I was super excited for that to happen. I wrote it and I didn’t really expect it to be as well liked as everybody looks at it I guess and it’s really cool to have it on Radio Disney and just driving along down the road and listening to it on the radio. It’s really cool because it’s kind of like my baby. I kind of wrote it and it was the first song that I actually kind of released and it was cool to see it grow and have people share their like stories, what it means to them, and it’s just really cool to see it all happen right just before my eyes, and it’s kind of the start of everything. So, it’s really, really fun to see.

Tommy2: And so far both of your singles are mid-tempo songs, is that a good description of the songs you like the most?

Shealeigh: I mean yeah. I kind of like the ballady stuff. I’m trying to go… I’m more of an acoustic kind of feel. I like the organic stuff and and natural type music. That’s the kind of music that I listen too. So I guess it’s kind of the music that I’m influenced when I sing and when I write and I go to the piano, and that’s kind of the stuff that I kind of want to put through in my music and hopefully that’s what everybody kind of sees.

Tommy2: And you’ve been working on the guitar also. How’s that been going for you?

Shealeigh: Good! I’m trying, I’m trying my best. My brother actually got me a guitar for my birthday and thought that it would be a good idea to like help me learn how to play guitar, but he’s not a very good teacher when it comes to that stuff. Actually, I’ll be like trying to play and he’s a pro so he knows how to do all the chords and I’m just sitting there completely clueless. So, I try and do the YouTube tutorials lately and those are working pretty well right now. So, we’ll see how that goes.

Tommy2: Those are always a little easier cause they never give you criticism right?

Shealeigh: Right, right, there you go. Yeah!

Tommy2: Okay, with the Radio Disney’s N.B.T., you also had a chance to meet a handful of other artists. Have been staying up-to-date with those or hanging with them at all?

Shealeigh: Well, I definitely have so many great opportunities to meet so many great people. I mean, I’ve been definitely following their careers after meeting them obviously as well as before meeting them and it’s really cool. Obviously, I’ve met Cody Simpson and he’s become really, really popular and he’s super talented and he was with N.B.T. a lot, and his music is great. And obviously, I think I’ve met a bunch of other artists, I met Greyson Chance and his new album is awesome and he’s really talented. But, so far I really haven’t kept in touch. The McClain’s I’ve actually kept in touch with and they’re super talented and they actually came out with their new song Rise, and it’s really, really great and I’m really proud of them.

Tommy2: So there’s another endorsement. And to finish up here, why don’t you share you Twitter account and any other important online resources we should know about.

Shealeigh: Well you can check out my Twitter, it’s @ShealeighDaily and my Facebook is Facebook.com/TeamShealeigh and my website at Shealeigh.com.

Tommy2: Alright, well Sheileigh thanks so much for your time today, and I want to remind everyone they pick up your new single Strangely Beautiful at iTunes. Take care now.

Shealeigh: Thank you, you too!