Today we’d like to introduce you to Stewart Taylor
Hi Stewart, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
I started making up my own songs and singing them when I was four years-old. I guess you could say I found my calling very early on in life. By the time I was seven, I had a notebook full of songs I had written and I recorded them, albeit badly, on a tape recorder. I began performing with my older brother in theater camp every summer, and that’s where my love for being onstage really began. Eventually I was winning talent shows and performing in stage productions around my hometown in New Canaan, CT. With all of that attention also came a lot of bullying from my peers and seemingly all walks of life in my small town. Every day as I walked through the halls in school, kids of all ages called me a faggot and made fun of me for my singing and dancing. When I went home, kids would call my house to harass me and would fill my inbox with hate mail. The things that had lit me up inside and brought me so much joy were being used as weapons against me. But instead of giving in to all of the hatred, I leaned into my songwriting. I wrote and sang through the pain and promised myself that I’d never let anyone stop me from being myself. By the time I was eighteen, I had come out as queer and was living my life proudly as an out musician. It was then that one of my original songs got me accepted into Berklee College of Music in Boston. With scholarship money and working multiple part time jobs, I got to attend my dream college. It was here that I finally felt like I belonged somewhere. After getting into Kara DioGuardi’s songwriting course in my third semester, she teamed me up with Charlie Puth and a slew of other songwriters and producers to collaborate. Under her wing, we all went through songwriting bootcamp, eventually ending up on the front cover of The Boston Globe. I continued to write, record, and gig with my band throughout the rest of college until I graduated in 2015. Then I moved to New York for a few years to work with new producers and to gig on the Lower East Side. Ultimately, when the call came in 2017 to move to LA to pursue bigger opportunities in the music biz, I made the leap. In the seven years since I made that move three thousand miles from New York City, I’ve fallen in and out of love, written hundreds of songs, made a handful of music videos, and had a breakdown during the pandemic. Honestly, who didn’t have one? Again, I leaned into my songwriting during those difficult periods of my adulthood, and got back in touch with the reason I started writing and singing to begin with. Now I’m signed to Sapphire Records in LA and the music video for my last single Nightmares is playing on MTV. I’ve also had the privilege of writing for pop stars in Europe, as well as Disney and Hulu shows. After all these years, I am reminded time after time why I never gave up on my dreams.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
My journey as an artist has never been a smooth road. Getting bullied for being a singer all throughout my childhood up until college showed me early on that an artist is also a target. There were a lot of dark moments where I wanted to just give up, but I never stopped performing or writing my songs. I had to grow up really fast and worked multiple part time jobs as a teen in order to pay for my voice and dance lessons. I’ve had so many people slam doors in my face and learned to pick myself back up every single time. When I came out in high school, my family life fell apart and one of my family members tried to kick me out of the house. Needless to say, I’ve been in survival mode ever since and I am a SURVIVOR. I can confirm first hand that not being handed everything in life has also made me an extremely hard worker. Better still, it’s made me an extremely dynamic artist and songwriter. Through depression, adversity, mental health disorders, love, heartbreak, and the ups and downs of the music business, I have learned not only to survive, but to thrive.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
As a singer/songwriter, my songs and music videos have been featured on MTV’s Spankin’ New & Logo’s NEW NOW NEXT. I have written songs for European pop star Antonia, LA-based pop artist Ceranda, American Idol’s David Hernandez, Hulu, Disney, and multiple members of Ru Paul’s Drag Race. As a dancer and actor, I appeared alongside Justin Timberlake in his latest music video No Angels as well as Neon Tree’s latest single Bad Dreams. I’m most proud of being able to write songs for myself and wide variety of other artists. After so many years in the business, what sets me apart is that I wear tons of different hats as an artist. I get to sing, write, dance, act, model, develop artists, and even edit music videos with my directors.
Are there any books, apps, podcasts or blogs that help you do your best?
I watch a lot of inspiring documentaries and read a lot of memoirs. Brené Brown has a fantastic Netflix special called The Call To Courage. Her book Rising Strong has also helped me through a lot of tough times. Singer/songwriter Jewel has a fantastic memoir called Picking Up The Pieces that I would recommend to anyone struggling to find their way in life, especially in the music biz. Of course, any book or special from Tony Robbins and Oprah are incredible. Feeding myself this kind of material and wisdom has helped me remain positive and on track in life.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.stewarttaylorofficial.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/imstewarttaylor
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/stewarttaylormusic
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@imstewarttaylor
- Other: Tik Tok @imstewarttaylor
Image Credits
Shaun Vadella & Jake Halter
