Shye on staying the same despite the fame

She burst onto the local music scene in 2018, when – at just 16 – she impressed both the crowd and the judges to win the Vans Musicians Wanted indie music competition. In 2019, she opened for Clairo when the American singer-songwriter performed in Singapore; the following year, she released her self-produced debut album Days to Morning Glory; in 2021, she performed the National Day theme song The Road Ahead at the National Day Parade (NDP) and released her second album Hello Trinity; and last year, she beat four other artistes to win Best New Act from Asia at the Bandlab NME Awards in London.

Now 21 years old, home-grown producer and singer-songwriter Trinity Shye-Anne Brown – who goes by the stage name Shye – continues to share her remarkable gift with fans with the release of her new single Somehow last month.

Not bad for a young woman with no formal music training, and whose career success she once described as a “happy accident”. 

“Growing up, I trained as a dancer, studying Chinese dance at NAFA (Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts), and ballet at the Singapore Ballet Academy and The School of Dance. Music was never a big thing in my household, and I wasn’t really exposed to music,” explains Shye, who lives with her parents, two older brothers and younger brother. She completed her secondary education at SOTA (School of the Arts Singapore).

“Then in September 2017 – I’d just turned 15 – I was at home during the school holidays when I decided to mess around on an old keyboard we had. I didn’t know what to do with it, so I researched how to play different notes and chords. I also had Apple’s free app, Garageband, on my school laptop, and I started playing around with it with help from Youtube tutorials,” she says.

In no time at all, Shye was writing and producing her own tracks. As her interest in making music grew, so too did support from her parents (her dad, who is British, works in the oil and gas industry, and her Singaporean-Chinese mum is a homemaker). In 2018, her mother came across the Vans Musicians Wanted contest on Facebook and talked her into entering it. She did so, not expecting to bag the top prize.

Since that breakthrough win, Shye has gone from strength to strength, thanks to a combination of hard work, passion, and support from fans. 

But her journey wasn’t always easy. During those early years, she was prone to overwork because she had to do everything herself.

“As a one-woman operation, I had to do my own writing, recording, producing, mixing and mastering, not to mention my own social media, merchandise design, cover artwork and event organisation,” says Shye, who adds that if she weren’t a singer and producer, she’d be doing something related to theatre, dance or animals.

“I’ve definitely experienced my fair share of challenges, but that’s how I’ve learnt along the way,” she shares.

She is close to her parents, who have never stopped nurturing her interest and encouraged her to keep chasing her dream. In fact, her mother accompanied her for this shoot as well. 

“They saw how happy music made me, so they let me go ahead with it,” she says. “But, they’re also practical people, and I knew that if my music didn’t get me anywhere, they would’ve eventually asked me to stop.”

At 19, Shye was studying for a diploma in Audio Production at Lasalle College of the Arts with just a year left to complete. The career opportunities were rolling in, so she took a year off school to focus on her music. She didn’t end up returning to her course – a decision she doesn’t regret.

“I didn’t want to miss out on the job opportunities that were being presented to me at the time. I’m still young, so I can always continue with my studies in the future if I want,” says the bubbly and friendly doe-eyed beauty. 

Just your regular girl next door 

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When asked how she got to be so popular with listeners in such a short period of time (she has 142.5K followers on Spotify), Shye ponders for several seconds. Finally, she says she likes to think that it’s because she’s easy to relate to, as she has been true to herself and managed to stay grounded this whole time.

“I’m not some superstar – I’m just a regular 21-year-old,” she says with a shrug. “I spend most of my free time playing with my two dogs and three cats. I like to doodle, draw, cycle, go for walks, dance, and bake. Like most other young people my age, I also enjoy going to music festivals and shows.

“I still live at home, and I haven’t changed much – I’m still down-to-earth, easy-going and a bit shy. People who knew me before my career tell me that I’m still the same. And I am the same; I’m just more grown-up compared to when I first started out, and I have clearer goals for myself now – for instance, I know that I’d like to someday do a tour, play more regional festivals, and collaborate with other artistes.”

She believes that listeners can relate to her songs too – when she wrote Somehow, for example, she wanted to describe the non-romantic feelings, like gratitude, that you might have towards someone, while one of her earlier songs, How R U Sleeping, was written when she was feeling down and wanted to be asked if she was okay (“We all go through low points, and we want our friends to show concern for us, to ask us if we’re still sleeping and eating,” she says).

“My songs are about my own personal experiences, and my observations of others and the world around me,” explains the indie, rock and K-pop lover, who also points out that she’s developed personally with her music.

“For instance, when I was in secondary school, I went through a super-awkward phase because I had acne. I didn’t have a ton of confidence, so music became a way to express myself creatively. I’m still pretty introverted, but over the last few years, my confidence has grown, and I’ve been able to open up more through my work.”

While her music gets airplay on local radio stations, Shye says it excites her more to hear her songs playing in random stores, and when her fans send her videos of her music being played in stores overseas.     

Big plans for the future

There’s no denying the achievements that Shye has had since her debut in 2018. In 2019, for example, she performed at Baybeats, the annual three-day alternative music festival organised by Esplanade – Theatres on the Bay. In 2021, Days to Morning Glory picked up Album of the Year at the *Scape Youth Music Awards, and she was named Best New Artiste at the 14th Freshmusic Awards, organised by the Singapore-based online music review site Freshmusic.

And in 2022, she appeared on Spotify’s billboard in New York City’s Times Square as part of its Equal campaign, which aimed to highlight female artists. (At last count, Shye had almost 130,000 monthly listeners on the digital music, podcast, and video service.)

This October, she will be showcasing her music at the Axean Festival at Goodman Arts Centre.

She admits that she still gets nervous on stage, but the anxiety dissipates once she starts performing. It also helps when the crowd starts singing along with her.  

While it’s been an incredible, surreal and unforgettable journey so far, Shye is gearing up for bigger and better things.

“Almost everything up to this point has been unexpected, and there’s always this fear that it’ll come to an end, but since I’ve been doing this for a while now, I feel like I’m in a better position to plan ahead,” she says.

“I’m definitely already thinking about what I want to do down the road, with regards to my music, and the events I want to put together for my listeners. I want to keep making music for as long as people want to listen to it – after all, I wouldn’t be where I am today without the support of my fans.

“Looking further ahead, I’d like to get involved in other fields, like theatre or dance. There are so many areas in which music can play a starring role, and I’d like to keep my options open.”  

Shye has a number of favourite artistes, among them K-pop acts like Stray Kids, Tomorrow X Together, Enhypen, XG, Itzy, Le Sserafim, Aespa, Twice, Red Velvet, NCT, Pentagon, P1Harmony, and rock singer/band, Basement. Someday, she hopes to collaborate with artistes such as Canadian indie band Men I Trust, and Tame Impala, the brainchild of Australian music producer Kevin Parker.

“Kevin is a producer too, and he really understands the music. I got to open for Men I Trust when they performed in Singapore earlier this year – I like them because they’re independent, they know what they want their music to sound like, and their sense of creative direction is strong,” she says.

In the future, she hopes to play at a couple of Japan’s big music festivals, like Fuji Rock and Summer Sonic.

And although she already plays “a little guitar and a little bass – but it’s not amazing”, she says that she dreams of learning about the harp: “I don’t necessarily want to know how to play the harp, because it’s such a niche instrument – I just love how it sounds!”

And exploring new and different sounds is something Shye would definitely be continuing, although she says she doesn’t want to force the process. What she knows for sure is that her music has evolved a great deal over the last five years, and that it will continue to evolve.  

“I’ve learnt a lot in the technical sense, but my lyrics have also changed as I’ve grown and experienced new things. Developing a new sound is like finding yourself again, and it’s something that should happen naturally and organically.”

PHOTOGRAPHY Reuben Foong
CREATIVE DIRECTION AND STYLING Lena Kamarudin
ART DIRECTION Ray Ticsay
STYLIST’S ASSISTANT Jeanne Ardella
MAKEUP Mellisa Yeo, using Gucci Beauty
HAIR John Lee
MANICURE Rebecca Chuang / Fluttery Tips
COORDINATION Cheryl Lai-Lim
PHOTOGRAPHER'S ASSISTANTS Amos Lee and Ho Jia Hong
CREDIT FOR FIRST OUTFIT Wool pullover (worn underneath), and floral silk maxi dress with ruffled sleeves, Chanel

Shye is on the cover of Her World’s October 2023 issue. which also marks a milestone for Singapore’s longest-standing women’s magazine as we launch a new look! The October issue features three covers featuring three women who are voices of impact in Singapore: Janice Koh, Preeti Nair and Shye. Get your hands on all three collectible covers.