Shaznay Lewis enjoyed huge success as a member of and the lead songwriter for the highly influential All Saints, their catalogue of classic songs (‘Never Ever’, ‘Pure Shores’, ‘Black Coffee’, ‘I Know Where It’s At’) leading to five UK #1 hits, two multi-Platinum albums, two BRIT Awards, a MOBO and an Ivor Novello.
Yet after releasing her debut solo album, ‘Open’, in 2004, Shaznay has largely stepped away from the limelight. But now is the time to reintroduce her talents to the world, starting with the release of ‘Miracle’, her first solo single in twenty years.
‘Miracle’ swiftly affirms that Shaznay’s songwriting gift remains as strong as ever, her talent for delivering earworm hooks, melancholy atmospherics and equal measures of empowerment and sass. Bringing a cinematic zeal to the ballad positioned between poised pop and R&B, Shaznay’s voice exudes a confidence which is completely in tune with the positivity of the song’s message.
Shaznay says, “‘Miracle’ was a journey, a relentless writing process between Emily Phillips and me. We pushed each other, we changed it a lot until, and when I finally listened to it I realised it was a love song to myself, about the person I’ve been for the past 25 years and where I am now. It’s a message of encouragement to return to my love of writing with self-esteem, and confidence in the way that made me happy.”
Listen to ‘Miracle’ – BELOW:
Shaznay Lewis started working on new music in the summer of 2022 with collaborators including ‘Miracle’ duo Emily Phillips and Ant Whiting (Florence + The Machine, Sigrid), Ben Cullum (Celeste), Michael Angelo (Sam Smith, Not3s), Johan Hugo (Self Esteem, Diplo), Jez Ashurst (Maisie Peters, Little Mix), Moyses Dos Santos (Freya Ridings) and Charlie Stacey (Ezra Collective). Shaznay poured twenty years of life experience and her old-school, no-autotune approach to classic soul into a catalogue of new songs… more of which you’ll hear in the near future.
While Shaznay has stepped out in recent years (notably performing with Coldplay at Wembley Stadium, solo shows, and a return to the upper reaches of the charts with All Saints), much of her focus in the past twenty years has been under the radar: marriage and motherhood and songwriting for other artists being her main focuses.
Those experiences provided a wealth of inspiration for lyrics, and now Shaznay – one of the great British songwriters of modern times – is now in a prime position to explore and share those songs with long-term fans and undoubtedly a brand new audience too. Welcome back, Shaznay: ‘Miracle’ shows it has been worth the wait.
Looking further into the year ahead, Shaznay is also confirmed to play London’s Mighty Hoopla on June 2nd.
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