INTERVIEW: WILSN on her rise as one of Australia's most commanding singers and songwriters: "Success stories are always super inspiring, but they don’t erase the ongoing challenges women face.”
Published: 29 April, 2025
Shannon Busch, who performs under the stage name WILSN, has emerged as one of Australia’s most exciting young music artists since she released her debut single ‘Brand New World;’ in 2019, and is now being feted for her songwriting skills as well, with ‘Give You Love’, the song she wrote for superstar Jessica Mauboy, receiving two nominations at this year’s APRA Music Awards.
Busch has an incredibly flexible, expressive, husky voice that lends itself perfectly to the glorious soul-pop she performs, which has throwbacks to the 1960s peak of soul and its greats such as Aretha Franklin, Etta James and Gladys Knight. while remaining contemporary and very much of the now.
Born in the rural Gippsland region of Victoria, as a child Busch moved with her family to Geelong, and then to Melbourne. She has been singing since she was five years old, and grew up listening to the music her parents loved - Ella Fitzgerald, Billie Holliday, Whitney Houston, Nina Simone and Mariah Carey - and after school studied jazz at the Victorian College of the Arts.
Her career began with her spending two years writing in Nashville, and, thinking there was no real market for the soul music she loved, initially planned on performing a completely different genre. However after touring with blues-rock band The Teskey Brothers, and seeing the packed venues they could command, she realised her style of music had a keen audience and made the decision that has brought her to where she is today.
In 2023 she released her critically acclaimed debut album Those Days Are Over, and collaborated with Budjerah on a cover version of the Crowded House classic ‘Better Be Home Soon’. Her most recent single, the swinging, gospel-tinged ‘I Got You’ was released in April 2024.
Last year, Busch’s career segued into a new direction, when she wrote the commercially successful and critically acclaimed Jessica Mauboy hit single ‘Give You Love’. Originally written by Busch as a song she would perform herself, she ultimately felt stylistically it wasn’t right for her and the song ended up with Mauboy, featuring on her fifth studio album Your Forever and accumulating over 17 million streams on Spotify alone.
The song has already won Busch the prestigious Vanda & Young Global Songwriting Competition, and also earned her two nominations at the 2025 APRA Music Awards for Most Performed Australian Work and Most Performed Pop Work, with the awards to be held on 30 April.
Busch is an incredibly special artist that brings a unique slant to soul pop and while the genre has not traditionally been dominant in the Australian industry, Busch is proving to be a pivotal figure in its emergence. Her music - and that magnetic voice - is moving, stirring, energetic and utterly compelling and you will quickly find yourself unable to tear your ears away. We recently caught up with Busch to chat about her career and the upcoming APRA Music Awards.
Hi Shannon! It is so lovely to chat to you today. How is everything in your world right now?
Everything is really great! I’ve just played Bluesfest in Byron Bay, and I’m also super excited to have a lot of new music coming this year.
First off, a big congratulations on your two nominations in the 2025 APRA Music Awards for ‘Give You Love’, the song you wrote for Jessica Mauboy. How are you feeling?
Thanks so much. Honestly I’m just feeling super grateful. The music industry can be a real grind sometimes so little bits of public acknowledgement like this are really nice and encouraging.
This song has been a huge success for you, with you recently winning the Vanda & Young Global Songwriting Competition for ‘Give You Love’ as well. Did this song always feel special to you when you were writing it?
In short, yes it did, but that didn’t mean I thought it could get this far. I was initially going to sing it myself but then my career went a different direction musically and stylistically it didn’t fit. But people like Lauren Bodin at [music publisher] PULSE, were always saying to me... “What’s happening with that ‘Give You Love’ song?” so obviously they thought there was something there.
I find it pretty crazy that one of the biggest things that’s happened in my music career so far is because of a song I originally wrote about struggling to make it anywhere in music, and how having someone beside you on that journey helps so much. And I’m so glad the song made its way to Jessica Mauboy’s team and she loved it! Honestly one of the best things that could’ve happened!
The APRA Music Awards are so important because they first and foremost celebrate the person who wrote the song, and the artistry of songwriting, regardless of the glitz and glamour that may go into the presentation of the song. In a world of streaming and ‘free’ music, what more do you think we need to do to elevate songwriters?
I think that we could celebrate the wins of our international songwriters more, we have some incredible Australian songwriters doing awesome work in the US and most everyday people probably wouldn’t recognise their names. People like Sarah Aarons, Ben Abraham, Natt Dunn and Alex Hope come to mind to name a few.
Like many areas in the music industry, men have dominated pop songwriting for decades, however in recent years we have seen a major wave of hugely successful female songwriters, including some of the names you just mentioned. Do you think it is still a challenging area for female songwriters to succeed in?Absolutely, we’ve seen incredible strides by female songwriters in recent years, but the industry is still far from equal. Women continue to face barriers, from lack of access to production roles, to being underestimated or pigeonholed - and seen as the band's girlfriend. Success stories are always super inspiring, but they don’t erase the ongoing challenges in the industry.
What is your advice for any young creative that wants to pursue a career in songwriting?
I think just back yourself, and keep going no matter what it throws at you. I heard a quote recently, about acting, “I don’t really know what it takes to do well in this career, but I can tell you what people have in common who didn’t make it… they stopped trying.”
You are also a performing artist in your own right, releasing music under the stage name WILSN. What came first for you - the performing and singing, or the writing?
Definitely singing and performing, I was drawn to singing from a young age, I think 5 or so, and was also encouraged by my family (thanks Mum) to keep going with it. Mum also really pushed me to keep going with piano lessons from the age of 6 or 7 up until I was 18, even when at times I really didn’t want to. This ended up being helpful for my initial stages of writing because I’m a pretty insular person and being able to accompany myself meant I could sit in a room by myself and try and write something. But it wasn’t till I was out of high school and studying at the Victorian College of Arts (VCA) that I started properly getting into writing.
Is there a difference in how you approach writing a song when you know it is for another artist versus when you are writing for your own project?
Yeah definitely, it can be more freeing writing for someone else because with my own writing I probably put more pressure on myself to fit it to exactly what my project is.
Who were the artists that inspired you as a child, and who are the artists that inspire you today as an artist yourself?
When I was younger it was probably a combo of Aretha Franklin, Etta James, Billie Holiday, Ella Fitzgerald, (they are still my all time faves and who I credit with teaching me how to sing) then in my teens definitely a big dose of Alicia Keys and Beyoncé. Now artists such as Olivia Dean, Lianne La Havas, and Yebba constantly inspire me.
You have already had a pretty massive year, what else is coming up for you in 2025?
It has been great, yeah! But I have so much coming, new music, more touring hopefully and lots of things to announce very soon.
Thank you so much Shannon, it has been a delight chatting with you and goof luck at the APRA Music Awards!
Thanks so much for having me and I really appreciate what you guys are doing at Women in Pop!!
The APRA Music Awards will be held on 30 April. For more information click here.
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