Following her shock departure from this year’s X-Factor Shanaya releases “Say Something” by A Great Big World. Shanaya Atkinson – Jones won the hearts of the nation from the very first moment she hit our TV Screens this August when she performed the song on this year’s 14th Series of X factor.
Reducing Nicole Scherzinger and Alesha Dixon to tears she left the judges speechless with Simon Cowell commenting she was everything he hoped they would find on this year’s show and that he loved her!
Having been championed as a possible winner, viewers, media and the other judges were left stunned when Sharon Osbourne failed to put her through to judge’s houses prompting outrage on social media and national coverage in the press.
Shanaya feels the X Factor has been nothing but a positive experience in her life and is thankful for all support she has received. Since her first auditioned aired Shanaya’s performance has had over 2.4 million views on Youtube and an army of requests to record the track, so “Soulful Shanaya” as she was dubbed by the show has released her own version of “Say Something” OUT NOW!
The track has premiered at #145 on the Google Play Singles Chart and the campaign in steadily growing. Shanaya is a no nonsense performer with pure emotion in every note.
“In music I find calm and tranquility in singing and release my emotions and hope that I can do the same for the listener.” said Shanaya.
Shanaya is currently in the studio working on an EP with Executive Producer Troy Antunes whose credits include Justin Timberlake, Britney Spears and Aston Merrygold to name a few.
Born in Swindon in 1997 Shanaya’s first few years although not her brightest definitely showed hints of the strong woman she was going to become!
At three years old she was adopted and given the greatest gift possible a forever Mum and Dad, amazing Grandparents and a fantastic family in Newton Aycliffe.
It was evident from her 1st Christmas spent here that Shanaya was a star in the making when she proceeded to teach everyone the Christmas Pudding Song!
A very shy child normally, singing was her true emotional release with her first school report stating “We only hear Shanaya when she sings, she is very quiet otherwise!”
At six years old when at Durham High School For Girls Shanaya was mortified to be given a boy’s part in the school nativity when cast as Joseph, but regardless blew everyone away with her extraordinary singing ability even though in her words she just sang for Jesus! Throughout her education more parts would follow as well as local talent shows and competitions! Growing up in a house that was and still is full of music she was brought up listening to soul, funk, jazz and R&B everything from The Drifters and Michael Jackson to Aretha Franklin and Earth Wind And Fire.
This is very evident in Shanaya’s powerful and soulful vocal delivery. When her parents said she couldn’t sing her way through life Shanaya went to train at Darlington College to become a hairdresser and although she was definitely very good at it she knew that singing was all she ever wanted to do! She applied to audition for OPEN MIC UK eventually performing at the grand final at the Birmingham NEC returning home with the winner’s trophy!
