Crystal Shawanda's country roots run deep. Born Native American, she was automatically country joined to the land and the real stories of everyday people. To Native Americans, music is everything. It's their history, their dance, and used to remember and to forget. It's a way to celebrate life and mourn death.

Crystal was born on the Wikwemikong Native Reservation on Canada's Manitoulin Island in Ontario. She grew up immersed in all styles of music, especially country, being the youngest of three siblings; music has always been a part of who Crystal is. At 12, she accompanied her truck-driver father on a long haul to the southern United States, and visited Nashville for the first time. At 13, she recorded her first album in Nashville, all of which were songs that she wrote. Over the next several years recorded 3 more independent albums, traveled back and forth to Nashville, honed her craft, and finally got a full-time gig at the famous Tootsie's Orchid Lounge on Nashville's world famous Broadway. There, she met her husband and lead guitarist, Dewayne Strobel, where they shared the stage for six years.

While working at Tootsie's, Crystal began to work with producer Scott Hendricks (Faith Hill, Brooks and Dunn) and it was then that Nashville music-business legend Joe Galante signed Crystal to RCA Records/ Sony Music Nashville in 2007. Crystal's first single, "You Can Let Go" , was the fastest rising single in Canadian BDS History and reached top 5 in Canada and top 20 in the US. Her debut album "Dawn of a New Day" was released in 2008, was Billboard's highest charting album by a Native American in history, and sold over 400,000 copies. A CMT six-part documentary also aired in Canada called "Crystal: Living the Dream", giving fans an inside look at Crystal’s life in Nashville.

In 2009, after five hit singles in Canada including the title track, "Try", and "My Roots are Showing", and a massive tour with Brad Paisley and Dierks Bentley, Crystal was named the Canadian Country Music Association’s Female Artist of the Year, deservingly.

2010 shaped up to be another amazing year for Crystal, beginning with a Cross-Canadian tour with Reba McEntire, and was honored to perform every night with the living legend for the duet "Does He Love You". Crystal and her husband Dewayne launched their record label New Sun Records, and released two lead singles off of her forthcoming album, "Beautiful Day" and "Fight For Me" in Canada. She also performed for 55 million people on the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York City.

As she looks forward to the rest of 2011, Crystal Shawanda has formed a team of country music's best and will continue to soar, with the release of a new studio album, entitled "Just Like You", and a new single "Closer". Crystal will also be hitting the road in the US and Canada, and looks forward to spending time with her fans. "I love to sing, whether there's a crowd or not and that's something that has always pulled me through."