SUNN St. Claire Catches Up with Sweety High!
SUNN St. Claire is a singer and musician whose covers of songs like "Titanium" have made her immensely popular online.
Recently, SUNN St. Claire relocated to Los Angeles, so Sweety High caught up with her to see what she's been up to since we interviewed with her last!
In the past months, SUNN St. Claire has written a few original songs and worked with producer Marco Marinangeli, who produced many records at Walt Disney Records including some of Miley Cyrus' songs on Hannah Montana and trained Josh Groban on his Italian vocals and wrote and produced for some of the tracks on his records!
She has also been working with Devin Powers, a well-known songwriter and composer for film and television, as well as broadening her horizons with acting.
"I've been doing a lot of acting and taking classes," SUNN said. "I used to do musical theatre, but this kind of acting is so different."
SUNN has been filming appearances as extras on shows and moves including the independent film Me, Him & Her, the hit ABC Family show Pretty Little Liars, and Tim Allen's show Last Man Standing.
"Being an extra is just an awesome way to be part of the mix," SUNN said.
She has also been receiving awesome recognition for her music.
"My 'Titanium' cover got picked on a website as one of the top five covers of the song," SUNN said.
The cover happens to have nearly 3 million views on YouTube!
She plans to cover "Royals" by Lorde next. It will be her first produced video.
SUNN will also be recording her first duet with Max Quilici, singing the hit Taylor Swift and Ed Sheeran collaboration, "Everything Has Changed."
SUNN has loved music for a long time. She's come a long way since she started singing at a very young age.
"Singing was always my main passion," SUNN said. "When I was young I took voice lessons and did theatre."
She started taking piano lessons when she was 7, though she didn't care for it too much at the time.
"I didn't like all the rules," she explained.
For years, the keyboard in her family home remained untouched. Then, when SUNN was 15, she started to play again.
"I knew the basics, and I wanted to write a song, so I played things that sounded good," SUNN said. "I wanted to write music and write my own songs, so I had to get back into it."
When she eventually did get to writing her own original composition, she found that she didn't have a difficult time finding inspiration.
"I listen to what's out there and think about the topics they're talking about," SUNN said. "I also draw from my own life, or I get inspiration from art, and TV shows and moves, and what's happening around the world."
She said that personally, she tends to get into the writing mood when she's feeling particularly sad or happy.
Now that SUNN lives in L.A., she's free to pursue her acting career. That also means that she's learning to balance her acting and music.
"When I lived in San Diego it was impossible to do acting. You have to be here," she said.
Since starting an acting class, she has really been able to hone her skills as an actress.
"I get to practice the craft, and I'm getting some extra work, so now I work on music at my own pace when I have extra time," she said.
But SUNN admitted she doesn't want to devote too much of her time to her acting career.
"I have to be careful when I'm in acting mode," she said. "I get this buzz, and I want to do it all the time, but I can't neglect my music."
She finds a happy middle ground by devoting certain days to her acting, and others to her music.
"It's easy to get caught up in one or the other," she said.
Part of balancing the musical half of her life involves picking exactly the right songs to cover. She's managed to find the right balance or popular and up-and-coming songs as she herself is rising to the top.
"I go on Billboard or look at songs that aren't the number one songs, but number 40 on its way up," she said. "I'm trying to get songs before they hit. Songs by people like Katy Perry and Taylor Swift hit immediately, so I like the songs that aren't so mainstream."
Her recent covers include "Let Her Go" by Passenger, "Counting Stars" by One Republic, and "Sweater Weather" by The Neighbourhood. Each of these covers is a mellowed, unique take on the original song.
"When I play songs, I have to learn the chords, but I'll change it up and play what I like to hear," she said. "I wanna recreate it and make something pretty. I want it to be my own and I want it to be different."
SUNN believes that if listeners want to covers should be original.
"If people want to hear a song, they should listen to it on iTunes," she said. "I want my music to make people say, 'Wow, I've never heard this before.' At the same time, it needs to be not so different that they don't recognize the song! It's a challenge but it's really fun."
SUNN uploads a new cover every Sunday, so be sure to tune in and check out her social channels! Also be sure to read our previous interview with SUNN here!
Are you an aspiring mission looking for your big break? Join us at Sweety High to share your music!