Shab Talks ‘Afterglow,’ Collaborations, and Touring with JLS

Hi Shab, congratulations on the release of your single “Afterglow” and brand new music video! Can you tell us about the inspiration behind this track?

Have you ever experienced a state of bliss that overwhelms you, rooted in your interactions with your family, your children, some of your friends and especially your lover? AFTERGLOW grew out of my fascination with that sense of the love that remains inside, that glow that you feel from encounters with the people that you love.  AFTERGLOW speaks that awareness also seems to have sprung from some personal mantras which have become my focus for 2024, emphasizing less stress in my daily dealings and to be more present with those that I love.

In “Afterglow,” the lyrics explore the thrill of a romantic relationship. How did you and co-writers Damon Sharpe and JHart work to capture this alluring vibe in the song?

Working with Damon & JHart on AFTERGLOW as well as some of the other songs off my upcoming ONE SUITCASE album was an absolutely delicious experience! Damon had worked up some basic eight and sixteen bar beats that he thought could serve as the foundation for some new work.  As we collectively reflected on these beats, we were looking to match certain thematic sensibilities for that day’s composition exercise to the tracks that Damon had prepared. JHart has such a wonderfully creative mind and is full of differing ideas as to how we might style a new song.  And frankly, through trial and error, we ended up with a series of songs that I feel reflect a more sophisticated structure and beat pattern from my prior work, but still remains true to my vibe and personality.

What was the inspiration behind the concept of your latest music video, and how did you think it brings that vision to life?

My two Creative Directors, Richy Jackson & Eli Sokhn, wanted to craft a sensuous dance collective that highlighted the dance ability of the song while retaining its sensuous vibe.  We met together with a crew of wonderful and talented dancers that Richy, who conjures my choreography, had recruited for the shoot — including my longest term supporting dancer, Lauren Grundmann, who is also toured with me on four occasions — and we simply let the Hot Young Things do their stuff!  While one does not get this sense from the video, the room in which we shot this video was probably not quite 15 feet square: and with all that body heat in close quarters, the whole vibe of the shoot was massively sexy — and Eli, who is my long time video director, was brilliant and capturing that whole environment.

Do you consider visuals to be an important aspect of your music?

Absolutely.  As so many of my songs are rooted in romance, sensuality and now sexual situations, you have to have the Show to pair with the Tell!

 Your music delves into a fusion of genres, including pop, electronic dance and Latin. Are there any other genres you’d love to experiment with? 

Well, even though I live in Texas and love some country music, I seriously doubt that I will go down that road.  Just as if I was to experiment with reggae, rap or K-Pop, there would be nothing authentic about my experience growing up with those genres.  I do not want to be a tourist in my music.  But the other genres with which I have worked previously as well as on my one suitcase album are all musical styles with which I have grown up over the years.

Your 2023 arena tour with JLS must have been a major milestone in your career, with two sold-out dates at the O2. What was that experience like? 

I think that every artist probably has their short list of venues that would be Dream Settings for their performances: Madison Square Garden in New York, Budokan in Tokyo, Copacabana Beach in Rio.  And for any artist, The O2 in London is near the top — if not at the top — of that list.  I still find it incredible that less than three years into my journey as a full-time musical artist that I was fortunate enough to be able to perform at The O2 — and I will be forever grateful to the wonderful guys of JLS for giving me that opportunity.  London is one of those special cities for me where I crave the vibe that one intuitively feels when there: and when you walk the halls in the back spaces of The 02 and realize all of the mega artists who have performed there, it really tends to be a humbling experience.  I mean, only a few days before I performed there, Madonna had owned that stage at The 02 for the entire week!

If your music career had a theme song, what would it be? 

In God’s Country by U2.

With over 25 million YouTube views and 13 million Spotify streams, you’ve gained quite the global fanbase. Could you share some notable highlights from your musical journey so far?

There have been a number of milestones that stand out in my mind on my personal journey as a musical artist. I was incredibly fortunate to have found Damon Sharpe, my long-term producer and now co-manager, as everything started with him: and all of my success I credit in some way shape or form to his involvements.The release of INFINITE LOVE, my first album, was something of a personal awakening for me as it made me realize that I was truly on the road to becoming a full-time entertainer. My benefit concert for Hope Supply Co. charity, with which my partner and I are deeply involved in Dallas, was another early milestone. All of my prior public performances had been sung in Farsi and it was my first performance ever in English.  With videos of all of the songs from that concert available on YouTube, you may not realize that it was also the first time that I had attempted to integrate choreography into my performances. I was so nervous, but happy that seem to have pulled it off! My first international tour with Anastasia was I opening on a number of fronts, but for the first time I realized as to how strenuous an extended music tour could be as well as the discipline needed to successfully prosecute one’s performances on the road. The arena tour with JLS was obviously another big marker, as it was my first experiences in a true arena setting.  I learned a lot about meeting to project my personality to the crowds in those vast spaces: and I very intently studied the professionalism of the guys of JLS, not only on stage but as to how they engaged with their fans. 

Finally, I would have to say that the making of ONE SUITCASE stands out above all the others, as I increasingly took control of the crafting of the music by which I am trying to tell my story as an immigrant to the West who fled a homeland dominated by a sociopathic and authoritarian fundamentalism.

Alongside your music, you’ve become a leading entertainment industry advocate for women’s rights in Iran. Looking ahead, how do you hope to continue to use your platform to raise awareness? 

I have said in other than my engagement as an activist in opposition to the thugs who rule presently in Iran has been frankly accidental. One cannot an artist as well as a refugee from that oppressive fundamentalist overthrow without questioned as to the prevailing situation in Iran. Moreover, I have legions of family members and family friends in Iran who would seek to leave that country — indeed, my niece now staying with my family in Dallas was just last month was finally given permission to depart Iran after a decade of first making application — but the gangsters who control Iran are desperate to prevent the people from having freedom of movement, thought and expression.

While I don’t seek out opportunities to directly confront that regime, I will not shy from the opportunity to tell the world the truth about what’s going on in Iran.  And while members of my team have concerns for my security and well-being as a result of such dissent, that is a price that I am willing to pay so that the world might have a better understanding as to realities there. 

You collaborated with Fat Joe on hit single ‘VOODOO’ – Do you have any dream artists you’d love to work with in the future? 

Miley Cyrus, Lady Gaga, Ariana Grande, Selena Gomez, Post Malone, Lithe & Coldplay.

To wrap up, what are you working on at the moment and can you tease what fans can expect next? 

Right now, we are finishing up production, mixing and mastering of the 21 songs that will appear on my ONE SUITCASE double album, the title of which evokes the reality that I arrived in the United States on a Lufthansa flight alone, speaking no English and carrying all of my possessions in a single hand carried suitcase.  My world looks so much different today and I have been for years fully Americanized, but I will never forget my humble beginnings and the struggles that I have encountered along the road to the present. We are also continuing to explore touring opportunities, and I hope to be back on the road again during 2025 — particularly in the U.S.  And I have already started work on the next album, which has at this moment no working title but will probably continue to explore some of the themes and genres that I am first navigating on ONE SUITCASE.

Watch The Video for ‘Afterglow’: