Crystal Shawanda

Crystal Shawanda
Crystal Shawanda at Scotiabank Place, 14 February 2009, opening for Brad Paisley
Background information
Born	1983 Wikwemikong, Ontario, Canada
Origin	Wikwemikong, Ontario, Canada
Genres	Country, Blues
Occupation(s)	Singer, songwriter
Instruments	Vocals, guitar
Years active	2008—present
Labels	RCA Nashville, On Ramp, New Sun

Crystal Shawanda (born 1983) is a Canadian country music artist.CMT documented her rise to fame in the six-part series Crystal: Living the Dream, which was broadcast in February 2008. Signed to RCA Nashville in 2007, she released her first single, "You Can Let Go", in Canada in January 2008. It was the fastest climbing single on the Canadian Country Singles Chart since Carolyn Dawn Johnson's "Georgia" in 2000, reaching the Top 10 in five weeks. It was released in the United States on February 25, 2008 .

Shawanda's first album, Dawn of a New Day, was released in Canada on June 24, 2008, and in the United States on August 19. The album entered the Canadian Country Albums chart at number 2, and the Billboard Top Country Albums chart at number 16. It became the highest charted album by a full-blooded Canadian First Nations country artist in the SoundScan era.

Shawanda is Ojibwe from Wikwemikong Unceded Indian Reserve located on Manitoulin Island on Lake Huron. Her surname translates to "Dawn of a New Day".

Shawanda toured with various artists across Canada and the northern United States in 2008. In 2009, she toured Canada and the United States with Brad Paisley and Dierks Bentley as a special guest on the Paisley Party 2009 tour. Her first single, "You Can Let Go", peaked at number 21 on the Hot Country Songs charts. In mid-2009, Shawanda left RCA Nashville and, through her own record label, New Sun Records, and a distribution deal with EMI/On Ramp Records, released a Christmas album titled I'll Be Home for Christmas.

In 2010, Shawanda released a single, "Beautiful Day", via her own label, New Sun Records. Shawanda also performed at the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade in 2010, performing "Let's Come Together" and "This Is My Land". She then released another single, "Love Enough", on August 15, 2011 in both Canada and the United States. Shawanda's second studio album, Just Like You, was released by New Sun on April 24, 2012.