From Writing Hits For Charlie Puth & Keith Urban To Centre Stage: Shy Carter On Paving His Own Path

Songwriter to the stars, record producer and singer Shy Carter joins Awallprintss' Carolina Gomes for an exclusive interview about the transition to jumping into his own career.

“My dream was to be able to sing my own music,” Shy says on his decision to pursue a career in music. “That's what I was doing in my bedroom when I was a little kid, just pretending like I was on stage. I wasn't pretending I was in the studio writing for somebody, but all I wanted to do was do music. I ain’t gonna stop until everyone knows about these gems.”

Shy, real name Blake Anthony Carter, has spent the last decade penning countless hits alongside the industry’s finest. His credits include Charlie Puth’s double platinum hit One Call Away, Meghan Trainor’s Mr. Almost and most recently Keith Urban’s God Whispered Your Name.

The Tennessee-born star got his big break in the music industry in 2002 with Dilema hitmaker Nelly.

“The first opportunity that I got was with Nelly. He said he already had artists signed and he was already an artist. So, he didn't want to sign another artist he was but he was like, ‘man, you're a great producer, you're a great writer. So, I'll sign you as a writer, producer, and we can make music.’”

After seeing mass success writing for others and even performing on chart-topping tracks such as As You Are alongside Charlie Puth, Shy is now ready to step out into his own spotlight.

“I just want people to have some music to be able to put a voice with a name and a face and - with some gems - put it all together,” he explains. “I've always wanted to have music out. This is just the beginning.”

Dedicated to making a name for himself, he released his debut country EP The Rest of Us in October last year.

Shy has already made waves with the powerful record, with single Good Love racking up more than 12 million global streams. Most recently, he released a stripped back version of his song Hard which has already more than 23,000 streams only on YouTube.

“I’m always trying to do something that hadn't really been done before,” he says. “Now, because of social media, you can get your music out there. You don't really have to fit into a box but I'm still doing country music but I'm not trying to be too precious about it. I'm just trying to be creative.”

He adds: “The transition has been a lot of fun. It's a whole lot of fun getting out here, travelling the world, getting to see a lot of different kinds of people and see what connects with them the most. It's also difficult because it's a lot of work. It's a lot of travelling and it hasn't been as easy as I thought it will be to break in where I wanted to, but I ain't gonna stop.”

According to Shy, “what doesn't kill you makes you better”, and this motto helps him keep his head high and continue to chase his dream in spite of any obstacles.

“No matter what field you're in, you have to work really hard to be noticed and to be respected,” he admits. “Just take the hits, take the punches, roll with them. Just keep becoming greater, you will look out one day and be where you want to be.”

He intends to follow through on his commitment to working towards his dream, with some “fire music” on the cards in the near future.

Whilst the future is uncertain, with Shy’s success so far, his infectious country star energy and his rapid growth around the world, he certainly has the perfect cocktail to kickstart his own path to stardom.