Simona Shao is a true music-lover, and she’s here to bless the world with her talents once and for all. Born in Los Angeles, Simona has been nurturing her smooth and sultry vocals since a very young age, even being crowned champion of the American Stars competition show on ICN Network.
Being a Chinese-American singer-songwriter isn’t always the isn’t task at hand, but Shao sees no boundaries. Since the young age of 4, Shao has been studying classical piano… but that didn’t take away from her academic endeavors either. Growing up in Arcadia, a suburb of Los Angeles, her upbringing includes attending an all-girls school in Pasadena called Westridge, best known for their exceptional arts program (choir, theater, pottery, dance).
Fun fact: Shao even turned down an offer to compete at The Voice of China because it would have taken away from her freshman year at Penn.
To date, Shao has accumulated over three million streams on her original tracks, with her very first release dating back to 2017. Fast forward to today, she’s excited as ever to be releasing her newest single titled “The Only Thing I’ve Known.”
AllHipHop: How would you describe your sound?
Simona Shao: Over time, it has definitely shifted. When I first started writing music, I wrote a lot of ballads that had a raw, acoustic sound (usually me playing piano accompanying myself, sometimes with the addition of drums or guitar). I was inspired by the acoustic-pop sounds of Colbie Caillet and Sara Bareilles when I was younger. When I was around 14, I began to really dive into the EDM scene, and so that ignited my desire to write vocals for electronic tracks.
While I was in college, I really loved collaborating with electronic producers. This led to my hit song “In My Head” with Seattle electronic duo, Solstis. Collaborating with producers over the internet was a natural way for me to write while in college, since I didn’t have the luxury of a piano in my dorm room. The producers would send me instrumentals via email, I’d record a voice note back (literally iPhone voice memos), and if they liked it, I would record it in my makeshift studio at home during one of the school breaks.
I also have always loved R&B, and during the pandemic, I began to finally experiment with this sound. I drew a lot of inspiration from some of my favorite artists (Summer Walker, SZA, Emotional Oranges, Jhene Aiko, Sevyn Streeter, PARTYNEXTDOOR) in building out the R&B/pop sound I was looking for. My latest release, “The Only Thing I’ve Known,” draws inspiration from all of them and adds my own unique twist to it.
AllHipHop: Biggest influences growing up?
Simona Shao: Musically, I have always drawn inspiration from the Impressionist composer Claude Debussy. While studying classical piano did have its mundane moments (playing Baroque music didn’t exactly thrill me), listening and learning to play Debussy was a life-altering experience. His music left such a strong impression on me because of the beautiful, ethereal and dreamlike melodies he created. His music was considered unorthodox, and audiences did not truly appreciate his music unlike later, because of how out-of-the-box and revolutionary it was.
To simply put it, he was a bad-ass that didn’t care what anyone else thought and wanted to make innovative and unique music that he loved. My goal is to make music that elicits an emotional response through creating nostalgic and beautiful melodies, which is inspired by what I experience when I listen to his music. In my everyday life, my older sister has always had a huge influence on me. She introduced me to the world of EDM and music festivals, which holds a very special place in my heart forever. She is also a bad-ass and creative, so I have always looked up to her as a role model and my best friend. Love you Rebecca!
AllHipHop: “The Only Thing I’ve Known” out now, who or what inspired this record?
Simona Shao: This song was inspired by a general feeling of dissatisfaction that I was experiencing at a certain point in my life. I find it sometimes difficult to stay content or celebrate accomplishments for a prolonged period of time, or just generally appreciate the little things, because I’m always looking for the next objective I’m trying to reach, or the next big win to achieve. Obviously, this can be a great motivator for life, but the ever-heightening standards can also be sometimes unhealthy mentally.
Another piece of the song is something that can be relatable to listeners: taking someone or something for granted, and the urge to mess things up when things are going too well. Sometimes people tend to devalue something wonderful because it’s been too consistently good, and you tell yourself that it’s too good to be true. This track is a reminder to myself to appreciate the good things that come my way, the bad things that taught me a lesson, and to cherish the journey that got me here.
AllHipHop: Three things you need in the studio?
Simona Shao: The first thing I need is my keyboard, because I like to play around with harmonies for my vocals by synthesizing them out. It is also crucial to have something to sip on while recording, because singing over and over can really tire out your vocal cords. I am a big tea drinker, so I like to have a bottle of brewed tea with me – my personal favorites are Hojicha (roasted green tea) and Korean barley tea. The last thing I like to have are some fun LED lights for the room – it sets the mood for the recording session and I can change the color to whatever vibe I’m feeling for the song. It gets me into a great headspace to record – the atmosphere is everything!
AllHipHop: What is it you want fans to get from your story?
Simona Shao: A lot of people think that you can’t do both school and music at the same time, or work in finance and also pursue a music career. Through hard work and dedication to both academics/work and your craft, it is totally possible to do both and also balance it in a way that makes you happy. I wouldn’t have been able to get through a lot of my life without having a creative outlet, and my creative side fed a lot of the success in my academics/work life as well.
What I find fascinating about life now is that you can do everything over the computer, communicating purely digitally to create a song, and also attend college/work full-time while doing so. Obviously, working full-time is a bit trickier because I have to be in the office on a strict schedule, but you can definitely make it work. I also love that the digital environment now allows me to reach international audiences so easily. I love connecting with my Chinese roots, and getting more established as a music presence in Asia is definitely one of my goals down the road.