When Shealeigh was 12 years old, she uploaded a cover version of “Shark in the Water” to YouTube. She was soon discovered and made an appearance on the Ellen DeGeneres show. One year later, she went on to win Radio Disney's Next Big Thing. She has recently released her first non-Disney single, “Strangely Beautiful.”

I was given the opportunity to discuss with Shealeigh her single, as well as touring and future plans.

Rachel – Tell us a little about yourself.

Shealeigh – Well, I'm Shealeigh. I'm fourteen years old. I've been singing since as long as I can remember. My mom says since I was two. But [music] has always been a passion of mine and recently I won season 4 of Radio Disney's NBT [Next Big Thing]. That was a really big part of my life. It was the time of my life! I had a really good time with that.

And I like cats. {laughs}

Rachel – What was your favorite part about being a part of NBT?

Shealeigh – Definitely the experience! I've performed in local competitions before, but doing NBT, you definitely got experience, like, going around different places and performing in front of larger audiences. That was definitely a bunch of fun and just the exposure was a lot of fun and meeting different, really awesome people.

Rachel – You recently released your first single, “Strangely Beautiful;” tell us about that.

Shealeigh – It's a song about thinking the world of a rock star, you know, onstage and the whole audience thinks the world of them as well. Then, when they get off the stage, and the crowd doesn't recognize him the same way, but you still think the world of him. You still think they're strangely beautiful. That's kind of what I wrote it about.

Rachel – Was there a specific singer you had in mind when you wrote it?

Shealeigh – I did. Half the fun is having someone guess that. I think that's what Taylor Swift does. I think she writes them and then she waits for people to guess. I think that's what I'm going to do on this one. {laughs}

Rachel – Do you have a debut album in the works?

Shealeigh – Hopefully soon. I'm definitely writing a bunch, but it's not set right now. But that's definitely a goal of mine. I love writing music and I love singing music and I can't wait to share music with everybody. So hopefully, definitely soon in the future.

Rachel – Describe the recording process from start to finish.

Shealeigh – Well, I write the song. My producers actually helped me with the background track which is kinda like the rhythm and I'll write the melody and the lyrics. [Then] we'll go into the studio and run it through a couple of times, then we'll break it down by verses, harmonies and all that good stuff. It's really cool to see it come together and come alive in a work of art, then sit in the studio and listen to it all together.

Rachel – How do you think being a songwriter will help you in your career as a singer?

Shealeigh – I think it's definitely fun to, you know, take your personal experiences as a singer and a performer and then put them into music. I think it's cool to share that with everybody because they kinda get an inside look at you and your life. I think it comes across as so much more heartfelt and personal when you're singing about something that you truly care about and you wrote it for yourself. I think that's one way that it kind of gives you a little bit of an advantage.

Rachel – Is there any exciting news that you'd like to share with your fans?

Shealeigh – There's actually shows coming up. [I'll be in] Indianapolis on June 16th and Geneva, Illinois, on June 22nd. So that's really exciting! [There's] just a bunch of stuff to come, I'm sure. So it's exciting.

Rachel – What advice do you have for aspiring musicians?

Shealeigh – Definitely just to never give up on yourself. Something so beautiful shouldn't be thrown to the side, if you love it as much as I do. I love it so much and that's why I keep going with it through everything. I definitely think if you love it enough, you should just keep going and keep practicing. Dreams really, truly come true. It's corny when people say it, but it's true. It happened to me and I guess I'm kind of proof. It's really cool to think that way.

Yeah, never give up on something so lovely.