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ABOUT
SHARYN MACEREN
Sharyn Maceren is an American Singer/Songwriter and Billboard charting Recording Artist who glided onto the scene when she was just a teen. Her debut hit single, "Hard to Get"(released under an alias "The S Factor") hit #32 on Billboard's Hot Dance Music Maxi-Singles Sales Chart– beating out major label records by favorite artists like Mariah Carey, Usher, P. Diddy, Missy "Misdemeanor" Elliott, and Daft Punk.
Since then, Sharyn has released all subsequent records under her own name. And in the last year alone, Sharyn has released nine iTunes Top 100 Bestselling Dance Albums, four 1 Amazon Bestseller ( #5 in Dance/Electronic), and one Beatport Top 100 in House, Progressive House, Tech House, and Dance.
In addition to her solo projects, Sharyn has also found recent success with Starla and Vega (a new production team and Dance/Electronic Music duo formed with producer Lenny Ruckus). What makes all of Sharyn Maceren's success all the more spectacular is the fact that Sharyn writes all of her own music and lyrics.
the beginning
Sharyn Maceren started her career when she was just a teen—
signing her very first record deal and releasing her debut hit single, "Hard to Get", during a time when most kids her age were mainly going to school. At the time, these were Sharyn's biggest aspirations: To have a record out by the time she was a teenager and To write all of her own music and lyrics. And she did all that with "Hard to Get". What Sharyn was not prepared for, however, was having her first single immediately hit national radio airwarves and Billboard bestselling charts. But that's exactly what it did.
"I'll never forget the first time I heard myself on the radio," Sharyn exclaims. "It was surreal! I had a lot of big dreams for myself, but when everything started happening, it was kind of hard to imagine that it was really happening. Looking back now, I feel really blessed."
always dreamin
After "Hard to Get", Sharyn began working on a followup single, "One and One", with then up-and-coming producer, Joe Grandberg (Nina Sky, Baby Bash). During the promotional period, Sharyn was approached by famed Record producer, Glenn Gutierrez (best known for his work with Stevie B, Jaya, and Jocelyn Enriquez). Sharyn says, "After "Hard to Get", it was a huge dream of mine to work with Glenn Gutierrez. I remember a friend of mine asked me, "If you could work with any three producers, who would you choose?" I only had one answer. It was Glenn."
Once again, Sharyn quickly made another big dream come true when Glenn immediately signed her to his Planet Hype record label. In record time, Glenn and Sharyn produced her debut album, "Always Dreamin", which was Sharyn's take on West Coast Dance and Freestyle music. Staying true to her dream, Sharyn wrote every song on the album, music and lyrics.
"Always Dreamin" ended up becoming Sharyn's first Top 10 iTunes Dance Album (peaking at #9). It featured the trance-infused West Coast Freestyle track, "A Little More Time", her signature hit, "Hard to Get", and a classic Freestyle Fan favorite, "In Just One Night", along with the summery ballad, "A Love Divine".
"Always Dreamin" was also featured on the iTunes Dance Home Page, featured in the New Releases, Just Added, and Staff Favorites sections.
nighttime land
The road to creating Sharyn's follow-up album, "Nighttime Land", was a long one. The release date was continuously pushed back, causing a huge gap between the two albums. While it was certainly not her choice to have the album release date pushed back so far, she
was happy with the final result: her second 17-track album, which featured two songs that she wrote when she was only fourteen: "Love Songs" and "In My Nighttime Land".
"With "Nighttime Land"", Sharyn says, "I wanted to continue creating my style of Freestyle and Dance music, but I also wanted to play around with and experiment with Pop and R&B music. I wanted people to understand that Pop and R&B music are also big parts of me. I was excited to have this new album reveal these other sides (of me)."
If "Always Dreamin" was the bright, energetic, and fun side of Sharyn, "Nighttime Land" was the slightly darker, moodier, sexier album between the two. Both albums contain Sharyn's signature catchy melodies, innovative songwriting, and unique brand of fun. Notable tracks include the title track, "In My Nighttime Land", the Friendster-inspired "Connected", the fan fave, "Sweet Nothings", and "U Love Me Good".
SUNKISSED
Determined to try doing things a little bit differently the third time around, Sharyn branched off to release her third album under a new record label, "Ocean Dream Records". With Glenn's blessing, Sharyn began working on new music at the new label while attending university.
"At this point in my career," Sharyn says, "I wanted to start showcasing my love for ballads, acoustic music, and mid-tempo songs. I was deeply influenced by Singer/Songwriters who had raw elements in their vibe. I wanted my fans to feel the real me. And I almost shied away from doing dance music, in order to do that."
However, when Sharyn reconnected with longtime friend and producer, Joe Grandberg, on "Sunkissed"— the album ended up blending Sharyn's signature dance vibes with the more earthy, raw elements that she wanted to incorporate.
"I'm really happy with all my albums," Sharyn says. "They truly reflect where I was in different phases of my life." If "Nighttime Land" was the dark, moody, sultry side— "Sunkissed" was definitely the warm, golden, vibrant, and electric side. This album contains the singles "In the Sunlight", "Livin' The Good Life", "Endless Summer" (produced by Sir Elegance), "He", and "Famous". "Sunkissed" went on to become an Amazon #1 Bestseller in the Dance and Freestyle category.
One of Sharyn's greatest personal accomplishments surrounding "Sunkissed" was releasing the album and most of its singles during her last year at University. "No one knew when I was doing most of the promotional stuff that year that I was simultaneously finishing my last two semesters of college at San Francisco State University. It was a pretty proud moment for me to do all that we did the record (album) and to cap it off with graduating. Proud because I knew how much hard work I put into, not only, completing my schooling, but also completing and promoting another album."
The One
After "Sunkissed", Sharyn Maceren imagined a life away from music. She contemplated settling down, leading a normal life, and doing
everything that she thought she was supposed to be doing. Anything else besides music.
Ultimately, that period ended up being one of the darkest times of her life. Without going into much detail, Sharyn would only express on social media how she endured "devastating losses and painful situations that would have made the average person crumble and deteriorate."
One loss in particular moved Sharyn to rejoin social media after "a social media blackout". "A loss in the family," she says, "pushed me to want to pay tribute and to show honor. I ended up paying tribute through songs (singing songs via videos and dedicating songs)— which reconnected me back to my community and to my fans. It was a very loving experience to connect with my fans, who have become, like, my "online" family. It was a very inspiring time because of all the energy and the love that I received."
All that energy made Sharyn feel like she was being guided to create another album. "I instantly teamed back up with Joe Grandberg and let him know of my vision of making a very "classic" sounding Freestyle album. Within 20 days, we ended up working on five songs together. The only other thing I knew, at that point, was that I wanted the album to be completed by the summertime (which was around six months from that point). I thought I would work with Joe on the entire album, but artist friend Aki Starr insisted that I also work with producer Lenny Ruckus."
"I knew Lenny Ruckus throughout the years because of music", Sharyn says. "I knew him because of some of his early production work, and he knew me because of "Hard to Get". When we both started working on our first projects, we ended up meeting each other for one brief second after a show that we were both performing at. We took one picture after the show, but never really connected much after that."
"Suddenly," Sharyn says, "after Aki had mentioned Lenny's name, I decided to listen to Lenny's music again and I had this strong urge to start working with him. One day, shortly after, I received a Facebook notification that it was Lenny's birthday. For some reason, I thought: 'This is the perfect opportunity for me to say hello.' At the same time, Lenny also noticed Sharyn when she returned back to social media. Unbeknownst to Sharyn, Lenny also wanted a chance to work with her. When Lenny received the birthday message, they talked about collaborating. About a month later, they began working together.
"Working with Lenny was a very different experience for me," Sharyn says. "From the moment we got into the studio together, it was almost like I met my best friend; we laughed all the time. We just had this instant chemistry, not only in personality— but also in music. We started out working on one track, but ended up collaborating on four more songs in the span of three months.
In the time that they worked together, Sharyn and Lenny instantly bonded and formed a deep friendship. "I didn't even realize it, at the time, but I ended up writing three songs (out of the five songs we worked on together) about him.
In two months, Lenny and Sharyn became an item. A month later, Lenny proposed marriage. A month after that, they celebrated their wedding on 8-18-18 in front of 150 of their friends and family. It was a whirlwind romance! With a storybook wedding. And all of this, during the time that she was creating and promoting her fourth album that she had already titled, "The One".
"It was very serendipitous," Sharyn says, "how everything happened." She adds, "I never imagined dating a producer because I always looked at my work life as strictly work. Lenny also has a funny story because he dedicated his life to music, so... he was one of those people that didn't really date much and that his friends would jokingly say was "married to the music".
"I am very proud of this album ("The One") because it is a culmination of, not only that time in my life, but my life, in general." The album features singles, "Feels Like Heaven", "All Day! (All Night!), "If I Could See You... Again", and Freestyle fan favorite "Tears I Cry".
"The One" instantly became an iTunes Top 10 album and an Amazon Top 5 Bestseller in Dance on its first day of release. It produced 11 singles in 11 straight months, with the majority of them being released as remix EPs . All of the remix EPs reached iTunes Top 100 Dance Albums Chart.
Sharyn thanks all the fans for their hardcore love and support. "I couldn't have done all of this without you. And I wouldn't have wanted it any other way. I have the best fans. Thank you, all, so much for your love!"
