Hitting the stage singing Blank Space, with red lips, wavy blonde locks and a shirt reading “But Daddy, I love him”, it’s clear Shannon Beresford adores every second of embodying her idol Taylor Swift.
However, the 32-year-old Canadian musician admits it took two months for her to decide whether channelling Taylor was a good idea for her career.
“As women, whenever you put yourself out there as an artist, people compare you to other women,” she explains. “I’m blonde, blue-eyed, sang about love and played guitar, so people were always saying, ‘You’re just like Taylor!’ I didn’t know if this would damage any progress I’d made in the music industry or open up doors.”
Now as she prepares to kick off an eight-date New Zealand tour of her tribute show Taylor’s Story, Shannon knows she made the right decision and she says she owes it all to her parents, who encouraged her love of music and bought her a guitar when she was a kid.
She recalls, “I was always singing into a hairbrush in my room and I’d put on Spice Girls concerts for my family.”
Dabbling in theatre, she spent her teens singing and learning guitar. While she was heavily influenced by Shania Twain, it was Taylor who was on the rise as Shannon began playing open-mic nights.
“I remember hearing Our Song and loving it,” she tells Woman’s Day. “I got really into her music because it had that country feel. Instantly, I thought, ‘She gets my life!’ Then I became really influenced by her songwriting.”
After studying forensic psychology, Shannon was working in social services and palliative care. Then, a friend recommended her to perform in a Taylor tribute act. By that time, she’d seen the pop icon perform in Toronto and dreamed of gracing the stage like the chart-topper.
Shannon recalls, “She opened with Speak Now and I vividly remember the smoke machines went off. Then she rose from the stage and went, ‘Drop everything now!’ I started crying. It was so cool seeing somebody I look up to doing their thing. I badly wanted to do what she was doing.”
A decade later, Shannon fulfilled that dream at a local fair. She had her hair cut like Taylor, perfected her dance moves and sourced lookalike costumes.
She says, “At first, I had impostor syndrome. I was thinking, ‘Should I be doing this?’ Hundreds of people showed up and everyone was screaming. When it was time to get on stage, I saw a rainbow and knew that was my late mum’s way of saying, ‘You’ve got this. Go out there and have fun!’ My mum loved Taylor’s music. She’d love seeing the happiness I give people through this opportunity.”
While Shannon’s had great feedback from Swifties, she still faces moments of self-doubt.
“It’s weird trying to be another woman,” she confesses. “I’m emulating somebody who’s alive and active, plus we have different body types – she’s four inches [10cm] taller! Sometimes I think, ‘I don’t even look like her.’”
But slipping into Taylor-like costumes, especially the Reputation bodysuit, helps Shannon shake off any inhibitions. Then, channelling the popstar’s personality is “easy”.
She says, “I’ve always felt connected to what she represents. Maybe because we’re both December babies!”
Incredibly, some audience members have walked away from Taylor’s Story wondering if Shannon was actually Taylor. Backed by a band and dancers, the two-hour extravaganza takes fans through the star’s career and evolution.
“Fans who have been there since Taylor was 17 love the nostalgic tunes, but there’s also the newer music,” says Shannon. “It’s a fun journey for everyone. People come dressed up and it’s just joy, serotonin and dopamine!”
With many Kiwis having missed out on The Eras Tour, Shannon’s excited to bring a taste of the spectacle to Aotearoa, where her band’s itching to visit several Lord Of The Rings filming locations.
Meanwhile, Shannon will continue writing her own music, saying Taylor has helped her grow as an artist.
“She’s helped me find so much confidence,” she says. “Coming into my own as a person while trying to be her is a weird concept, but it’s helped me become more in tune with myself.”
Taylor’s Story tours Auckland, Hamilton, Whanganui, Napier, Paraparaumu, Wellington, Dunedin and Christchurch from 1 May. For more information or to buy tickets, visit stetsongroup.com.
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