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A few weeks ago singer-songwriter Shannon Hope penned a painfully reflective piece for Rolling Stone South Africa about what it means to struggle as an artist and the resolve it requires. Titled "Living the Dream, But Not Making a Living," Hope, an award winning musician, writes with unflinching honesty about how heart-breaking it is turning up to play in front of an empty auditorium. “Waiting for an audience to arrive,” she says, “is like reliving that childhood fear that no one would come to your birthday party, over, and over, and over again.”

Later she adds: “In reality, I’m torturing myself through already emotionally-demanding music that is only intensified by the dark silent space, and burdening three people with pity as they watch me trying to fight back tears of bitter frustration and disappointment, because I can’t shrug it off as a bad night anymore.”  Despite the Titanic-intensity struggle to stay afloat the talented singer isn’t giving up the dream just yet; she recently inked a publishing deal with Peer Music South Africa. "Alone in the City" (above) is taken from her 2009 debut, STILL and "Fight a New Day" (below) is from her more recent album with the same title.

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