Idol Chatter & Voice Views

Shana Halligan landed a spot on Team Alicia Keys for Season 14 of The Voice. (NBC Photo)

Her background: Her dad was one of the founding members of Blood, Sweat and Tears, and Shana says “music is in my bones. Growing up in a musical family, I feel like I’ve been given a gift.” After high school, Shana says she was in and out of production and record deals. “But I still felt like I was chasing a sound.” At age 30, she started a band called Bitter Sweet with a jazz, throwback type sound and a bit of electronica too. “We had music in a TV show, an advertisement or a movie every week for like a couple of years,” Shana says. “When it ended, it was heartbreaking. I felt very depressed.” But two and a half years ago, she had a son, her first child. She says he gave her the power to pursue her dreams again.

What the show didn’t show:

* Her father is Dick Halligan, who remained with Blood, Sweat & Tears through their first four albums. He later arranged and composed music for several films.

* Shana was the lead singer and songwriter for the band Bitter Sweet from about 2006 to late 2010. Described as a baroque trip-hop group, Bitter Sweet has a pair of albums (“Mating Game” from 2006 and “Drama” from 2008), a handful of singles and a 2010 EP called “The Break Up” available on iTunes.

* One of Bitter Sweet’s songs, “The Bomb,” was used as the theme for the television series “Lipstick Jungle.”

* During a conference call with the media, Shana said her father collaborated with her on arrangements for some of Bitter Sweet’s music, calling the chance to work with him as a musical peer a wonderful experience.

* After the break up of Bitter Sweet and a divorce, Shana’s website bio says she moved to Europe to “find clarity, peace and inspiration.” She also found new collaborators, including the French musical collective Nouvelle Vague.

* Shana has since launched a solo career, releasing a five-song debut EP called “Paper Butterfly” in 2011, a debut album called “Richmond Parade” in 2012 and a followup called “Back to Me” in 2015. You can check out lots of that solo music on her YouTube channel. Below, I’ve embedded the official music video for the excellent single “Get Gone,” from “Back to Me.”

* She’s also the featured vocalist on “Depths of My Soul,” a single released by The Thievery Corporation in 2014.

* In 2016, she was named a spokeswoman for the Children’s Music Fund, a non-profit providing music therapy and instruments to children and young adults suffering from chronic and life-altering illnesses.

* She just released a song called “Hurricane” that’s featured in the trailer for the “Youth and Consequences,” an upcoming TV series on YouTube.

On landing on Team Alicia: “That’s who I wanted, so I was elated. I felt like that’s the perfect match for my anwyway. Her approach to music and her approach to songwriting feels very similar to the way I create … I also knew I was kind of an out-of-the-box choice for anyone on The Voice. I’ve never considered myself to be commercial. I’ve been very avant garde in my style of music and electronica and jazz. I just felt so lucky that she saw me and felt me and got my vibes.”

On social media:
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Twitter: @ShanaHalligan
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