ShyBoy

Jason Arnold, known by his stage name ShyBoy, is an American vocalist, songwriter, music producer, DJ, and mashup artist. His music has been featured in RuPaul’s Drag Race, Dynasty, America’s Next Top Model, Devil May Cry 4, Halloween (2018 trailer), and more. An array of writers and artists have collaborated with ShyBoy, including: Emmy Award-winning performer RuPaul; hip-hop artist SlimKid3 (The Pharcyde); Grammy-nominated singer-songwriter Wendy Waldman; Saturn Award-winning writer Bryan Fuller; DJ and record producer Darude; Emmy, Grammy, and Tony Award-winning songwriter Allee Willis; and numerous others. Named Best Solo Artist in the 10th Annual LA Weekly Best of L.A. Readers' Choice Awards, ShyBoy has performed throughout North America and in Europe, sharing the stage with artists such as Flo Rida, Meiko, and Amanda Palmer.

Early Work

ShyBoy's music career began as the lead singer of the band Hypnogaja. He co-wrote and produced numerous recordings with the group, including the concept LP Truth Decay (described by Outburn magazine as "an expertly crafted album”) and the European release Bridge to Nowhere (Sony Germany). Hypnogaja toured consistently throughout the United States and Canada, opening for artists such as 311, Linda Perry, Shinedown, and Saliva. The band appeared on the debut episode of Stripped Down Live, hosted by Tears For Fears' Curt Smith. ShyBoy received the award for Best Male Vocalist at the 2nd Annual Hollywood Music In Media Awards, for Hypnogaja's cover of the Donna Summer song, "On The Radio." Hypnogaja t-shirts and posters were featured in the pilot episode of the Bryan Fuller series, Dead Like Me.

Filmmaker Zalman King (9½ Weeks) placed music by ShyBoy and Hypnogaja in two of his projects, Wind on Water and Women of the Night. This marked the beginning of numerous placements, both solo and with the band, including songs featured in: Scream 4 (trailer); Roswell; Sex and the City; One Life to Live; Frank Beddor's Looking Glass Wars; Cold Creek Manor (starring Sharon Stone); Valentine (starring David Boreanaz); FlatOut: Ultimate Carnage; and more.

ShyBoy composed tracks for several cycles of Tyra Banks' America's Next Top Model and co-wrote songs for on-screen performances by characters in HBO's Six Feet Under and the Joss Whedon series Dollhouse (starring Eliza Dushku). ShyBoy collaborated with composer Tetsuya Shibata on the end title for Capcom's multi-platinum video game Devil May Cry 4. The song, "Shall Never Surrender," was also released on a special soundtrack by Sony Japan.

Solo Work

ShyBoy made his live debut as a solo recording artist in October 2012 as music headliner for the Carmel Art and Film Festival. His full-length debut LP, Water on Mars, was released by LA indie label The Spaceman Agency one year later. Produced by ShyBoy and Hypnogaja co-founder Mark Nubar (a gold-selling record producer and keyboard player), the album features co-writes with songwriters such as Allee Willis, Ivo Moring, David Batteau, Wendy Waldman, and others. The songs "Bird in Flight" and "Wouldn't It Be Good" were released as singles, with videos directed by filmmaker Michael Bodie and produced by Loretta Ramos. Songs from the Water on Mars album landed several TV placements. CNN featured "Bird in Flight" during a story about the 50th anniversary of the first spacewalk by NASA astronauts and featured the title track on Newsroom, during a special segment on NASA's definitive discovery of flowing water on Mars. The HLN news series Raising America with Kyra Phillips selected one of the album's tracks, "When I Close My Eyes," as the show's theme song.

HuffPost's review of Water on Mars described the album as one that "makes a bold, tuneful impression on today's indie-pop landscape" and that it "is one of the year's smartest, not-to-be-missed debuts." The Monterey County Weekly described ShyBoy's music as "a cross-pollination of RJD2, DJ Shadow and 2001: A Space Odyssey – Arnold's understated vocals quickly erupt into full-blown soulful crooning that's irresistible for eardrums." Kevin Bronson's Buzzbands LA noted ShyBoy's sound as "wonderfully dramatic," and described his music as a cross between Nick Drake, Sufjan Stevens, and M83.

Lost in Space, ShyBoy's second full-length album, was released in 2014, and features material co-written with the Emmy and Annie Award-nominated lyricist Amy Powers, multi-platinum music producer Jeff Hoeppner, German electronic music composer/DJ robot koch, Emmy Award-winning composer Jim Dooley, television writer and producer Bryan Fuller (Pushing Daisies, American Gods, Hannibal); and more. The collection contains a cover of the Donna Summer song "She Works Hard For The Money," also included on the Essential Records compilation Café de Paris, Vol. 10.

ShyBoy released numerous projects in 2015, starting with Daisy Pusher, an EP that includes "Haven't Heard This Song in Forever," featured on the ABC show Super Fun Night (starring Rebel Wilson). The release was followed by a cover of Sia's "Elastic Heart," recorded as a duet by ShyBoy and vocalist Kat Robichaud (of NBC's The Voice). In the fall of 2015, the EP Zero Gravity was released. The collection features several versions of the song "Zero Gravity (Lost in Space)," including a remix by Matt Mcjunkins and The Beta Machine.

ShyBoy and multi-platinum songwriter Allee Willis (Earth, Wind & Fire's "September," The Color Purple musical) teamed up with producers Jeff Hoeppner and Mark Nubar to create several singles in 2016 and 2017. The first of these releases - a cover of "Neutron Dance" (the Grammy Award-winning song by The Pointer Sisters, written by Willis and Danny Sembello) - features an animated lyric video directed by Willis, who also illustrated the artwork for the single. HuffPost describes the remake as "an entirely new, indie-pop version of the classic single with ShyBoy’s understated tenor lilting over delicate, synth-driven grooves." Three more releases followed: the originals "Can't Stay With The Pay (Ain't No Little Fairy Gonna Pop Me A Five For That Tooth)" and "He and She;" and a cover version of another one of Willis' hits, the Pet Shop Boys and Dusty Springfield classic "What Have I Done To Deserve This?."

ShyBoy's single "Backroom" (produced and arranged by ShyBoy, Hoeppner, and Nubar) was released in October 2018, followed by the Backroom (The Remixes) EP in June 2019. The song, which was described by TheGATE.ca as "timelessly fun" with vocals that are "slick, rich, and addictive," was featured in the second season of Dynasty on The CW. The official music video for "Backroom" (directed by Michael Bodie), was premiered by World of Wonder on their WOW Presents Plus streaming service and posted by the WOW Report, which described the video as a "gritty masterpiece."

In December 2019, it was announced that The Spaceman Agency signed deals to distribute ShyBoy's music through Symphonic Distribution and his music videos through the Revry streaming service, with new recordings schedule for release in 2020.

DJ and Producer

ShyBoy is a resident DJ and vocalist at the mashup club Bootie LA in Los Angeles, CA, and has performed at Bootie Mashup events in New York, Berlin, Las Vegas, and the DNA Lounge in San Francisco. He's produced and remixed releases for numerous artists, including Whitney Houston, Donna Summer, and British singer-songwriter Julia Fordham, who released "Where Does The Time Go?" (ShyBoy Remix) on the album Mixed, Shaken & Stirred. ShyBoy also contributed vocal harmonies on the recording.

Collaboration with RuPaul

The mashup concept album The RuPaul Mixtapemarked the beginning of ShyBoy's collaboration with RuPaul, including five singles for the Emmy Award-winning show RuPaul's Drag Race (seasons 4, 5, and 6). The songs - "The Shade of It All," "Runway Girl," "Reading is Fundamental," "It's Not Personal (It's Drag)," and "Oh No She Better Don't" - were written by RuPaul, ShyBoy, and Nubar, and released by World of Wonder. ShyBoy created two mixes, entitled "Shade" and "Serve," for RuPaul's Drag Race's Draglympics challenges in episode 6 of season 11.

Albums, EPs, Singles

• 2019: Lottery (Single)
• 2019: U Can Get It (Single)
• 2019: Backroom (The Remixes) (EP)
• 2019: In The Air Tonight (Single)
• 2018: Backroom (Single)
• 2017: What Have I Done to Deserve This? (feat. Allee Willis) (Single)
• 2017: He and She (Single)
• 2017: Can't Stay with the Pay (Ain't No Little Fairy Gonna Pop Me a Five for That Tooth) (Single)
• 2016: Neutron Dance (Single)
• 2015: The Murder Ballads (EP)
• 2015: The Murder Mixtape
• 2015: Zero Gravity (EP)
• 2015: Daisy Pusher (EP)
• 2014: Lost in Space (LP)
• 2014: The Interstellar Travel Companion Mixtape
• 2014: Lonely Disco (EP)
• 2013: Water on Mars (LP)
• 2013: Wouldn't It Be Good (Single)
• 2012: Bird in Flight (Single)

Collaborations

• 2019: MaDonna Summer (10th Anniversary Platinum Edition) - Mixed by DJ ShyBoy
• 2016: Where Does The Time Go? (ShyBoy Remix) - Julia Fordham
• 2014: Oh No She Better Don't (Single) - RuPaul & DJ ShyBoy
• 2013: It's Not Personal (It's Drag) (Single) - RuPaul & DJ ShyBoy
• 2013: Reading is Fundamental (Single) - RuPaul & DJ ShyBoy
• 2013: Runway Girl (Single) - RuPaul & DJ ShyBoy
• 2013: The Shade of It All (Single) - RuPaul & DJ ShyBoy
• 2013: Headspin (Single) - Eddie Amador feat. ShyBoy
• 2012: The Beginning (DJ ShyBoy Remix) - RuPaul
• 2012: DJ ShyBoy presents the RuPaul Mixtape - RuPaul & DJ ShyBoy
• 2012: Welcome to the Future (single) - Kristina Sky and Randy Boyer feat. ShyBoy
• 2009: MaDonna Summer - DJ ShyBoy & Freddy, King of Pants with DJ Nubar