We recently connected with Savannah Strand and have shared our conversation below.

Savannah, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Do you wish you had started sooner?

Sometimes I feel like I am getting too old to pursue music. I know I am competing against younger girls that might be more exciting for people to follow. I do feel old sometimes, not in general but in this industry. I am, however, grateful that I got the chance to experience a lot as a child and teenager before actually pursuing music full time. I think I would have been a completely different person with different experiences if I had started releasing music earlier. My childhood and teenage years are huge inspirations behind my songwriting, and I am grateful I have lived the life I have. But I can’t deny that I wish I was younger, or had started doing music professionally from a younger age. Music is something I have always done. I have always written songs and I have been singing since before I could talk it feels like.
I started releasing music in December 2023. I wasn’t confident enough to put myself out there, I was scared of getting judge for my voice and for the music. The songs I write are very personal too and it is difficult to put them into the world because you are allowing people into your personal life, and they are free to judge it however much they want. It can be difficult at times but I am so glad I released that first song because since then I don’t feel as nervous about releasing music now.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I am an artist from Stockholm, Sweden. But my mother is from Guyana and my dad is from Finland. My dad came to Sweden to pursue his music career. He was a rapper in Finland, but Finland is quite small and he wanted to reach a new height for his music. My dad has always been very ambitious and creative. Watching him in the studio for hours after a full day of work really inspired me. If you want something you sometimes have to make sacrifices, like leaving your family and your home. You might have to work long days for years and years. But he never once complained about it. He knew it would be worth it because music brought him joy. I am so inspired by that every single day. I of course grew up around HipHop since that was the music my dad made and listened to. My mom is a huge Reggae fan. That, combined with my love for old school rock music and lots of Selena Quintanilla is what inspired my music. Lots of different genres influence my sound, and I love it! I feel like I can play around with so many different genres, and work with so many different artists, because I have been exposed to so many different bands and artists! Mainly I make pop music, that is what I found the most fun to perform. My absolute biggest musical inspirations are Rihanna, The Weeknd and SZA. If someone were to ask me what artists my music sounds like I would mention these three artists.
I am so proud that I overcame my insecurities and that I am pursuing this dream. It is so scary to do anything you are passionate about because the stakes are so high, but making that jump is the best feeling I have ever felt, and I thank myself every day for the bravery I had that day I released my first single.

What can society do to ensure an environment that’s helpful to artists and creatives?

If you see a small artist, or anyone for that matter, post content or release music, it doesn’t take too much effort to give them a like. Even better if you can give a comment! It is so good for the algorithm and it really makes your day as a small artist to see the support from strangers! The best thing is without a doubt streaming the music and sharing it to your friends, but a like on a post goes a long way! And even if it’s not music you would necessarily listen to, maybe someone in your family or one of your friends would like it. Giving small artists a platform to reach a new audience is so appreciated because it can be really hard to reach people outside of your closest circle. You can get lucky and have a viral moment on social media, but breaking through the noise on these apps is a struggle for everyone. Getting an interview in a magazine, getting played on a radio station, or getting an episode in a podcast could really change everything for a small artist.

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

I always assumed you had to be the best dancer, singer and songwriter to become an artist. Learning that you don’t have to be able to sing like Whitney or Ariana to still sing was hard. I want to be the best singer I can possibly be, but I wont be able to sing like them and that is okay, you shouldn’t stop singing because someone else can hit a note you cant. I will never be able to dance like Paula Abdul och Janet Jackson, but that doesn’t mean I should stop dancing. Learning this took me 25 years and it is still something I struggle with. Comparison is something I think will always be with us all, but it doesn’t hold me back from doing things I love anymore.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.savannahstrand.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/savannahstrandd/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/feed/
• Twitter: https://x.com/savstrandhq
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCAn5xqcFPO0PNoVxgeeB5Hg
• Other: TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@savannahstrandd

Image Credits

Tanvir Saif Ahmed / TANGZWIRE