Catherine Elizabeth Shaw (born April 2, 1991) is an American singer-songwriter, musician, and record producer. She gained prominence with her 2014 song "Brooklyn Girls", which went viral and was covered by numerous news media outlets.[1][2]
Early life
Shaw was born and raised in Virginia Beach, later moving to Brooklyn.[3][4] Shaw moved to New York City in 2010 to attend School of Visual Arts where she studied painting before dropping out due to financial problems.[5][6]
Career
Shaw was discovered by her producer, Jay Levine, in the subways of New York City while busking to raise money for food and art supplies.[7]
Shaw's 2014 song "Brooklyn Girls" went viral and received over 300,000 views on YouTube.[8] Brooklyn Girls was widely criticised for its stereotypical portrayal of Brooklyn, and Shaw received several online death threats.[3]NYMag described Brooklyn Girls as "the anthem nobody wanted" and predicted that it would be "a huge hit among suburban teenage girls and people who have never been to Brooklyn".[9]Entertainment Weekly described it as "the most hated song on the internet".[4]
Her follow-up single "Human Contact" shows her smashing a croquet club and curling her hair with bananas. The video was directed by Shaw and Bryan Russell Smith.[10]
Shaw's song "Night Go Slow" is about two girls, Dylann and Jenny, who fall in love. She says that her sexuality "does a lot of good for [her] writing"; she is bisexual, having had relationships with both men and women.[11][12]