WRITTEN BY MADDI COLE PHOTOGRAPHY BY ASHLEY SERYN
One young female artist from Michigan is about to blow up the the pop world in the most genuine and unique way. With a curly bob and an infectious voice, CYN is taking a fresh approach to pop music. Mentored by Katy Perry and recently signed to Unsub Records, in a matter of a couple of years CYN has gone from recording music on her laptop to being in a room with some of the most talented producers in the pop industry. So, how did she do it? How did CYN end up in front of a piano at Katy Perry’s home in California? Well, it wasn’t an easy journey. But it was a journey that surrounded doing what you love, not being afraid to make your voice heard, and never giving up on your dream. Writing and performing music always came naturally to CYN, starting at a very young age she was sure that music would be her life’s work. As a kid, she would constantly be singing out loud to her family, and around the age of 12 she started taking piano lessons that eventually led to the writing of her own music. “When I was probably about 5, my Mom had Jewel’s’ Pieces of You album. I knew all of the songs by heart, I loved the emotion in her voice when she sings.” After hearing and loving Jewel’s music for so much of her childhood, CYN knew that she wanted to make music that would deliver the emotion that she held so close to her heart when listening to music such as Jewel. Actually making music as a career was definitely the dream, but it didn’t come without it’s challenges along the way. “It wasn’t something that I always thought was possible, being from Michigan and not knowing anyone in the industry.” Around the age of 15, CYN learned to record herself on her computer, posting some of her earliest projects out on
48
Myspace. Thousands of kids every day put their music out on the internet, but it doesn’t always stick. So, what made CYN different? How did she stand out? “Back when Twitter was just becoming a thing, I went to Katy Perry’s California Dreams tour and noticed her opening DJ’s name on the marquee, DJ Skeet Skeet. I thought that maybe he was someone that could connect me to other people.” In a perfect story, she tweets him a demo, he listens and loves it, and boom, CYN is a star. But this is not a totally perfect story. After about 4 years of Cyn sending DJ Skeet Skeet demos, the long awaited email finally came. Katy Perry wanted CYN to come to her home and play some music. “It was so normal and not normal at the same time, it felt like I was playing piano for my grandma, except that it was Katy Perry.” And just like that, Katy Perry fell in love with the voice, the songs, and the personality. She signed CYN with Unsub Records, and it is all just beginning. On Spotify, CYN has three singles out, “Together”, “Something”, and “The Only Lo Lo Lo”. While all three of them will make you fall in love three separate times, “Together” definitely has a different sound, and happens to be the only single CYN has released under Unsub Records. Signing with Unsub Records changed the way that CYN could produce music. “What really contributed to the change was the resources that I have now. I get to be in a room working with really great pop producers. I get to hand pick what tracks I want in my songs instead of looking for tracks that I could work off of. I have some jazzy roots, some funky roots, I have some songs coming out later that are not as pop, but a mix of so many things.”
