Jordyn Shellhart

What words come to mind when you think of a 15-year-old girl in high school? Poised and confident? Published songwriter? Major label recording artist? Not typically. But that is the reality in Jordyn Shellhart's life. Jordyn has been in the studio and just finished recording her debut CD “ In A Room.” "We use the word studio extremely lightly," Jordyn says with a smile. "My producer Lex and I recorded this record in a room in my manager’s office. You can probably hear dogs barking and doors opening buried in the songs. It's completely simple, and that's why we titled it what we did." The opportunity to record this CD came from performances over the summer in association with Best Buy’s at15.com foundation. While being introduced to Best Buy’s musical instrument program, Jordyn wanted to record a CD and show other aspiring artists that while having the luxuries of an expensive studio is nice, it is not always necessary. Everything used to record this CD is available for purchase at any Best Buy musical instrument location. Simple is one word that fits Jordyn to a T. Born in Wheatland, Wyoming, and growing up in Santa Rosa, California, her background is anything but complicated. "My roots are in a town where the mall is an hour away. The movie theater has two movies playing at one time." She laughs and says, "The town next to it is called Chugwater. Seriously. This record is exactly what I would want for my first one.” If you ask Jordyn how the songs on her album reflect her, she will tell you, "I write about myself. There's nothing more personal than writing a song. Channeling everything you've been through that day and letting it all out." Songs like "Infinite X's and O's" and "Don't Have to Wish At All" show that she is just as much a love-inspired teenager as the next girl. "Happy Right Now" and "Boomerang" reflect the flirty, fun side of her. "Time, Fly" and "I've Been There Too" show a deeper side of the normally bubbly and fun Jordyn. It is in her emotional, pensive songs that reveal the side of her that she should not have to know at all. On November 1, 2007, tragedy struck as Jordyn's older brother passed away at age 21 of undiagnosed Type 1 Diabetes. "Heaven Knows" is a song that paints the picture of the questions asked when someone passes. "I was devastated. He's my big brother. He's my hero, you know? So of course that's going to show up on this album. Like I said, I write about what I go through." That situation also brought Jordyn and her mom, Tana, closer together. Being a single parent is hard enough without losing one of your children. It is obvious where Jordyn gets her strength and determination. They picked up the pieces and Jordyn channeled the devastation into her music. It is in these flashes of maturity that it is clear that Jordyn is not your average 15-year-old. Jordyn's talent was apparent at the tender age of three when her church choir director asked her to sing in the children's choir. The choir was for ages eight and up. At 8-years-old, she sang in her first contest and won first place. At age ten, she sang the National Anthem for the San Francisco Giants. That is where a representative of the San Francisco 49er's heard her and asked her to sing at one of their games. It was long before that experience that she had decided what she was doing for the rest of her life. Her mom knew where Jordyn belonged, too. She was Nashville bound. "My mom came home to my brother and me and was like, 'do you wanna move to Nashville?' It was so cute how matter-of-fact she was about it." With no hesitation, five short months later, Jordyn, her mom, and her older brother, Taylor, picked up their lives and drove to Music City to be among thousands of other aspiring musicians. The only difference was that Jordyn was 10-years-old. Upon arriving in Nashville, Jordyn met her soon-to-be best friend, Maggie Trabucco. "I knew we would be best friends when I saw the Martina McBride poster in her room," Jordyn laughs. "Oh, and we ate lasagna for dinner. That didn't hurt." She gives partial credit to Maggie for her songwriting. The two immediately wrote their first song together, and from then on, Jordyn had the bug. It wasn’t until she picked up a guitar at age 13 that things really started coming together. Within a few months of playing, Jordyn and Maggie wrote "Gravity," a mellow tune about being held back and being told no. This song was about the parents of a 13 year old. "Maggie's parents laugh every time I play this song," she says, "We wrote it because they wouldn't let her hang out with her boyfriend or something petty like that. But to a seventh grader, you know, it was a big deal!" Shortly after that, Jordyn and her music were brought to the attention of Rick Barker, Taylor Swift's former manager. He realized that there was something special about Jordyn. “She was very composed for her age, and had a way of taking life experiences and putting them into songs.” This was something he was highly familiar with after working with Taylor. “They are completely different as artists but both have an ability to speak to the masses,” said Barker. He began working with Jordyn and quickly launched her life into what hardly resembles that of a teenager. With the support and help of her entertainment attorney Ansel Davis, whose client list includes Keith Urban, they put together a game plan. The plan had one catch: Jordyn was to stay in school. Barker set up a meeting with SeaGayle Music Publishing to listen to Jordyn's songs. Barker had previously met Frank Rogers while he was out on the road with Brad Paisley. He accompanied Jordyn to a recording studio in Franklin, TN called The Castle. She played three songs she had written for both Frank and his partner Chris DuBois and they offered her a publishing deal on the spot, which happened to be the day after her 14th birthday. Since signing with SeaGayle, Jordyn has been mastering the balancing act of school and music. Honors student and professional songwriter, she goes to Centennial High School during the day, and after school she writes with some of the best songwriters in the world. She also began playing piano and fell in love with the instrument, thus developing her writing style even more. "I'm just determined. I'm always learning and I always keep my eye on the goal." That mindset paid off the day that Joe Galante of SONY Nashville offered the then 14-year-old a record deal. Now at 15-years-old, Jordyn still has the eye of a tiger and the determination to make her wildest dreams come true. Without a doubt, she is soaking in every moment of this experience and handling the pressure with unbelievable ease. Perhaps the reason for that is because she is still living a double life - that of a 15-year-old girl in high school and a full-fledged recording artist. She still gets nervous sometimes, just as any 15-year-old does. Underneath the grown-up persona, Jordyn worries about things like prom and driving tests. "I'm the worst driver ever and I made a deal with my friend at school that if neither of us are dating anyone by prom next year, he was taking me. So really, I'm not always on top of things. Music is just the only thing I'm good at." It is good to hear that this talent-packed teenager is simply that: a teenager. "This is all such a blessing. I'm not going to let a second of it go to waste, and I won't let any of it slip through my fingers."