Artist Spotlight - Shardé Sangz | @shardesangz

In this episode of PoPolitickin, we politick with Shardé.As a young girl growing up in West LA, Shardé was exposed to many rich cultures, traditions, people and forms of musical expression. As someone who always naturally gravitated toward the power of music, Shardé regularly shared her vocal talents at church services and events. From Church, she was able to take her love of singing into new realms. She began composing her own music and even began rapping. She wrote her first song at the age of 13 called "Haters" which caught the attention of a producer. He helped her write her second song called "Dance Floor" at 15 years old, which won her 1st place in a school talent show. From there, Sharde gained a new sense of confidence. The essence of who she is, and the strength of her persona comes through her music and her performances.Shardé is the first ever winner American Airline & Essence Magazine's "I am New and Next" competition in July 2018 at the annual Essence Festival. Before her Essence Fest win, she's been a runner up on NBC's "The Winner Is", won TruTV "Killer Karaoke" and was season 3's winner of NBC's "The Voice" On Snapchat, in which she beat out over 20,000 people. Her largest crowd was at the Stubhub center in Carson, CA where she sang the national anthem for the National CrossFit Games. Over 10 thousand people were in attendance. Aside from performances, she has worked on her own original music where she was able to dive into who she truly was. Doing competitions was great but she wanted more. She wanted to be able to express what was in her heart. Her influences gave her a template on not only how to write and compose music, they inspired her to be herself.In her rich and powerful vocal artistry, Shardé pulls from artists like Whitney Houston for her power and resonance, Jill Scott for her soulful vibe and MIssy Elliott for her funky eclectic style. Her grit and heart came from years of perseverance. Looking to her influencers and staying true to self kept her focused and inspired. These influences have shaped her philosophy on being an artist. She believes that time is your greatest asset. Use it wisely and you can take over the world!