Meet SHAB | World Pop Singer-Songwriter

We had the good fortune of connecting with SHAB and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi SHAB, what’s one piece of conventional advice that you disagree with?
You always hear accomplished people, when asked about achieving success, offering what I thought was sound advice to the effect that people should pursue activities or fields of interest that they love. Here, the thought is that if one is doing actions what they love, then one’s work will never seem as if toil. I used to think that sound perspective, but I have seen too many friends and acquaintances follow that advice — but then find out that their chosen vocations do not provide the living standards to which they aspire.
As a result, I think that the right answer is merely a variation of the conventional wisdom mentioned above.
Today I offer the advice that people should find a field of work interest provides a pathway to the desired financial standing and where they have demonstrated talents. Such field should have activities and responsibilities which they enjoy, but might not be their dream scenario.
Yet as one invests their time and efforts in that activity, they should start to achieve results and success: and which in turn provides positive incentive and should have favorable financial rewards. And most of us enjoy success and enrichment, that feedback loop provides greater motivation to strive towards success in one’s chosen field.
And with enough career and financial success, your interest and enjoyment of that vocation will grow into a love for the field. That’s how you fall in love with your career.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
PLEASE TELL US MORE ABOUT YOUR ART. WE’D LOVE TO HEAR WHAT SETS YOU APART FROM OTHERS, WHAT YOU ARE MOST PROUD OF OR EXCITED ABOUT.

Probably the thing that most sets me apart is the fact that I really cannot think of another Persian pop artist that has had considerable success in the West. While I am today thoroughly Americanized – most people have no idea that English is my third language – I was born in Iran and spent my first eight years there until my family was no longer held hostage by the gangster regime in Tehran. Thereafter I was in Turkey for a transitional year and spent the succeeding years in a German boarding school until I came to America. Even more, I now live in Dallas, where I have become heavily exposed to the Latino culture that prevails in Texas.

As a result, the musical influences to which I have been exposed during my life are hugely and abnormally broad in scope: and many of those same influences show up throughout my music, which evidences stylings that my producer Damon Sharpe labels for lack of a more ready term as World Pop.

HOW DID YOU GET TO WHERE YOU ARE TODAY PROFESSIONALLY. WAS IT EASY? IF NOT, HOW DID YOU OVERCOME THE CHALLENGES?

I did not even start to pursue singing (or even songwriting, for that matter) as a vocation until in my thirties. I started by singing part-time in my native Farsi, but made a decision to cross over to English and shortly thereafter had the incredible fortune of connecting with Damon Sharpe.

Damon & I first started working together during 2017 – albeit intermittently as while I was pregnant with my first child – and then a second pregnancy caused further delay to our work. By mid-2020 we were effectively done with my first English album, Infinite Love, but did not release the album for another nine months due to COVID. Everything considered, we had to overcome a lot of obstacles that we never expected as I tried to launch my English career.

WHAT ARE THE LESSONS YOU’VE LEARNED ALONG THE WAY.

I’ve learned a number of things about this business. First, there is really no such thing as an overnight success in the music world. One of our favorite mantras among my team, which we call the Shab Squad, is Louis Pasteur’s quote to the effect of chance favors the prepared mind: and it is telling that my luck has increased as I have raised my own work rate.

But towards optimizing your chances at success, it is incredibly important to compose your team with quality people who also are devoted to their work. I have been incredibly fortunate to have on the Shab Squad creatives that are hardworking and diligent, devoting their time and effort to the greater team achievement.
And finally, no one – and I mean, NO ONE — is going to believe in you as an artist if you don’t believe in yourself. Commitment starts with yourself.

WHAT DO YOU WANT THE WORLD TO KNOW ABOUT YOU OR YOUR BRAND AND STORY?

My music is the sum of all that I have experienced during my whirlwind life — it is authentically who I am.
I am a little girl who came to America at the age of 14, speaking no English and carrying all of my possessions in a single small suitcase. And like a sponge, I absorbed elements of all of the musical influences and styles to which I have been exposed.

I know that this reality makes it difficult to pigeonhole me as a artist. I struggled with that knowledge during my first couple of years in the business as industry types were having a hard time trying to categorize my music, but I have since laid those concerns to rest. And when Ireland’s HotPress called me the “Genre Buster Of The Year” following my performance at the 3Arena in Dublin last year, I realized that maybe people were getting me, understanding that my music reflects a kaleidoscope of influences and traditions.

I am who I am: with no apologies!

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
When we come out to Los Angeles, we try to maximize our work time and so we don’t actually spend a lot of time in leisure. Our days on worktrips out here are usually packed and split between the dance studio in the morning, working on choreography routines, and jaunts to Damon Sharpe’s studio in Sun Valley, where we record during my afternoons. But if I were going to construct a Free Day….

My L.A. Home Away From Home is the quiet & bohemian Petit Armitage in West Hollywood. I love the eclectic rooftop restaurant and pool there, which gives me the ability to take a break from my work commitments as well as to meet up with the various friends made here over the past several years. I’ll be often found at the rooftop pool deck at Petit Ermitage — people watching, relaxing and getting some Vitamin C.

The morning would begin with a hike along with my bestie Naz Tokio up to the Griffith Observatory. Naz introduced me to the practice a couple years ago and it’s become something of a regular excursion for us to start our days.

For breakfast, we’d go healthy and grab some grub from Breakroom Juice Bar & Cafe on Cahuenga Boulevard in Studio City. I almost always get the Wrap With A Kick, together with a Super Green juice and a Cacao Chocolate Bowl every morning that I am anywhere near that locale.

Whether it’s nigiri in West Hollywood, Persian food in Westwood or Ethiopian food in Carthay Square, I love to try new dining experiences when here. Among my favorites are Avra in Beverly Hills, Nando Trattoria in Hermosa Beach, Loupiotte Kitchen in Los Feliz, Beauty & Essex in Hollywood, Bacari in Silver Lake and Rosalind’s in Little Ethiopia. We’ve done a number of depraved celebrations at Delilah on Santa Monica Boulevard. And there is a little Hole In The Wall place serving to-go Vietnamese near Santa Monica Airport called Pho Fever that has the best barbecue pork spring rolls that we’ve ever eaten.

I am an outdoorsy type and crave Beach Life here in Southern California. Some close friends from Dallas have the most delicious beachhouse on The Strand in Hermosa Beach and I much enjoy studying the constant parade of passersby. I also love the drive up the Pacific Coast Highway from Santa Monica to the west: and the gorgeous scenery & vibe around Malibu — where we shot the video for my 2022 single, SERENITY — as well as visiting friends down in Laguna Beach, which has a wonderful and unique feel of its own.

When I get the rare half-day hole in my schedule, I sometimes find myself idly browsing the funky shops on Melrose Avenue, which offer items in an L.A. Style that really cannot be found in other parts of the country. Other distractions would include mid-day wanderings at The Getty Center, LACMA or at The Broad.

Even some of the touristy things here in Los Angeles can be fun. Two years ago I spent a spellbinding evening at the Magic Castle and saw some astounding sleight of hand and other magic in the most wonderfully casual setting. And I loved my first show last year at the Hollywood Bowl to see my fellow Dallasite St. Vincent, even if I can’t seem to figure out as to how all of the parking works there.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I don’t think that the general public appreciates that behind every successful musical artist is a multi-faceted team working behind the scenes to make things happen. Here I would start with my longtime producer Damon Sharpe and his songwriting partner Eric Sanicola, with whom I have co-written the bulk of my discography to date. Damon, who also co-manages my career, has been fundamental to my success and become something of the West Coast brother that I never had.
I would further cite the efforts of my Creative Director Richy Jackson, who also masterfully conjures my choreography, as well as the manic Eli Sokhn, the director of all of my music videos to date. I am thankful that they made the decision to invest so profoundly in my career and our work together has been one of the joys of my life. I love these guys very, very much: and not just because they make me look good.
My music director Mike Manning, who for many years was Demi Levato’s guitarist, has also been a huge contributor to my success. As we both live in Dallas, Mike serves on a weekly basis as something of my own personal Yoda as we try to grow my career.
I also want to cite a woman who has mentored me over the last couple of years and become one of my closest girlfriends, the fabulous singer, songwriter and producer Naz Tokio. We are both devoted Moms and our families have become close — with our husbands having this weird Bromance goin’ on — and having her in my life has literally been a life-changing experience.
And while I could mention other members of my incredible team, I of course have to Shout Out to my delightful kids and my family, who have allowed and encouraged the madness of my musical career.

Website: www.shabofficial.com

Instagram: instagram.com/shabmusicofficial

Twitter: twitter.com/shabmusic_

Facebook: facebook.com/ShabMusicOfficial

Youtube: www.youtube.com/@ShabMusicOfficial

Other: Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/0repuWOrxA3wK6vdP99hoZ?si=sgegtAQ6T021i1TnKmgTWQ

Image Credits
To be provided separately.