Meet The Toronto Alt-Pop Artist renforshort
renforshort is an up-and-coming alternative pop artist from Toronto that needs to be on everyone’s radar. At 14 years old, the songstress started her singing career, after realizing her passion during an open mic night. Two years later, the singer-songwriter released her atmospheric debut single ‘waves’ followed by the viral single ‘mind games’ – the youth-driven tracks racked up a combined five million streams. Apple Music listed her as Artist of the Week, and SoundCloud listed her as an Artist to Watch in 2019. Ren returns this year with new insightful singles like ‘i drive me mad’ and ‘new way’ ahead of the release of her debut EP teenage angst.
We got to chat with renforshort about everything from her track ‘new way’, where she sees herself in 10 years and so much more…
Where do you see yourself in 10 years from now?
In 10 years from now, I see myself hopefully doing what I’m doing right now and still hopefully finding joy and prayer in it. I see myself continuing to make music. I’d like to see myself being able to help people through my lyrics and interactions.
What was the inspiration behind ‘New Way’ and its music video?
‘New Way’ was a twist on a conventional love song. I didn’t want to write a song about loving someone so much or I hate you so much. It’s that I love you so much, and I want to hate you because this is too good to be true. The music video was literally the epitome of that, kinda just having a ken doll which is supposedly the “perfect man” and kinda just being sick of him and wanting him gone while everyone around you sees him as the perfect boyfriend and is in awe of him all the time.
Your lyrics discuss personal topics like anxiety and love. Are your songs reflective of your own experiences/feelings?
Yeah. A lot of my songs are reflective of my own experiences and feelings. Especially songs like ‘I drive me mad’ & ‘bummer’. Some of them are more hyped up or I take things that I’ve seen in movies or heard from friends and think about how I could incorporate those stories into songs. For example, I can take a situation like “ah, he didn’t text me back for 3 hours” and turn that into a song. With regards to the anxiety and stuff, those are things that I’ve experienced then and there and continue to deal with. All the songs that involve mental health, I have written on the spot when I’ve been feeling that way.
What can listeners expect from your debut EP teenage angst?
I think listeners can expect comfort. There is a lot of variety. I touch on different genres, different topics. I say “comfort” because a few of my songs really touch on things that you don’t really hear about a lot in mainstream media which I wish I would of seen growing up.
You were signed to Geffen Records at 17 years old. What advice would you give to other teenagers trying to pursue their dreams?
The advice I would give is that it all seems hard and it is hard – you have to work everyday at it, you’re going to lose people, you’ll notice people mocking you, and they’ll make you feel like crap. But that’s something you have to IGNORE because it’s always going to happen. You can’t let that get in the way of what you want to do or else that will be your biggest regret. You have to stay motivated, you have to see it as you are doing what you want to do. It’s your dream not there’s.
Being raised in a very artistic-leaning family, do you have any intentions of branching out to other artistic ventures?
I’m really into art. Art is something I like to do in my free time. I could definitely see myself branching into art. I’d love to be able to make art, see art, and be around art as much as possible. It’s very influential to me and calming.
Why do you sing?
I sing because I grew up loving performing. I love writing, and I feel it’s the way I can put out messages that are important and messages that I believe people should be hearing. It’s my platform to speak from.
What artist(s) do you have on repeat right now?
I really love Benne, I love… obviously Harry Styles. Let see, ummm Beabadoobee, The Cure, Decklin McKennaz. That’s a good snapshot of what I’ve been listening to lately.
Who inspires you
Some many people inspire me like my grandparents and my parents. I’m not sure if you meant artists or regular people, but when I’m feeling “bleh” or not wanting to write a test – I think about them and what they have done with their lives and what they have gone through. It motivates me. It doesn’t mean that the problems I’m facing don’t mean anything. It just puts things into perspective.
What would you like to accomplish by the end of 2020?
By the end of 2020, I want to have more music out. I want to meet a lot more of the people who listen to my music, and I’d like to be able to do some shows where everyone knows my lyrics!
Make sure to check out renforshort latest video for her single ‘new way’…
