I tried for weeks to make contact with Skye Sweetnam. I talked to her grandfather and her father, but Skye was my illusive goal. One week she was in Halifax for the Juno Awards, the next in Thailand for the Asian MTV Awards. When I finally got her mother on the phone from Los Angeles, she told me Skye couldn’t make it for our scheduled phone interview because her recording session had gone longer than expected – foiled again!

Two nights later, the phone rang. “Hi, this is Skye Sweetnam.” Her voice has all the enthusiasm and energy that one would expect from listening to her songs. Her speaking voice is not unlike her singing voice – powerful, positive and, yes, sweet! I have a page of questions I want to ask her but I only get one of them out. By the end of our hour-long conversation, she has answered all of them anyway.

It all started in Cucci’s Hair Salon in downtown Bolton. Skye was asked to sing spontaneously in front of the customers gathered there, and never one to shrink from the limelight, she launched in. As fate would have it, a woman sitting in one of the chairs sat up and took notice. Her brother, Blair Holder, worked for one of the biggest entertainment law firms in Canada, Sanderson–Taylor. “My brother’s coming over to the house tonight for my birthday party. Do you have a demo CD?” Skye passed it on to the mystery woman who played it for Holder. Within a few days Skye was contacted and had her first manager, Zack Warner, who introduced her to singer song-writer James Robertson. This was Skye’s most important and lasting professional relationship. “James remains one of my closest friends in the industry to this day.”

“I was thirteen years old and James was 21. Working with him made me realize that I wanted to be a singer song-writer. I decided I was going to write about the things I knew about – parents, boys, school, and being a little rebel. During this time we’d work all night in his basement living on chips and pop.”

“It was during this time that I wrote and recorded Imaginary Superstar about me singing with my hairbrush – which I really used to do! I made a mini stop- animation video and sent it to all the major record labels. To our amazement we got a call from Capitol Records in Hollywood! They wanted us to come down, and they treated us like royalty. It was amazing! They said ‘what do we have to do to get you to sign with us?’ And I said. ‘Well, I really like chocolate chip cookies.’ The next day we came back to our hotel room and there were a gazillion chocolate chip cookies!”

At the tender age of fourteen, when most kids are adjusting to life in Grade 9, Skye signed her first record deal with Capitol Records, left Mayfield Secondary School and began full time work on Noise From the Basement, the record that would make her famous. “All the demo tapes we had made back in James’ basement were good enough for the record. We only had to record two more. It was funny though because those demos were so rough. If you listen carefully, you can actually hear James’ mom vacuuming in the background.

“The year before the CD came out, I went on tour with Shawn Desman around the Maritimes. We played a lot of clubs and because I was so young, I had to stay backstage between sets. Men used to offer to buy me drinks, and my father had to step in once or twice. That year we did a tour of summer camps with Fefe Dobson. That was one of the best tours I ever did. The kids were so appreciative.

“When my song Billy S. was used in the soundtrack for How To Deal, starring Mandy Moore, a lot of opportunities opened up. I was sixteen and I went on tour with Britney Spears. That was incredible. Playing in front of 20,000 people every night! We travelled through 17 countries in Europe and did over 50 shows!

“My first record was released on September 21, 2004. We toured Japan, Spain, France, Thailand and Hong Kong. It was great. Last summer I did my first headlining tour in Japan, and I was amazed how the audiences, even though they didn’t know how to speak English, could sing every word to my songs!”

Skye talks reflectively about her experiences touring with Ryan Cabrera. “I was touring with Ryan around the time of his break up with Ashlee Simpson. There’s this celebrity culture that everybody sees, but these are real people and it hits close to home when you’re right there with them.”

Skye does not miss having never been to high school. “Travel has been more of an education than school could ever be. And then there’s the whole business thing. I’m responsible for all aspects of the business. There’s a lot of responsibility. I’ve learned more than I ever could have at school.”

Skye has thousands of fans all over the world. Her biggest fan base is in Japan where she says she would like to live one day. Skye answers all her fan mail and is especially fond of those she calls her “boardies.” These are the fans who frequent her web page. On her “My Space” blog she has over 12,000 contacts. “They know things before I do – ‘Skye has been confirmed for the Juno Awards’ – they knew that before I did!”

Skye is hoping to release her second record later this year. “I’ve been working with the production and writing team, The Matrix. They’ve worked with stars like Hilary Duff, Britney Spears and Korn. I was hesitant to work with them, because they had a bit of a reputation for making ‘pretty young girls’ famous. I didn’t want to be put with anyone who was trying to pre-package me. I know all about the men in the suits who make the hits and I didn’t want that. As it turned out, the guys from Matrix didn’t want that either. We hit it off great. I’d bring them a drawing of a wolf eating a little girl and say, ‘can you make this into a song.’ And they’d say, ‘Yeah, great!’ It’s been fantastic working with them.

“One side of my brain is totally business minded and the other part is the rebellious part of me. Everybody wants the safe hit. That’s not what I’m about. Young girls, we get a bad rap for not knowing what we’re doing. It’s not that way with me.”

When I ask Skye if she has any advice for young people, she becomes even more passionate. “I think young people are smarter than everyone makes them out to be. I always tell them to keep their head high and always have confidence. I’m my own best friend. High school revolves around what everybody thinks. There’s so much more out there! You guys just wait!”

Skye recalls the day she knew her dreams had come true. She and her friend, Ashley Hewko from Bolton, had just attended her first record’s release party and Skye had just appeared on the Jay Leno show. “Driving through Los Angeles later we passed a record store and there was this huge poster of my face. I thought, ‘This is it! It’s finally happening!’”

From the “Pop Stars March Break Camp” at Rumball Music Studios to her second major label record in Hollywood, Bolton’s Skye Sweetnam is one young lady who has made her dreams come true.

Michael Reist is head of the English department at Robert Hall Secondary School in Caledon East.