Upcoming star Shane Harper dropped his latest EP Dancin' In The Rain just last week and it's already generating tons of buzz. Not only is his record doing well, but the 19-year-old triple threat is busy appearing as Spencer Walsh on Disney's popular show Good Luck Charlie and gearing up to open for Carly Rae Jepsen at the L.A. County Fair on Sept. 1. Not bad for a guy who was once a shy kid performing in his local church.
I caught up with Shane to talk about the new EP and ask him a bunch of fan questions YOU GUYS wanted to know. He's a nice guy and happily obliged. Check out our interview below!
OLOGY: What can you tell us about the EP and how it related to some of the stuff you’ve already done?
Shane Harper: Well, it’s actually interesting. I did kind of a small record. It was about nine songs, and I released it right before I went on tour with Cody Simpson and Greyson Chance. I think I was 18, and so it was about a year and a half ago. So we released that really quickly right before we went on tour so it was kind of last minute. Then about 6 months ago, Target decided they wanted to do this big exclusive version of my album and add 4 new songs. So the new songs on the EP are basically from that exclusive version of that record that only Target had. Up until now, none of those songs have been available digitally. So it’s really fun.
Getting to open for Carly Rae Jepsen must be exciting. Have you met her before?
I haven’t. It was exciting news to hear that I was opening for her. Of course, I had heard of her because of her song is so popular, and it was really funny – a week before I got the call that I was opening for her, I was in Chicago doing a gig and last minute, I decided to do half of "Call Me Maybe," just for fun as a cover. Sometimes my band and I pick songs backstage to do last minute just to keep the set interesting, and we picked "Call Me Maybe." I called them all like a week later, and I was like "Guys, we’re opening up main stage for Carly Rae Jepsen." So they were really excited and we thought it was kind of random, but we’re stoked.
Definitely. So when did you realize you wanted to do this for a living?
It was interesting. I was really into karate. I did that a lot as a kid, but when I was 9, I started dancing. My sister was a dancer. I started taking the class because I was always at the dance studio, and I got bit by the performing bug. I also joined a musical theatre group at the Performing Arts Studio. I started singing, and I grew up playing the guitar in church and stuff, so as I grew up singing. Music was a big part of my childhood because I’ve always loved playing the guitar and the piano and stuff. But I think when I started dancing and performing on stage, I really fell in love with it. A few years later when I was 13, I got scouted by an agent at a dance competition. So it all kind of spiraled from there. Interestingly enough, after I was scouted and they asked me if I wanted to sign with this agency, I was super scared and really nervous, very shy. I didn’t know that I was cut out to do it professionally, and that was the first time I thought of really doing it as a career. I started working immediately after I got signed. It’s really been a natural process, but I’m really grateful that it worked out that way.
Who are your biggest inspirations musically?
Oh my gosh. Well, I love the old school Jesse McCartney. I liked that a lot when I was younger. Like, "Beautiful Soul" was my jam (laughs). I was like "I want to write a song like this." I also really started liking Justin Timberlake when that first record came out because I was a dancer too. I was dancing to all that music at the time, so I really loved that kind of vibe. And then I started really getting inspired by guitar hero artists, like John Mayer and Jason Mraz and people like that, like Jack Johnson – people that have a lot to do with their instrument in terms of how they make their music. It’s kind of all over the place, but it’s kind of eclectic. And Phil Collins, I’ve always loved Phil Collins ever since I was younger.
If you could tour or record with anybody, who would it be?
That’s so hard. Well, if I could, I'd pick a tour group of like John Mayer, Coldplay and Adele (laughs). So that’s who I’d go on tour with, and it’d be like my dream tour. I didn’t mention Coldplay earlier, I love Coldplay. Honestly, John Mayer’s been a huge inspiration lately and in the past as well, but it’d be so cool to write a song with him and just learn from him since he’s such an amazing guitarist and a writer. I think he’s really unbelievable with what he does and I respect him a lot for his talent, so I’d like to work with him. That’d be really fun. I’d be nervous though (laughs).
If you could take credit for writing one song, which song would it be?
That’s a good one. That’s so hard. I feel like – OK, there are two. Two is even a stretch, but I love "Gravity" by John Mayer. I think it’s such a masterpiece of a song. I think it’s awesome. I think it’s beautiful and it’s wonderful, so I would love to say "Oh yeah, I wrote "Gravity.'" But also, I really like "Fix You" by Coldplay. It’s one of the best songs ever in this time, my generation. So those two. I’m just going to stop because I could just keep talking and coming up with other songs.
Do you have any embarrassing songs on your iPod or anything people wouldn’t expect?
Let’s see, at one point I’m pretty damn sure I had "Party in the USA" on my iPod. It’s a little bit off for me, but I love the song.
What’s your biggest dealbreaker when it comes to dating?
I don’t know. I feel like just too much superficiality, I guess. I don’t like shallow, too much shallow just gets so boring, you know? You gotta keep it fresh and ask good meaningful questions about people, be interested.
Have you ever been star-struck?
Yes, I have. Recently, I saw JT and Jessica Biel. I was eating out, and I saw them. They were sitting across from us at a restaurant, and I was like "Oh my God." I love Justin Timberlake, I think they’re so great together, and I was like "They’re here."
What else do you like to do in your free time?
I like to read. Reading is a fun pastime when I’m not working, but a lot of what I do takes up a lot of my time. I just got done jump-roping and working out on my punching bag, so I guess that’s something you'd do for fun. Sometimes it’s not really fun if you’re not in the mood, but…
Do you have a favorite TV show?
You know what? That’s hard. Biasly, I’d say Good Luck Charlie. I’d want to promote the show that I’m currently working on, but I’m a huge Full House fan. I grew up watching Full House, and I did not miss an episode of I Love Lucy either. I know that’s probably not the right thing to say, but I Love Lucy, definitely (laughs).
You have the most random tastes. I love it!
(Laughs). I’ve really seen like every episode of Full House about 3 times. I know the episodes like front and back.
I grew up on that show too. If it’s on, I have to watch it.
I wanted to be Jesse Katsopolis. He was my hero. Jesse and the Rippers, that was my whole thing. I was so into it.
Do you know the lyrics to the songs?
The one John Stamos sang to Becky when they were in Hawaii? It was a Beach Boys cover, wasn’t it? (Starts singing on the phone.) "If every word I said, could make you laugh, I’d talk forever…" That song? (laughs). Yeah, I know it really well. See, I told you.
Amazing. How is it working on Good Luck Charlie? You’ve been working on that for a few years now.
Yeah, I’ve been working on that for a few years, and it is a blast to work on. We just finished Season 3, and everyone’s really sweet. Great cast, great writers, great producers. Our crew is super rad as well. It’s the best job I’ve worked on so far. I mean, it’s nothing but fun and it’s a real pleasure to work with everyone.
They just got renewed for a fourth season. Do we know how much we’ll see you?
You know, I can’t give away too much because I’m sworn to secrecy and I’m sure someone would come after me. Everyone will have to watch, but it will be very entertaining. It’ll be a really wild end to Season 3, and then for Season 4, I think people will be really surprised.
What’s your favorite part about playing Spencer?
You know, Spencer is an interesting guy. I think he finds himself caught in the middle of a lot of weird situations with the Duncan family. So he gets to kind of sit back and watch chaos happen, and be outside of it for a little bit. It will affect him sometimes, but it’s funny to play him in those situations. I’m sure a lot of people remember, but we met Spencer’s family, I think in Season 2, and they’re very proper and wealthy. So I think with the chaos that happens with the Duncan family, they’re so not together and so all over the place. So it’s fun to play his reactions to that. I think that’s the whole idea of having him as a part of the family.
Your fans want to know if you’re going on tour any time soon...
Yeah, totally. I’m in the middle of figuring out some dates that I’m going to be doing some shows. I know that I’ve got the LA show, which is great. Then, I’m going to be going out to Michigan to do a show. And then I believe – it’s not confirmed yet, but I think I’ll be doing one other show in Minneapolis in the next couple of months. So I’ve got a few shows and I’ve yet to go on a real tour. I went out when I was working with Cody and Greyson. I’m hoping to get out on a real tour that’s like a month or a month and a half to really see everyone because I’ve got some really great fans. I promise I will be out there seeing them. In the mean time, I will be hitting up different cities for random gigs, so they’ll just have to stay updated on my social networking sites to see when I’ll be out there.
Is there any place that you’re dying to eventually go?
I really want to tour London or – my Brazilian fans are really cool, and I feel like I would feel really good about myself going to Brazil (laughs) because they’re all very enthusiastic. So I’d like to go. I’d like to go play some shows in Brazil, definitely. But there are other places I haven’t been, like go out of the state. Maybe tour a little bit more in Canada, maybe Europe, and definitely Brazil and South America.
Did you pick up Shane's EP yet? Let us know your favorite song in the comments!
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