Sara Hjellström, known professionally as Shy Martin is a Swedish singer and songwriter. Raised in the small town of Lerdala, Sweden, SHY Martin first began writing songs and poetry in her youth as a means of self-expression. After winning a music contest at her school at age 17, SHY signed with EMI for a period though ultimately decided to go independent. She decided to start studying at the songwriting school Musikmakarna in Örnsköldsvik, in the north of Sweden. Shortly after she moved to Stockholm and signed to the independent label BLNK Music.
Career
SHY Martin first established herself as a songwriter, a path that launched in dynamic fashion via her co-write and featured vocal on Mike Perry's "The Ocean." Recording the vocals in one-take in her home wardrobe, SHY wrote the track with longtime Swedish songwriting partner, SHY Nodi, whom she has written several other songs with. The track won Spotify Sweden's ‘Most Streamed Song of the Year’ with a groundbreaking 550 million+ streams. SHY's songwriting catalog has gone on to generate over 2.5 billion streams on Spotify alone including credits on "First Time" by Kygo ft. Ellie Goulding, " The One" by Bebe Rexha, "All We Know" by The Chainsmokers, "I Wanna Know" by NOTD, as well as songs for Jess Glynne, Astrid S, and ALMA, among others. In April 2020, Martin released the single "can I call you back?". James Keith of Complex UK called the song "a dream-like flurry of breathy vocals, soul-touching songwriting and twinkling electronics." In addition to her artistry, SHY is also a member of numerous music industry initiatives, most notably joining Spotify CEO/Founder Daniel Ek and songwriter/producer Max Martin's coveted 'Equalizer Project', a group aiming to combat gender inequality in the music industry. SHY also participated in Bebe Rexha’s 2018 'Women In Harmony' Dinner in Los Angeles, a gathering to empower female artists in music including Charli XCX, Kim Petras, and Avril Lavigne. She also performed alongside Matoma at the 2017 Nobel Peace Prize Concert.
