Shannon Rebecca Saunders (born 4 July 1994), known professionally as iiola is an English singer-songwriter from

Wiltshire Wiltshire (; abbreviated to Wilts) is a ceremonial county in South West England. It borders Gloucestershire to the north, Oxfordshire to the north-east, Berkshire to the east, Hampshire to the south-east, Dorset to the south, and Somerset to ...

Early life

Saunders started writing and producing songs at the age of 13. She attended the Royal Wootton Bassett Academy and the Stagecoach Drama School. She left school at sixteen to study song writing at BIMM in

Bristol Bristol () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, the most populous city in the region. Built around the River Avon, Bristol, River Avon, it is bordered by t ...

for a year before heading for

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

to pursue her career.

Career

In 2009 Saunders was inspired by

Justin Bieber Justin Drew Bieber ( ; born March 1, 1994) is a Canadian singer. Regarded as a pop icon, he is recognized for his multi-genre musical performances. He was discovered by record executive Scooter Braun in 2008 and subsequently brought to the U ...

to start a YouTube channel, where she posted covers of songs, as well as her own originals. As of January 2023, she has over 58,300 subscribers and nearly 2 million total upload views.

Shannon Saunders

In 2010 Saunders sang " I See the Light" for the UK release of

Tangled ''Tangled'' is a 2010 American animated musical film, musical Adventure film, adventure fantasy comedy film produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios and released by Walt Disney Pictures. Loosely based on the German fairy tale "Rapunzel" in th ...

. She was discovered by

Disney Channel UK Disney Channel was a children's pay television channel that operated in the UK and Ireland from 1 October 1995 to 1 October 2020 as the variant of the namesake American television channel. It was owned and operated by The Walt Disney Company ...

via her YouTube channel and asked to audition after winning the My Camp Rock contest that same year. In 2011 she was invited to sing "The Glow" for a London event celebrating the induction of Rapunzel to the

Disney Princess ''Disney Princess'', also called the ''Princess Line'', is a media franchise and toy line owned by the Walt Disney Company. Created by Disney Consumer Products chairman Andy Mooney, the franchise features a lineup of female protagonists who hav ...

franchise. Her first single was released under the name Shannon Saunders, "Heart of Blue", was released on her own label, Lovejoy Records. It peaked at #48 on the iTunes charts. The music video, whose production only costs nine pounds, featured Saunders running barefoot through

Oxford Street Oxford Street is a major road in the City of Westminster in the West End of London, running between Marble Arch and Tottenham Court Road via Oxford Circus. It marks the notional boundary between the areas of Fitzrovia and Marylebone to t ...

, London filmed by Damian Weilers. Whilst touring in 2013 Shannon independently released ''Atlas and'' created the official music video incorporating her live performances and interactions with her fanbase. In 2014 Saunders released two singles: "Sheets" and "Silly Little Things". In 2015, she released an EP in partnership with

Caroline International Caroline may refer to: People * Caroline (singer) (born 1981), Japanese glitch pop musician * Caroline (given name), a feminine given name * J. C. Caroline (1933–2017), American football player * Jamie Caroline (born 1999), British racing driv ...

titled ''Instar''. After performing stripped back live versions of the EP on SBTV one of her songs "LO-FI", co-written and produced by Dee Adam, was then picked up and sampled by frumhere on his track "she only likes me when i'm drunk". Following the success of the "Heart of Blue" video, Saunders teamed up again with director Damian Weilers to create a music video for her song "Pure" (produced and co-written by Mark Wilkinson and Dee Adam). The video was shot at Reynisfjara, the black-sand beach found on the south coast of

Iceland Iceland is a Nordic countries, Nordic island country between the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic and Arctic Oceans, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge between North America and Europe. It is culturally and politically linked with Europe and is the regi ...

, and had minimal electronic elements and electric guitar. "Rips in your Jeans" was released in 2017 and highlights a self-directed and produced video featuring Saunders' fanbase. It was shot by her with the help of Raja Virdi in East London's vintage store 'Atika'. The last track released under Saunders' birth name, "Still", was created as an awareness track for mental health issues and was supported by Heads Together, a charity under

The Royal Foundation The Royal Foundation of The Prince and Princess of Wales is an independent United Kingdom-based charity which supports the non-profit work of the Prince and Princess of Wales. Established in 2009 as The Foundation of Prince William and Prince ...

umbrella.

iiola

In 2018 Saunders released her debut four track EP titled ''Chrysalis'' under her new artist's name iiola. Spotify UK added all three singles from ''Chrysalis'' to New Music Fridays. Live stripped back versions of the first two singles are available on YouTube.

Personal life

Saunders' married long term partner Mark Wilkinson (stage name

Wilkinson Wilkinson or Wilkinsons may refer to: Businesses and brands * Wilko, formerly Wilkinson Hardware, a British retail chain * Wilkinson Sword, a British manufacturer of razor blades, formerly swords, motorbikes and other products ** Wilkinson TMC ...

) in August 2024. Saunders has

Romani Romani may refer to: Ethnic groups * Romani people, or Roma, an ethnic group of Indo-Aryan origin ** Romani language, an Indo-Aryan macrolanguage of the Romani communities ** Romanichal, Romani subgroup in the United Kingdom * Romanians (Romanian ...

heritage.

Discography

Extended plays

External links

Official YouTube

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Saunders, Shannon 1994 births Living people English women singers Walt Disney Records artists