Sara Hjellström (born 5 November 1993), known professionally as Shy Martin (stylized as shy martin) is a Swedish singer and songwriter. As a songwriter her compositions have been streamed over 3 billion times on Spotify alone, while her songs as lead vocalist have been streamed 1.5 billion times on the same platform.
In August 2020 shy released her Sad Songs EP, preceded by the singles "Slow" and "Are you happy?". The release was well received by blogs including The Line of Best Fit, Paste and Idolator, and has over 120 million+ combined streams on Spotify.
Career Raised in the small town of Lerdala, Sweden, shy martin first began writing songs and poetry in her youth as a means of self-expression. After winning a music contest at her school at age 17, shy signed with EMI for a period though ultimately she decided to go independent. She decided to start studying at the songwriting school Musikmakarna in Örnsköldsvik, in the north of Sweden. Shortly after she moved to Stockholm and signed to the independent label BLNK Music. As of November 2020 she is no longer signed with BLNK.
shy martin first established herself as a songwriter, a path that launched in dynamic fashion via her co-write and featured vocal on Mike Perry's "The Ocean (ft. SHY Martin)." Recording the vocals in one-take in her home wardrobe, shy wrote the track with longtime Swedish songwriting partner, SHY Nodi, with whom she has written several other songs for artists including The Chainsmokers, NOTD, Jess Glynne, Astrid S, Timeflies, Neiked and Kream. The track won Spotify Sweden's 'Most Streamed Song of the Year' with a groundbreaking 550 million+ streams (now 719 million+).
shy's career as an artist in her own right took off in 2017 with the release of 'Good Together', which was praised by The Line Of Best Fit as "part dancehall, part R&B, and completely addictive". Several more singles followed, receiving positive coverage from Billboard and others, culminating in the Overthinking EP in 2018. In April 2020, Martin released the single "can I call you back?". James Keith of Complex UK called the song "a dream-like flurry of breathy vocals, soul-touching songwriting and twinkling electronics." This was followed by the Sad Songs EP, her most successful collection to date.
shy's songwriting catalog has gone on to generate over 3 billion streams on Spotify alone including credits on "First Time" by Kygo ft. Ellie Goulding, "(Not) The One" by Bebe Rexha, "All We Know" by The Chainsmokers, "I Wanna Know" by NOTD (ft. Bea Miller), as well as songs for Jess Glynne, Astrid S, and ALMA, among others.
In addition to her artistry, shy is also a member of numerous music industry initiatives, most notably joining Spotify CEO/Founder Daniel Ek and songwriter/producer Max Martin's coveted 'Equalizer Project', a group aiming to combat gender inequality in the music industry. shy also participated in Bebe Rexha's 2018 'Women in Harmony' Dinner in Los Angeles, a gathering to empower female artists in music including Charli XCX, Kim Petras, and Avril Lavigne. She also performed alongside Matoma at the 2017 Nobel Peace Prize Concert.
In 2018 shy was awarded the Stikkan Anderson award for Songwriting.
shy released her new single 'wish I didn't know you' in October 2022, receiving positive reception from press with Clash Magazine declaring shy 'a genius...her voice has never been so beautiful'. In February 2023 shy martin released the title track from her debut album 'late night thoughts', being described as ' a departure from her previous work and can be seen as her boldest, most openly emotional, brave, and beautiful release to date'. martin is set to release her debut album in May 2023.
Discography
Studio albums Album Details late night thoughts Scheduled release: 19 May 2023 Label: The Orchard Formats: Vinyl, CD, cassette, digital download, streaming
Extended plays Album Details Track listing Overthinking Released: 7 December 2018 Label: BLNK Records Formats: Digital download Sad Songs Released: 7 August 2020 Label: BLNK Formats: Digital download
Singles
As lead artist Single Year Peak chart positions Album SWE "A Little Longer" 2017 — "Good Together" 79 Overthinking "Bad in Common" 2018 — "Forget to Forget" — "Lose You Too" — "Just a Little Longer" — "Out of My Hands" 2019 — rowspan="2" "Same Old" — "Make Us Never Happen" — Sad Songs "Slow" 2020 — "Still the Same" — "Can I Call You Back?" — Sad Songs "Nobody Likes Moving On" — "Break with Me" 2021 — rowspan="4" "Remember You Were the One" — "Feelings" — "No Regrets" — "wish I didn't know you"2022—late night thoughts "late night thoughts"2023—
Notes
Songwriting credits Title Year Artist Album"Taped Up Heart"2016 Kream "All We Know" The Chainsmokers Collage"Parachute" Galavant "Summer Love" The Fooo Conspiracy FO&O"Sucker for You"2017 Matt Terry Trouble"(Not) The One" Bebe Rexha All Your Fault: Pt. 2"Bloodstream" Astrid S Party's Over"First Time" Kygo Stargazing"Different World"2018 Alan Walker Different World"Million Reasons" Jess Glynne Always In Between"Used To" Sandro Cavazza "Old School Love" Neiked Best of Hard Drive"Fire" Timeflies To Dream"Know This Love" Kream "I Wanna Know" NOTD "Good Vibes" Alma Heavy Rules Mixtape"Us" Julie Bergan Turn On the Lights"Broken Hearts"2019 Justin Caruso "芽 (glow)" Corsak "Trust Issues" Astrid S Trust Issues"First Time"2020 Daya The Difference"When a Girl" Carys To Anyone Like Me"You (A La)" Sachi Breakfast With Ella"Long Run" Deacon "I Love My Friends" Steve Aoki Neon Future IV"Ever Really Know" Georgia Ku Real"Reminds Me of You"2021 Toby Romeo "Domino" Pacific Heights "Goodbye" Paige "Coast" Sabina Ddumba The Forgotten Ones"Addicted to Her Sadness" Maro "Ensam" Norlie & KKV "Picking Flowers" Boy in Space Frontyard"Don't Call It Love" Samantha Harvey "Teenage Chemistry"2022Nina NesbittÄlskar"Pressure Makes Diamonds""Älskar""Barcelona Nights" Vicetone "La Cita" Deorro ORRO"Know No Better" Cheat Codes Hellraisers, Part 3"Slow Lane"2023 Alfie Jukes Little Omens"Just Because" Sadie Jean Simple Like 17"Heroine" Ive I've Ive"Wish Upon a Star"2024 Daniel Allan Noise Pollution"London Too" Haley Joelle Crossing More Than City Lines"Drugs" Jxdn When the Music Stops"Spiderman" Haley Bridge Phonetic"I Don't Wanna Dance" Charlotte Lawrence Somewhere"I Just Missed a Call"2025 NOTD Digital Notes"Towers" Cheat Codes Future Renaissance"New"idnttUnevermet"Boytude""ไฟเขียว (Greenlight)"BamBamHometown"Wondering""Limoncello"2026ChuuXO, My Cyberlove""Loving You!" (첫눈이 오면 그때 거기서 만나)"Delulu" KiiiKiii Delulu Pack
Awards and nominations +YearAwardCategoryReceived forResult2016ScholarshipSödra StationWinner2016Rookie Artist / BandSödra StationNominee2017P3 GoldSong of the yearThe OceanNominee2017P3 GoldPop of the yearSödra StationNominee2017Song of the YearThe OceanNominee2017Grand Prize (International success) SHY Martin & SHY NodiWinner2017Breakthrough of the YearSHY Martin & SHY NodiWinner2017International Success of the YearSHY Martin & SHY NodiWinner2017Most Streamed SongThe OceanWinner2018Song of the YearI Wanna KnowNominee2019International Songwriting CompetitionPop top 40Forget to ForgetWinner
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