Raised through the foster care system in BC and Ontario from age seven to seventeen, Chantel's soundtrack was the Oldies, Motown soul, and Greek songs that her immigrated foster father introduced her to. From her earlier childhood, she confesses to mainly living on the road with her real parents, meaning there was a lot of late 80's hit radio. Add to this in Upshaw's cache are gospel tones inspired from singing in church, shades of Broadway while appearing in regional musical theatre, and at times a vocal girlishness akin to Gwen Stefani or Cyndi Lauper. Mix in a slew more inspirations for her imminent full-length release, and this is set to be one adventurous endeavor. "Classical, ethereal beings, opera, cartoons from the 40's, Disney, and some favorite movies all blend into it. I'm spurred on by so much more than songs alone." While she is clearly no music purist, there is a string that ties it all together: an innate soulfulness that manifests from within. Upcoming songs, such as the bassy, contemplative 'Feast or Famine' are darker while others such as 'Case Closed' feature a wonder-struck love story set to a bouncy pop format. All the while, her 'quirky soul' sneaks in across the board. "I guess that tells me I should be using it, cuz it's in my nature." The duality between Chantel's songwriting and her part coy, part exuberant vocals lends well to a fresh original ready to spin her take...and given her background this is a deep-seated effect. To date, Chantel has opened for Juno-winning artists LIGHTS and Alex Cuba, a collaborator on Nelly Furtado’s new Spanish language album. She has shared the stage with Canadian divas Divine Brown and Lee Aaron and was featured on stage producer Tom Jackson’s site based on her recorded vocal performance. She is a chosen artist to be featured in the Canwest/HevyD National marketing campaign to hit major news publications in winter '09. Keep your ears peeled for more to come from this promising young Canadian.
