Road to recognition

‘It’s been a busy year,’ the Bentley resident said.

‘After the competition, I applied for Canadian Music Week, so I got to perform there as well as New York.

‘It was my first trip overseas as a singer and it was almost surreal.’

Shanahan’s music is described as contemporary folk-pop with a strong acoustic feel.

She graduated from the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts majoring in voice, while performing in the Perth pub and festival circuit. Shanahan has been singing to audiences since she was 19 but said everything ‘still felt new’.

‘I still get the nerves and I still have a long way to go,’ she said.

In September, she will head to Nashville with her band for a few days of co-writing and recording.

‘I am very excited and very nervous,’ she said.

She said winning the Telstra Road to Discovery opened her up to new experiences

‘Winning the competition has allowed me to network with people and take opportunities I never would have had the chance of before,’ she said,

Her song He Says was nominated in the 2010 Western Australian Music Industry Song of the Year competition and she has recently supported Australian group The Basement Birds.

She supported UK artist Passenger in 2010 and Matt Corby in 2011.