Emily Shackelton

Emily Shackelton grew up among the hills and trees of a 900-person village in Northern Minnesota. From a young age, she has cultivated her passion for music, listening to her mother's Carole King and Carly Simon records, and her father's Dan Fogelberg and James Taylor albums. Emily fell in love with singing and entertaining a crowd, and began performing for many local and national events, including winning first prize on the Internationally broadcast public radio show, A Prairie Home Companion with Garrison Keilor, and singing the National Anthem for the Minnesota Twins and Kansas City Royals. Her dreams and aspirations for her music career led Emily from her small Northern town to the city of Boston, Massachusetts, where she studied at the world-renowned Berklee College of Music. During her time there, she became a staple in the piano bar scene, performing twice weekly at the Terrace Bar inside the Copley Marriott Hotel and the Encore Lounge inside the Theater District Marriott Hotel. She also stretched herself as an entertainer, and accepted the position of Show Captain on the Spirit of Boston cruise ship, where she performed lunch and dinner performances. Soon, Emily caught the attention of corporate booking agencies across the Northeast, and signed with The Hank Agency, booking weekly local gigs as well as exciting National events, including the Legends of Golf Tour 2007. After graduating, Emily knew that all that she had learned and experienced had prepared her for her biggest dream of all - becoming a professional songwriter in Nashville, Tennessee. In May 2007, she won the John Lennon-BMI Foundation Scholarship for her song, "Goodbye". Along with the $10,000 first prize, she was flown to Los Angeles to attend the BMI Pop Awards, where she accepted her award onstage from BMI's president, Del Bryant. She quickly signed with BMI, and, once moving to Nashville in September 2007, began attending publishing meetings set up for her exclusively by BMI. Emily also found another great use for her voice: singing demos for top Nashville songwriters. She can currently be seen every Wednesday evening at the Loews-Vanderbilt Piano Bar, where she continues to do what she loves - play the piano and sing her heart out. And her most recent news? Emily just found out she's a finalist in the American Idol Songwriting Competition!