Conversations with Sandra North

Today we’d like to introduce you to Sandra North.

Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
I’ve been singing and dancing for as long as I can remember, it’s always been my biggest passion. I started singing in church choirs and school ensembles from seven years old and picked up instruments like the flute and piano soon after too. Being raised in a small town in Sweden there wasn’t tons of space for my musical outlet so I kept those dreams to myself for quite a while.

In college, I instead took an AA within music and event planning and spent three years booking artists for events and festivals. That way, I was still surrounded by music and creative people and it gave me more insight in the industry. What I soon noticed was my longing to be on stage myself. A few years later I decided to take up singing again and started seeing a vocal coach who helped me apply to Musicians Institute in Hollywood. That’s where it all changed! I loved every minute of it and have been singing ever since.

After graduation, I started a cover band and did some shows around LA. As my band formed more consistently I found a great songwriting partnership with my guitarist/producer Juan Abella and the original songs started coming! My debut single “Try Again”, released in September 2019, made it to number 1 on the Swedish Radio show “P4 Sörmland’s Top 5” and stayed charted for 15 weeks straight. My two follow up singles “Same Story ‘Bout a Broken Heart” and “You” (2020) extended the successes even further with radio airplay all over the world in Scandinavia, Europe, Australia, Canada and the US. I was also given 4 music award nominations and radio chart placements in Australia and Sweden again. Interviews and podcasts overseas in Europe lead me to a live stream with the West Coast Country Festival in Sweden during the summer of 2020, alongside established artists such as Jamie Meyer & Jay Smith.

Last Christmas I did a collaboration with renowned songwriter/producer Mikal Reid, who’s previous roster includes artists like Steven Tyler, Mick Jagger and Alice Cooper, and released my first Christmas song. “California Christmas” premiered on Christmas morning on Swedish national radio. During the pandemic and the first half of 2021, I kept on working closely with my producer/songwriting partner, Juan Abella, to complete my debut EP, which finally saw the light of day on August 27th 2021.

“Long Time Coming” felt like a natural title seeing as I’ve waited my whole life to finally release my own music. I’m so proud of this project and how far I’ve come from the little small-town girl singing in front of her mirror back in Sweden.

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Following your dreams is never smooth sailing. It’s gonna be tough and you have to remember your end goal and stay true to what’s in your heart. With hard work and determination, you can achieve anything you desire in life. The only thing standing in your way is usually yourself. If we remove the fear of failure and instead look at things with the outlook that “anything is possible”, you’ll soon see how much you can actually accomplish when you don’t put limitations on yourself.

For me, this was absolutely the case as I’ve always struggled with my confidence. Being on stage, writing songs, putting a band together, moving abroad, it all seemed impossible and extremely frightening. Once you take that first step and start figuring things out you’ll realize it’s not as scary as you first thought and other things will start falling into place as well. Being an artist will always be challenging and it’s not an easy industry I’ve chosen.

I try to remember to enjoy the ride and appreciate the journey of it cause it’s already given me so much to be thankful for. Once you get those little rewards of someone singing along to your songs or telling you that your music affected them it’s all worth it.

Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I’m a singer/songwriter from Sweden. I was born and raised in the small town of Trosa and moved to America to pursue my dreams and develop myself as an artist back in 2015. I specialize in country music but also have a background filled with a lot of pop and classic rock. I’ve had some successful releases and gathered a following throughout radio stations around the world.

My single “Same Story ‘Bout a Broken Heart” got a No. 3 placement on the Australian Country Thunder Radio and stayed charted for 18 weeks. My following single “You” reached great heights in Scandinavia and UK with a nomination for European Single of the year in 2020, Best Breakthrough Artist and Best Country Act.

My latest release is my debut EP, “Long Time Coming” which have gotten great reviews earning me many radio and podcast interviews. Apart from writing and performing, I’m also a seasoned event planner, organizer, and booker. On my spare time I also take photos since this has been a second passion of mine since I was little.

So maybe we end on discussing what matters most to you and why?
What matters most to me is being true to myself and constantly try to improve myself and be the best version of myself that I can possibly be. With that, follow my dreams and make sure I do what makes me happy. Music makes me happy! Next to that, my family and the people that matter the most to me of course.

My family and friends mean the world to me and anyone I let inside my heart will be there forever. My sister is my best friend and soul mate in life and my grandma is my biggest role model and inspiration. I also miss my little cat very dearly back in Sweden. I’m such a cat mom. They give me so much joy and love.

Contact Info:

• Email: [email protected]
• Website: https://www.sandranorthofficial.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sandranorth_official/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sandranorthmusic/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/SandraN26815009
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCYqpnYQsl0J36UiNiPC4F2A?view_as=subscriber
• SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/user-902974436
• Other: https://open.spotify.com/artist/2SECA2fAvjoC4oFQzE9GAE

Image Credits
Juan Abella, Jeffrey Alan Tymich, and Ray Guzman