MUSIC
From Issue #34
COVER STORY
Shiloh: A Matter of Choice
By Dana Marie Krook
Staring out from the stage,
eyes focused past the
blinding lights and eager
sound equipment, there are literally
thousands of screaming fans:
some with homemade signs, others with
enthusiastic headbands bearing her name
and still more with the infamous black
and red caricature face, looking fierce as
they rise above the crowd.
At only sixteen
years old, Shiloh could very well shy
away from the pressure, the expectation,
the overwhelming shrieks for a perfect
performance. But, like in all situations,
her reaction to this intimidating crowd is
a choice—and her decision? To show the
world just what she’s made of.
Shiloh’s MMVA performance of “Operator
(A Girl Like Me)” in June of 2009, with
her powerful and confident presence on
stage, successfully appeased the almost insatiable
crowds out on the streets of
Toronto who were anxious to see her live.
She not only rocked the house and made
a name for herself among other great
performers that night—Kelly Clarkson
and the Black Eyed Peas, to name a
few—but she also stood out as a girl who
was firmly in charge of her own rock-star
destiny.
“It’s kind of crazy that two and a half
years ago this didn’t exist,” Shiloh tells
Faze. She’s getting her makeup done, preparing
for the cover shoot and taking us
back as she remembers how it all began.
Though her age might cause critics
to question her credibility on the music
scene, she’s definitely not some pop-princess
who woke up one day and decided
she would pursue music; Shiloh has been
singing and performing since before she
can remember.
Influenced in early days
by her DJ father, as well as the iconic pop
legend Michael Jackson, Shiloh entered
multiple singing competitions. At the age
of 13, after a winning a radio contest in
Edmonton for 91.7 The BOUNCE, she was
suddenly flying to Vancouver to record
a few tracks. From there she was signed
to Universal Music Canada and released
her first official single, “Operator (A Girl
Like Me)” in late 2008; two more singles
followed, “Goodbye, You Suck” and “Alright”,
as well as her debut album, Picture
Imperfect, on August 18, 2009. Since
then, you may have heard her emotional
power-ballad “I Remember” climbing the
charts—but that isn’t the last you’ll hear
of a girl like this.
The story of Shiloh’s growing music
career is also the story of her growing up
in real life. Picture Imperfect is indeed the
perfect album for those that feel out of
place in the world, and it resonates with
fans so intensely because the emotions
behind the lyrics couldn’t be more true
to life.
“I felt like the odd kid: what was I going
to do? What am I here for? In school
especially, I felt like I didn’t belong…like I
wasn’t one of the clones.”
If there’s one thing you can’t be while
trying to stand out among the hoards
of people who want to be famous, it’s a
clone. The celebs that everyone looks up
to have, or had, the courage to be themselves;
they’ve drowned out the world
that told them to conform. But how easy
is it to just go with the flow, rather than
fight the current?
According to Shiloh, it’s all a matter
of choice, really. “I was a very quiet,
reserved person for a good year and I just
wouldn’t want to talk to anybody—and
that wasn’t who I was; I was a very social
person. I like talking to everybody, and so
I said, ‘You know what? I’m not going to
do that, because I’m going to be true to
myself and I’m going to change.’”
Though Shiloh struggled with her own
identity at first, she quickly found that her
choice to accept and embrace her unique
personality was well worth the fight. “I
wasn’t comfortable with who I was, so
I changed myself into the person I was
comfortable with—not what somebody
else wanted me to be.”
With her new-found proactive attitude,
Shiloh continues to improve herself as she
realizes that certain things are not worth
getting worked up over, when you look
at the big picture. While she admits that
she has “always had a very short fuse,”
she has also come to realize that “a lot of
people spend too much of their lives worrying
or being angry, when they could just
let it go. It’s not going to matter in a year.”
So what does matter to Shiloh? Supporting
her friends—from her life before
and after her music took off (which
includes her fab fans!). “I like to think I’m
a good friend. We all make mistakes, but
I try my best to be the best friend that
I can.” Friends, especially those of her
bandmates who she’s bonded with while
on tour, are more like family than just pals,
because they are now firmly a part of her. And that means being beyond comfortable
with them. “If you want a friend,
you want somebody to tell you like it is.
Friends don’t open your fridge and ask
you if they can have something to eat.
When you get home, they’re sitting on
the couch with a big, fat belly and they
just ate everything in your fridge.”
Besides being a good friend, Shiloh
also places a huge importance on giving
back. But donating funds from her concerts
to charities like World Vision is just
one, small aspect of her efforts—and not
just because she is now in a position of
influence, being a musician in the public
eye. She is unwavering in her belief that
“it’s a part of everyone’s responsibility to
do something.”
It’s easy to point out the countless
things about our world that are unreasonable,
unfair and unjust—all you have
to do is turn on the news or click your
mouse to cnn.com. But it’s not enough
to just feel sympathy, says Shiloh. Having
just recently collaborated with Chantal
Kreviazuk and Lucas from The Cliks on a
song for War Child called “People Have
The Power”, she says the track speaks
of the reality that the choice is ours: we
can either make an effort to change our
world, or complain and do nothing. “You
shouldn’t feel bad for anybody, because
if you’re feeling bad for them, then you
aren’t doing anything. If you feel that,
do something! Help them out! Definitely
these collaborations with War Child and
World Vision have kind of opened my
eyes. I consider myself very lucky to be
where I am, and that’s completely aside
from the career. Even being Canadian, in
general. We’re lucky here.”
Proud to be Canadian, Shiloh is
growing up and moving on, both in her
personal life and her music career. She is
currently working on her second album,
due out in late 2010. And as for the black
and red caricature of her face that sometimes
haunts her from above the crowds?
“I’m hoping to change it up just a little
bit, change the makeup, change the hair,
since I’m changing along with it…I’m
growing up and I want to portray that to
everybody.”
With all the changes that are happening
in her life, it’s tempting to want time
to slow down a bit. But time yields for no
one—not even our favourite rockstars—
and the future looks more than promising
for Shiloh: a new album, a new tour, a
new group of fans and, most importantly,
a new attitude that plants her firmly in
control of her own destiny: “If you don’t
like it, change it. It’s all about being
happy.”
Faze asked Shiloh:
This or That??
 iPhone or BlackBerry!
Jeopardy! or
Wheel of Fortune
—"Even though I was haunted by it
in my childhood, because I
watched it too much"
salty! or sweet snacks!
Paris, France or the
Australian Outback!
Twitter or Facebook
—"neither! They both make me feel
like I’m being taken over
by technology!"
Madonna or Lady Gaga!
retro! or futuristic!
fashion
—"a mixture:
the future of retro"
flats or heels!
car or scooter!
—"wait, what kind of car?"
Edward! or Jacob—
they are both so great! Hmmm...
Jacob’s got to stay shirtless and
linger around, but Edward has to
win the girl!
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Faze asked Shiloh to:
Change The Phrase
Diamonds are a (girl's best friends) curse!
It's not me, it's(you) your mother!
The best things in life are (free) 6 feet tall and have washboard abs!
You had me at (hello) shoes!
Life is like a (box of chocolates) knock-off Prada bag!
You can't teach an old dog (new tricks) anything!
Shiloh with Barbara Harmer from Warchild
at the photoshoot for her Faze cover
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