2019 a phenomenal year for Shauna Controlla
Published:Sunday | September 15, 2019 | 12:38 AMStephanie Lyew - Sunday Gleaner Writer
With three months still left in the year, Shauna Controlla (formerly Shauna Chyn) has already declared 2019 a good year for her recording career. The dancehall entertainer is employing a strategy that does not include controversial relationships or publicity stunts so that she remains in the minds of music lovers.
“It has been a phenomenal and intense year between the growth and experience I have acquired to the people who I have been introduced to throughout this musical journey,” Shauna Controlla said confidently in a recent interview with The Sunday Gleaner.
She added, “With my debut on the Reggae Sumfest stage, it is expected that I will maintain on that positive path and that there will be better things coming in 2020.”
Shauna Controlla, given name Laneice Shauna Anderson, hinted that among the “better things” fans can expect is the release of an EP. Although the Control Button artiste had promised to produce a compilation this year, she said there were a few technical setbacks that resulted in putting the production on hold. “It is being remanufactured with new sounds, both musical and lyrical concepts, and I am anticipating its release on 02.02.2020 (her 30th birthday). Songs are currently being recorded and selected for it.”
Sex appeal and expectations
The artiste shares that there is a lot of unreleased music, but many of the songs are being shuffled around in a specific way in order to make the best impact. “I have been consistently putting out singles each month, the most recent being My Way for September ,,and next month again, there will be another new release. We are doing this back to back to stay current,” she explained.
Labelled the female Dexta Daps of the dancehall, Shauna believes that the music goes beyond the image of the entertainer who is performing the lyrics. “People call me a sex symbol, even though I don’t think I am. Just like how females always looking Dexta Daps, man always flirting with me. On a different side, the notes of our music can be sexual as well, and even when the topic is not all about sex, the tracks trend faster because of how they sound,” she said.
My Way, which is produced by Shabdon Records, appears on a rhythm titled Sexperience. And although Shauna giggles a lot when talking about the raunchier side of life, she emphasises that her role was thrust upon her.
not readily received
“I used to sing a lot of songs with messages of upliftment like Jah Jah Pickney and God Knows for the people. Man, woman, and child could listen to the them, but these songs were not readily received,” she said. “The world we are living in, image plays a big role in the artiste’s life. With the way I look, and my soft tone, people tend to expect me to sing something sensual,” she said.
Regarding the expectations of her fans, she adds: “I am all about pleasing my fans, and there is a great percentage of them who actually don’t want to hear that from me. I don’t want people to be fixated on the topic of selling sex. While it does not feel like a burden because we are sexual beings, it is natural just that it is not always accepted, and for that reason, it results in confusion and controversy. But down to the Christians have sex and listen to music with sexual message but don’t necessarily want to admit or speak about it.”
Still, she notes, as with any career, the person in charge of his or her destiny has to know how to strike a balance. “Like my song Rumours states, ‘me nuh want be the best, me just a try be the greatest version ah me’, and people will always see me and judge me. People just on the outside looking in don’t know the humble, quiet me, but I can’t make it affect me and the career I am building.”
Shauna Controlla says she is taking the rest of the year in stride, knowing when to take a break and staying involved in activities that keep her brain relaxed.