Genesis The Podcast
Genesis the Podcast is a new way to connect with Genesis Women’s Shelter and Support and expand your thinking about domestic violence and related issues that affect women. GTP is also a trusted source of information if you are in an abusive relationship and need safety, shelter or support. Listen every week for fresh content related to domestic violence, to connect with world-renown professionals, participate in exclusive events and training opportunities, and take action against domestic violence.
Genesis The Podcast is hosted by Maria MacMullin, Chief Impact Officer of Genesis Women's Shelter & Support and the Host of the Podcast on Crimes Against Women.
About Genesis Women's Shelter & Support - Located in Dallas, Texas, Genesis provides safety, shelter and support for women who have experienced domestic violence, and raises awareness regarding its cause, prevalence and impact. Learn more at GenesisShelter.org
Genesis The Podcast
Other Side: Shana Halligan Speaks Her Truth
A voice possesses the power to either conceal - or reveal - the truth. After decades of silence and shame about what was truly unspeakable childhood abuse, Shana Halligan chose speak out. And what followed was a complete transformation of her life that led to a music career of authentic self-expression and powerful presence.
As the daughter of Dick Halligan, founder of the band Blood, Sweat & Tears, Shana experienced music on a level most only dream about. From concerts to all-night jam sessions with some of the most renowned talent of the time to being the singing voice for Barbie commercials in the 1970’s, Shana was immersed in music her entire life. And it was music that finally allowed her to reveal the dark secret she had harbored since early childhood – that she is a survivor of sexual abuse. Shana’s earliest memories are of being molested by a stranger in her own bed – an experience that occurred for at least three years. Today, as the founder of the band Bitter:Sweet with a burgeoning music career of her own making, Shana has not only released the shame of what was done to her but also taken center stage in designing the life of her dreams. In this episode, Shana shares what happened to her all those years ago and how she emerged from the shadow of abuse to become both her own savior and a beacon of hope for others. Listen to the end of the episode for a sneak peek at Shana’s latest release, “Other Side.”
Shana’s story was revealed to the world in a Daily Mail article in 2025. You can read it at https://archive.is/20250523100119/https:/www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-14740137/Mum-cold-told-Id-raped-aged-six-thought-Id-never-forgive-cruel-words-reveals-SHANA-HALLIGAN-deathbed-extraordinary-happened.html
The full music to the single “Other Side” can be found at https://app.box.com/s/bhfzhlq6c5lolmw71bsj7s5xugnwscnh
More about Shana at https://www.shanahalligan.com/
Today, we sit down with the remarkable singer-songwriter Shauna Halligan, whose life's journey blends music, personal growth, and powerful storytelling. She joins us to explore her transformation as a survivor of childhood sexual abuse, who found her voice through her work as a musician and performing artist. With a family legacy in the music industry, Shauna tapped into both the healing and empowerment offered by songwriting and performance to shed the trauma of the past and become her most authentic self. I'm Maria McMullen and this is Genesis the Podcast. Shauna Halligan is a renowned singer-songwriter, best known as a member of the band Bittersweet. With a career marked by soulful melodies and evocative lyrics, Shauna's artistry is deeply influenced by her personal journey, including her childhood experiences of sexual abuse and her father's role as the founder of the band Blood, Sweat, and Tears. Her latest album, Baby Is Back, showcases her ability to blend music with powerful storytelling, using her voice to confront and transcend past shame. Through her own personal and painful experience, Shauna empowers other survivors of child abuse to use their voices, reclaim their narratives, break the silence, release shame, and foster a sense of community and hope. This episode includes details about child sexual abuse. Shauna, welcome to the show.
SPEAKER_03:Thank you. Thanks for having me.
SPEAKER_02:Thanks so much for being here. We have so much to talk about and to get to. I'm going to jump right in with a question that just kind of talks about your history and your background because music runs deep within your family. Tell us about your family's history in the music industry.
SPEAKER_03:Well, my father was a unbelievably refined and well-respected, actually jazz musician that ended up becoming a rock star by accident. Happy accident. Yes. And he founded the group called Blood, Sweat and Tears. And, you know, he won a bunch of Grammys and played Woodstock. And it was the whole 60s, 70s, you know, heyday for that band. And I came into the picture a bit later. So there was always music in my house, jam sessions going on all night long. I was really privileged to be immersed in that kind of music. And I didn't always recognize that at the time, but the musicians that were coming in and out of my house were just unbelievable. A lot of celebrity, but yes, music's in my bones and has been in my house since I was born.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, I can only imagine the talent that you encountered at a very young age. Do you play any instruments yourself?
SPEAKER_03:I do. I play keys and you know I write all my music.
SPEAKER_02:And your father was Dick Halligan, right?
SPEAKER_03:Dick Halligan.
SPEAKER_02:And he was a jazz musician. Now I think he played brass, right?
SPEAKER_03:He played keys, he played flute, he played trombone, he did all the arrangements. He was kind of like a genius. In fact, Herbie Hancock made a comment that he'd never heard a better piano player in his life than my father. So it was kind of like hard, hard footsteps to follow there, you know?
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, that's incredible. But you have done a lot of incredible things yourself. Now, the music industry or entertainment industry can bring with it a lot of celebration, as you mentioned, parties and the like. And I understand for you, that often meant there were lots of people in and out of the house when you were a very young child. What was the home environment like that you grew up in?
SPEAKER_03:Um, it was, it was wild. You know, there were a lot of parties, a lot of, like I said, jam sessions that would go on all night long. I didn't really like that. I was trying to get up for school. I was trying to tell everybody to be quiet. I had to be somewhere. Um, I would have to step over a lot of random folk in the morning to get lunch money and get myself to school. I walked to school. And it was just a very wild experience, very normal in my house, but not typical, I guess, in the in the real world. I later discovered. Yeah.
SPEAKER_02:I mean, many of us did not grow up with a parent who's a famous entertainer or musician, or even having lots of parties in our house on a regular basis. So yeah, I would say that's a little unlike the typical household in America, but still very exciting, very interesting. But there's a lot more to your story. And you've been very open about the abuse you experienced as a little girl living within this environment. Will you share with us what happened to you?
SPEAKER_03:Sure. And to preface that, I I'm only just now open about it. I I never spoke of this ever. And it and looking back now, you know, was it embarrassment? Was it shame? Was it all of those things? Probably. But also because my mother was such a victim, I made it a big point in my life to not be a victim and not use my past as this identity. So I found a different path and I found a way to appear extremely strong and brave in other ways. I never wanted my past to define who I was today, and I made a really big point to be that person. So it wasn't really until this year that I decided to talk about it. And it's because I'm 51 years old now. I'm really comfortable in my skin. The choices that I make now are a hundred percent based on who I am. I'm really comfortable. And I also recognize that it's really important to talk about it. And it's really important to hopefully inspire other people to talk about it too. Because although I didn't want to be the victim to my past, I actually was a victim. I was a complete victim. So I just wanted to say that because this is so new for me to talk about it, and it feels like incredible. You know, it feels like I finally let out all of these things I didn't even know were still kind of haunting me. Um, so it's it's really therapeutic too. And we had a lot of people in our house. You know, everybody wanted to be around my father. There were a lot of a lot of people, and we didn't always know those people very well. And there was someone in particular that was often there that unfortunately the family did know very well. And that person came into my room pretty regularly from ages three to six. And he'd climb into my top bunk and lift my nightgown and have, you know, his way sexually with me. And I just remember, you know, just just hating it, laying there, not moving, just waiting for it to be over. Because I knew if I just if I just laid there calmly, it would be over quickly, and then he would leave, and then I could just go back to sleep. And so that happened periodically for about three years. Um and I finally had the courage to talk about it, and I brought it up to my mother. I knew deep down in my gut that bringing it up to my mother wasn't really going to do much. I knew then it wasn't going to do much, but I told her anyway, I was really angry one day. And she just told me that this is what happens to women. It happened to her. She was abused, and it kind of really circled back to her. And that's just kind of part of being a girl. And that happened to her. So there wasn't really any resolve there. It was just kind of like, okay. And I even ended up going to the doctor because I had some troubles down there at a very young age. And the doctor was surprised. And she said, I fell off my bike and broke my hymen, and you know, all of these things. And it was just kind of understood that we don't really deal with this. We don't talk about this. It's really not a big deal. Get over it and don't bring it up again, you know.
SPEAKER_02:So around the age of six years old, is that when this abuse stopped?
SPEAKER_03:Yeah. Six. Yeah. I, you know, it's it's it's hard to recall exactly, but I I do remember that's kind of when I started to bring it up. And eventually my father got wind of this, and he kicked this person out and was very angry. We never talked about it. I just remember hearing him screaming, screaming at my mother, and screaming at this person, and then this person left. And then that was kind of the end of it. It was never discussed, you know.
SPEAKER_02:How did it affect you that your mother did not directly address what happened to you?
SPEAKER_03:I I became very angry, um, particularly around her. I was just extremely angry. I didn't like her at all. You know, I don't have I don't remember having any soft and loving feelings towards her because I felt like I was always this person that she was jealous of and didn't want anything to do with. So it was a lot of anger. Um, and then a lot of insecurity. I was really paralyzingly shy through my whole school career. None of my schoolmates can believe what I do for a living now. Well on stage and perform in front of thousands of people because I couldn't have been more shy. I mean, really shy and terribly insecure. And, you know, clearly didn't think highly of myself in a lot of ways and and attracted a lot of relationships that mirrored my upbringing, you know, through the years. Uh, because that was really familiar and cozy, you know. Yeah.
SPEAKER_02:It's so challenging and difficult to talk about. I'm honored that you would bring your story to the show and to our listeners. And I did read the article that was published by the Daily Mail, and I believe that was published sometime last year. We can post that in the show notes so that our listeners can read about your story even further from that news article. And and that you must have kicked off this journey for you, right? To be able to talk more openly about your experience and how it shaped you.
SPEAKER_03:Yes. It was actually earlier this year, just just not too long ago. This is all very like kind of fresh and recent. Um, it was all kind of prompted by this really artsy avant-garde performance I had been asked to do for this thing called Beat Night, where they have these poets usually get up and do poetry, and there's this improvisational band um behind the poets. And it's all very, you know, in the moment. They'd asked me to do this, and I was really terrified because I that's not how I perform normally. I'm very everything's extremely rehearsed. I've got my band, you know. Um I said yes, and I found myself doing this kind of one woman's show type performance where I told a lot of my story. I wasn't even expecting to be doing this, but this is sort of what came out. And I started interjecting kind of some of the songs I'd written over the years in this performance. And at the end of it, there wasn't like a dry eye in the house. I was crying, everyone was crying, and it was this kind of moment where I realized I've really separated the artist from the art, and I've really kept them so separate, and it's one person, right? And so when I was launch releasing the album this year, this opportunity came up to tell my story, and this was all based on this beat night performance I had sent to my team and everything, and it was just like yes, yes, I have no shame. I'm absolutely gonna tell this story in hopes that someone doesn't feel so alone, and that the embarrassment and the secrecy that we keep as victims to protect the perpetrator is really wrong, you know. So I have to say, I was so terrified when that article came out. I was so scared the night before it was gonna go out. And my, you know, my family and everyone that might read it were in total denial of all of this. Nobody wanted to deal with, you know, and as soon as it came out, I shockingly felt more free, more light, and more completely at peace than I'd ever felt in my lifetime. And that's kind of what I just want other people to know. As scary as it is, it was the most freeing thing I've ever done, ever, you know?
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, you and I had talked offline about how liberating it can be when you finally get to reclaim the narrative about what happened to you and stop living someone else's version of your life. Yeah. And you clearly have done that. Now, thank you, first of all, for sharing this with us and with our listeners. Um, because I know it it's challenging and it's very fresh for you. It's a new experience, but clearly your childhood experiences also shaped who you are as a musician and as an artist, which is something that we're gonna talk about in a little bit of depth today. Much of your artistry is rooted in profound personal experience, as you just explained. Was there a turning point when music became not just a passion, but a lifeline? So beyond the beat night experience, when did music become really the pivotal part of your life that's you know turned you into this incredible artist?
SPEAKER_03:Well, it's funny because music was not always that for me. It was kind of like the relationship between like a father and a son kicking a ball around in the backyard. Me and my dad would just go into the studio and he'd bring me in to start recording all these commercials and such when I was very, very young. Okay. So music didn't start off as this passionate outlet at all. It was just something I did, it was just part of my life. I would, I would sing whatever anybody told me to sing, and it was just like writing an essay.
SPEAKER_02:So it was it was you were a child artist as well.
SPEAKER_03:Yes, yes. I sang on multiple Barbie commercials for years and and like all these tall commercials, and I mean, you name it. I've I was singing on absolutely everything and anything back in the day.
SPEAKER_02:Wow, wow. So I mean, Barbie. This is amazing. I don't know if anybody else knows about this, but you're hearing it first here on Genesis the podcast because you and I are about the same age, okay? So I was listening to you sing about Barbie when I was a little girl, which is just like, you know, I've come full circle here today.
SPEAKER_03:It's so exciting. It's pretty, pretty awesome. Um yeah, my father would write all that music, and that's how I started. And then I started singing on all these other sessions and such. He would be shocked to learn how popular Barbie is again through these films that are so empowering. He'd be very pleased.
SPEAKER_02:Um, but yeah, the world has taken some interesting turns uh since Dick Helpman was on stage. Yes.
SPEAKER_03:Yes. Well, he actually wrote the the first really empowering logo for Barbie was We Girls Can Do Anything, right, Barbie? I mean, it was anyway. So, long story short, you know, that's what I was doing for so long. And it wasn't until I was much older, like out of high school, and I was doing a recording session for like a burger or something. Jack in the box, spicy, crispy chicken chick or something. And the the women that I would been working with, you know, this one in particular was an extremely successful session singer, had an incredible career as a session singer. But one of the jobs we were on, the producer asked her to just be herself. He wanted her to sound like a like an artist, you know, just like an artist on an album. And she gave him about 10 different deliveries and said, What do you think about this? What do you think about this? What do you like it more like this? And, you know, because she could do anything. She's a chameleon. She's been trained her whole life to be able to do anything. And he goes, I don't want to give you any direction. I just want you to do you. And I realized she didn't know who that was. She couldn't figure that out. And this is a grown woman that I had always really looked up to and thought was an unbelievable musician and learned so much from technically, you know. And at that moment I went, Oh my God, I don't want to do this anymore. I need to go find my own voice. I have to find me through music. Why am I doing music if I'm not doing music? You know, so that's when I kind of aborted chip on the whole session singing thing, and I started to figure out how to write songs. And then the first time I sat down at the piano, a whole song came out from start to finish. And that's when I realized the emotional impact of writing. Like my soul, my words, my emotion, everything about me just came out in this three and a half minute experience, and I couldn't believe it. And then it became a lifeline. Then it then I realized the importance of only writing. And I it's so funny. I can't even karaoke. I don't know any cover songs. I I'm now so far on the other side. I'm like, I only sing what I write.
SPEAKER_02:I need to learn a few songs. I think it's because you're doing what you were meant to do. Now, what was that first song that came out when you sat down at the piano? Is that something you recorded?
SPEAKER_03:On like, you know, on a little Walkman. Okay.
SPEAKER_02:So that was quite some time ago, right?
SPEAKER_03:Yes.
SPEAKER_02:Yes. I wish I had. What about some of your more contemporary pieces? Um, you and I have a whole list of songs that we want to talk about. So for starters, you have a new album out, Baby is back. Tell us about that.
SPEAKER_03:Yes. Um, that album after Bittersweet had taken um a huge hiatus, also not the best relationship in my life musically or any, you know, any other form. And I got the rights to the name back. And I was able to take this project and really go forward with it on my own, which was a really big deal. Many years after its initial success, and before, you know, we were before social media. So there'd been some time. Um, we had sold half a million albums, we'd had all this success, all these things happened. And then I many years later was able to take this project back. And when that occurred, which again, I wasn't looking for, was kind of just handed to me by my old label. Um, it was so liberating. And I'm like, this is this is my sound. This is me. I get to do this myself without toxicity, without any weird vibes. Like, yes. So I got to pick everybody I wanted to work with on the project. I got to be in charge of the whole experience. And so the songs that came out were pretty fun. I mean, there's some dark, heavy-weighted songs as well, but there's, you know, it was it was about taking my power back. Baby is back, is like, don't mess with me. I'm back and I am owning myself as a woman, and you're I'm here for it. So it was exciting to put this album out in such a beautiful and glorious way, you know.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, it's almost like we should have some of it playing in the background while we're talking about it. Um, I encourage people to go to their favorite music streaming service and look up uh Shana Halligan to look at some of this music or listen to it while we're having this conversation. And we're gonna share a little bit more at the end. So let's back up for a second. We're gonna come back to some of your songs and talk about the music that resulted from your healing process from your childhood experience. Can you give us an example of one of the songs that that came out of that experience?
SPEAKER_03:Um, there's a song Rise on there that I wrote shortly before my father passed away. I felt like there was so much I wanted to say to him, and he had really pulled away during that time. He wasn't well, and that song I feel like was kind of the hardest song I've ever written, the most connected to me, my story, and my music and where I come from, and my love for my father, and my also heartbreak for my father. And every time I sing that song live, I still can really keep it together. So that song, you know, is a heavy hitter, Lover's Waltz, is a song that I feel like really still kind of there's a lot of those demons swimming around that I hadn't made full closure with from my past and kind of the relationships that I had attracted around me until I met like my husband, and all of that. That song really still sews a lot of that other girl in the little girl in too now. Um, baby is back, other side, like those are like full-blown, look where I've come, despite the odds. Love, unity, power, you know, confidence. Like it's a journey, the album. There's so there's a lot of sensuality, being comfortable with with all aspects of being a woman, you know, on this album. Fun, dance, French music.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, I I've listened to parts of it and other parts of your music, and it's a wide variety. You're very uh talented, and you're you've turned into a chameleon, if you want my opinion. I'm not an expert in music, but you have uh a very adaptable sound and style. And I think that, you know, as you said, it's reflective of the journey that you've had with music. It's not just what happened to you as a child, because you're much more than that. Um, it's also the journey that, you know, from your whole life.
SPEAKER_03:Yes, you know, even um some of the musical projects that I've been a part of, I've toured with some bands far, far larger than mine, and have been on really big stages with those projects. And I'm also in a place now where unless I'm feeling really, really great in those environments, I don't want to do it anymore. You know, that's all part of my journey too. Actually recognizing even in my work, I'm still attracting maybe situations that just don't celebrate my full best self and keep me feeling smaller, even on this enormous platform. And so that's like these are also stages of my journey where I'm kind of like, yeah, this is I'm in my love's place right now. I'm here to really only do things that feel really good. And that takes you know years of experience to finally get there.
SPEAKER_02:It does, and a lot of confidence, right? Uh usually, you know, getting over 50 is a is a milestone for for many women, and you do acquire most times more confidence and ability to speak your mind and decide what you're gonna do and what doesn't feel right to you. And it's really remarkable to me that you're able to reflect upon, for example, what types of work you're engaging in and how it seems like you keep gravitating towards some choices that may not be the best for you. Do you do any work to avoid that or work through that and make sure it doesn't happen again?
SPEAKER_03:I think, well, years of therapy. Through years of therapy. I think having my son was honestly, you know, the biggest healing life lesson there is. He is like the meter of is this worth it? No. Is this worth it? Yes. What do I want to show up as for him? You know, so it's a lot easier now to make those choices. And I think now that I'm in a very, you know, loving, healthy marriage, uh, a mom, like all those things. I teach, I teach songwriting to to kids and and oh wow at a beautiful art school called Idaweld Arts. And that's like another, you know, all of these are these meaningful pivotal moments where I recognize how important it is to share my knowledge and experience and and make better choices for these kids, for my son, for my family. It's a lot easier now. It took a while. It took a while. Even my husband says, You're you're a lot quicker now when you find somebody like, because before I was like, Yes, come into my world, everybody's great. And then I'd be like, oh no. Um, I'm a lot quicker now.
SPEAKER_02:Well, it just it just takes time, it takes uh experience, life experience, and maturity. I'm curious what you would tell your younger self about the power of owning your own story, both as a survivor and as an artist.
SPEAKER_03:Just to never ever be afraid to be your most authentic self, keep your heart open, share your story, be proud of who you are with all the battle wounds, the scars. Everything that you are is because of everything that you've been through. So there's no shame in that at all. Um your truth always. Always like don't be afraid of what other people think. That's the hardest thing for young people because they're also worried about what everybody thinks, you know, and truthfully, we we all have to play some games in society to be, you know, part of this society culturally and everything like that. But at the end of the day, I just want to encourage every artist and survivor and anyone that has felt that they were a victim to something, that their nothing was their fault. This happened to them. Share your story, get help. Use art to as therapy, you know, don't hide it, don't be afraid of it. That was my biggest problem. So I was so scared someone might know. And I'd be it was very submissive in a lot of situations because I didn't want to rock any boats, and I didn't want anybody to think I was nothing but extremely easy to work with, and I'll do anything, and don't do that.
SPEAKER_02:Right. Good advice, all of it. In what ways has your music inspired conversations about child abuse and healing among maybe your listeners or within the wider community?
SPEAKER_03:You know, I think the biggest shock was to receive a letter from a fan because I never wrote any of this music with the intention that it was for anyone else but myself and my art. So the idea that it affected and impacted other people was really overwhelming when I first realized that. And I received a letter from this guy that had told me that he had thought about taking his life many times and he was getting prepared to do that. And that my song on the Made and Game album, Moving Forward, literally saved his life. And that my music has been his savior moving forward since. And he wanted to thank me for that. And I just remember feeling the weight of that and so overwhelmed. And I wrote him back a very sweet note, but I remember just feeling almost scared at the responsibility I felt, or the impact, I guess, that I felt it could have on somebody else. But then I think about how many songs or how many movies or how many books I've read that have saved me. And I never could have imagined I would do the same thing for someone else.
SPEAKER_02:So that's very powerful. I have the chills listening to that story. It's a little frightening, and it also is a huge responsibility, I think, for artists when you receive that type of communication from a fan. Did you find that to be a heavy responsibility hearing that?
SPEAKER_03:Yeah, it it scared me. I I wasn't as flattered as I was like, oh, yeah. I don't know. I don't I don't know how to handle that, but I also was so grateful that whatever I said, whatever I communicated was relatable to this person in such a deep and powerful and positive way. That was really amazing, you know, and I recognize.
SPEAKER_02:Along those lines, do you have any advice for artists who wish to channel their own stories of hardship and resilience into a form of compelling art?
SPEAKER_03:Again, I think being authentic, being as completely authentic as you can be. You know, we all do things. You know, I used to write the song more for whatever the song needed. The song needed this, the song needed that. I could really go into any writing session and give you what the song needed. And it again, it wasn't until my later years that I realized it's really about the most authentic connection you can possibly have to yourself, to your truth, to your story. And at the end of the day, that's what people connect to. You know, I mean, look, when you all go to a show, when you go to a concert, every kind of person is at that concert. Doesn't matter your political views, it doesn't matter your religion, it doesn't matter all the hatred and all the things going on in the world right now. It doesn't matter. Everybody's there because they're feeling this beautiful power that music or any form of art can bring and unite. Making sure you sew your own truth into whatever it is that you're doing, your whole heart.
SPEAKER_02:Let's talk about that process. So your new single, Other Side, is inspired by your trauma journey. What was the creative process behind this track and what emotions do you hope to evoke in those who hear it?
SPEAKER_03:It's it's a total celebration. It's a total like, ow, like despite the odds, look at what happened. I've come out on the other side. And it's about love and it's about the power of love. And it's about how united we all really are. And how as humans, I mean, it's like we can see the other side. We are strong. We're built to fly. This love's for real. We can move through anything, building up our hopes and dreams. This love's for real. It's the most kind of pop and like straightforward song that I've written in a really long time. And but it's just so completely on the nose and so completely like, hell yes, hell yes, we can get through anything. Hell yes.
SPEAKER_02:You know, that gives me a lot of hope and a lot of inspiration. I work with a lot of survivors, I talk with a lot of survivors, and they need that, right? We all do. We all need inspiration and to find hope within music or or whatever gives you the feelings that, you know, you can move forward, as you said, which is the title of one of your other pieces. Do you also believe that art can be a catalyst for social change and how society perceives and addresses child abuse?
SPEAKER_03:I do. I think art is the most important form of getting your message out there in what I would hope to be a non-threatening way. The thing is, you're always gonna have people say something, and there's always gonna be people that don't like what you have to say. And so what? If your message is your message and it's your story and it's your heart, and it's and it's yours to tell, tell it. It's it's not about how every single person is gonna respond positively to that message. It doesn't matter, it really doesn't matter. There's always gonna be people that wanna hate. Always that should never ever stop you from putting your work out there in whatever form. I mean, I don't know anyone that's ever read anything that wasn't completely authentic and didn't get something from it. You know? I do. I think it's the best way to kind of help people hear something and look at something maybe in a way that they can't otherwise through traditional outlets.
SPEAKER_02:And that's true in so many ways with art. It can be many different forms of art. It can be music, it can be painting, it can be uh performance, dance, and so on that inspires people. And we're fortunate to have so many talented artists in the world who can share that with us. You're clearly a very versatile artist, extremely talented. You've done you've done so much in such a short period of time, really. What's next for you?
SPEAKER_03:Um, well, I'm working on another album, another bittersweet album. Great. Bitter colon sweet, that's my band. I've got a bittersweet Christmas coming as well, which is kind of fun. Um, some remixes, and I'm working on a book. I'm working on a memoir. I just started, and it all was prompted by this article that had come out and me telling my story. And I'm really excited about it. I'm really excited about it.
SPEAKER_02:So that's this has been quite a year for you, I think. You've you've done a lot, you've revealed a lot about yourself. I'm really honored to have made the connection with you, to have learned your story and enjoyed your music, and I'm excited about what the future holds for you and with you as part of our world. Tell people your website and how to find you on social media in case they want to connect and listen to the music.
SPEAKER_03:Absolutely. So my social handle is at Shauna Halligan, S-H-A-N-A-H-A-L-L-I-G-A-N, or at bittersweet music official. Um, bitter colon sweet is my band. And shaunahalligan.com, bittersweetmusic.com. Those are the best ways to find out what's going on with me personally and with my bittersweet project.
SPEAKER_02:Yes, and if you if you don't remember any of that, you could always just do an internet do an internet search for Shauna Halligan, and you will find all of that information. Thank you for that. Wanna give us a sneak peek of a piece of your music right now?
SPEAKER_03:I would love that. I'll sing you a few lines and then you can hear its full production.
SPEAKER_02:Okay, so this is gonna be a clip from Shauna's latest single, Other Side from the album, Baby is back.
SPEAKER_00:Said comfort in the sea, she's hung me out to try, soaking in my wine, so I don't feel the time.
SPEAKER_01:We can see the other side, we'll start building and span's.
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