In the span of four years, Tyler Shaw, one of Riverside’s alumni, has been making a name for himself in the music industry, including being signed to Sony and garnering a gold-selling single.
Born April 8, 1993, Coquitlam native Tyler Shaw has come a long way from where he started. Only 5 years ago, the previous Pitt River Middle student and 2011 graduate of Riverside Secondary was pursuing an athletic scholarship and a career in soccer at the University of Prince Edward Island. Tyler was encouraged by his friend and roommate Kyle Dutton to take part in the “Coca-Cola MuchMusic Covers Contest 2012” and was one of 13,000 people who applied. The results were announced June 17 during the 2012 MuchMusic Video Awards and Tyler found out he won. He rose to fame through the contest and release of his debut single, “Kiss Goodnight”, through Sony Music Canada was in December of the same year. The song spent well over 3 months on the Adult Contemporary Music Charts and was certified Gold by Music Canada in April 2013.
He was then nominated for a MuchMusic Video Award in 2013, while his track “Showtime” was adopted as the official song for the 2014 FIFA U20 Women’s World Cup in Canada. Shaw’s debut album, Yesterday, was released on September 4, 2015. Tyler was also set to tour with Kelly Clarkson and Nick Jonas on nine Canadian dates. It was supposed to be from October 1 to October 17, ending with a performance at Rogers Arena in Vancouver. However due to a vocal strain earlier in September, Clarkson had to cancel all remaining 2015 tour dates and had medical orders to be on vocal rest.
Riverside alumni often return to visit after graduating, and even while making it big, the now Toronto based singer still manages to come back and visit. ”Tyler doesn’t forget his grass roots, and still checks in and visits. He’s very humble. He was a great leader, and when going on leadership outings, he was great with people, young and old. Tyler was also very driven.” said Mrs. Blaxland, Shaw’s previous Leadership teacher.
