“It’s Grown with Me” – Shannon Prior on the Journey of “The Usual”

Meet Shannon Prior, a rising star in the music world whose hit song, “The Usual,” which she wrote at just 16 years old, has already racked up over two million views on YouTube. Shannon blends her sunny personality and optimism with a talent for crafting deep, heartfelt lyrics that, as she shares, have grown with her and made her reflect on her journey.

In this edition of our 10 Minute Chats, Shannon opens up about her evolution as an artist and reveals her eclectic passions, from gaming to horseback riding.

— Your song ‘The Usual’ is your most popular track on YouTube. What’s the story behind its creation?

— This is definitely one of my favorite tracks, and it's an interesting story because I wrote it when I was 16, and I'm 26 now, so it's quite the evolution. It's a song that has slowly resonated with me over time. I wrote it when I hadn't been in a lot of relationships, and having been in a couple now, it makes a lot more sense to me over time. I think it's grown with me throughout time, if that makes sense. I connect with it even more now than I did back then. So, it's cool to see the progression of it over the years and how it relates to my own life. I hope that everyone else can have that same experience with it and evolve with it as well.

— Video games and Twitch are a big part of your life. Can you tell us more about it?

— Twitch has been a venture that my sister and I got into during the pandemic. We really fell in love with playing Call of Duty and a few other video games, so we started streaming it because we were doing it so often. It’s been such a fun way to connect with all sorts of different people, whether it’s other gamers or fellow Twitch streamers. There are a lot of artists on there too, which is super cool. It’s been a great experience getting to connect with so many people.

— If someone asked who Shannon Prior is, would you say you're more of a gamer or a musician? What comes to mind first?

— I would definitely say musician first. My video game skills could use some improvement, but I'm working on it. It’s just a lot of fun!

— Your horse on Instagram is adorable! Do you enjoy horseback riding?

— Yes! My sister and I have three horses, and we’re very much into the barn life and having fun with that. We go on trail rides a lot, and I’m getting back into show jumping with my horse, Kiro. It’s been a lot of fun! We're also training our third horse now, Tess, who is an Andalusian we adopted. It’s been a fun process training her, and it's my first time doing that. Before, I only rode English and Western, but I had never trained a horse, so this has definitely been a learning experience!

— So, you not only ride horses, but you also train them? Wow!

— Yeah! It can be challenging, but there’s a learning curve for both you and the horse, which is a rewarding experience. You learn how to communicate with the horse, and they learn how to communicate with you. You start to understand each other even better, so it’s a really cool experience.

— Awesome! How did you discover ISINA — or how did they discover you?

— That was through "The Usual," actually. They used to have a band called New District, and New District purchased "The Usual" because I had written it. But then that band ended up disbanding, so they were no longer a band. Then ISINA reached out to me and asked if I wanted to be a part of [Arrival 2017], I think it was like 2017 or 2018, with participants from all around the world. I got to do that and use "The Usual" as my performance song. It was a really great experience, and that’s how I got in contact with ISINA.

I think ISINA is such a great platform for artists and a fantastic way to communicate and connect with producers, artists, and anyone in the industry in general. It's a really great idea for artists and different people in the industry to connect with people they might not have been aware of before.