Skye Alexandra Sweetnam (born May 5, 1988) is a Canadian singer/songwriter,… Read Full Bio ↴Skye Alexandra Sweetnam (born May 5, 1988) is a Canadian singer/songwriter, actress and lead vocalist of Sumo Cyco. Skye first entered the mainstream in 2003 with the release of her debut single "Billy S." Over a year later, her debut album, Noise from the Basement, was released including the singles "Tangled Up in Me" and "Number One". Sweetnam is also known for singing theme songs and contributing to Disney albums. In 2006, she was nominated for a Juno Award for New Artist of the Year. Her second album was released on October 30, 2007 entitled Sound Soldier.

Biography

Skye was born on May 5, 1988, to Deirdre and Greg Sweetnam. She was named after the Isle of Skye in Scotland. Along with her sister, Aurora, and her brother, Cameron, Sweetnam was born and raised in the small town of Bolton, Ontario, where she studied dancing and singing from a young age. She began singing at the age of 5, performing for family members and friends only. By her early teens she had moved on to songwriting, and recorded a demo with the help of a local Bolton music school. Sweetnam was also a full-time Regional Arts Program student at Mayfield Secondary School in Caledon, Ontario, majoring in drama.

Noise from the Basement (2004–2005)

She worked with local producer and instrumentalist, James Robertson. Together, Robertson and Sweetnam worked on what would later become Noise from the Basement, her Capitol Records/EMI debut. The single "Billy S." appeared in July 2003 on the soundtrack to the movie How to Deal, and quickly took off in Canada. Two more singles were released from her debut and fared moderately on the charts. In 2004, Sweetnam went on tour over Europe and North America, as the opening act for Britney Spears on her Onyx Hotel Tour, although her performances were cut due to Spears' knee injury. In early 2005, the album was re-released with a DVD.

Various Soundtracks (2005–2007)

Skye eventually gained a bigger following with a younger crowd by doing theme songs for various television shows for children and teenagers, such as The Buzz On Maggie, Wayside, and Radio Free Roscoe, the latter of which she also guest starred on for one episode. Sweetnam then took part in five compilation albums for Disney: Radio Disney Jingle Jams, Radio Disney Jams, Vol. 8, DisneyMania 3, and DisneyRemixMania.

In 2006, Skye acted as the singing voice for Barbie in The Barbie Diaries. In 2006, she recorded the song "Boyhunter" in Simlish for the October 2006 release of The Sims 2: Pets. "Sugar Guitar" was featured in a Zellers commercial for the 2007 back to school season. It was also the 9th track featured in the Love For Nana - Only 1 Tribute CD for the Japanese comic Nana. Tim Armstrong and Sweetnam released the single "Into Action" in March 2007.

Sound Soldier (2007–2008)

On August 30, 2007, Sweetnam performed at the CD release party for dodger, her first live performance since her August 2005 Sea World gig, and her first live performance with her new band. She performed brand new material including "Boyhunter", her version of "Into Action", "Makeout Song", "Ghosts", and "Music Is My Boyfriend". All of the songs are included on her second album, Sound Soldier, which she describes as "Nine Inch Nails meets Britney Spears". The album was originally set for a spring release, but Capitol Records pushed the album back, partially due to re-structuring from its merger with Virgin Records. Their parent company EMI released the album on October 30, 2007 in Canada only, with the leading single "Human." Sweetnam was the opening act for Canadian Idol winner Kalan Porter on his 2007 tour. She then toured as part of the School Rocks Canada tour and then co-headlined a tour with Faber Drive from October - November 2007.

The album was released in Japan on February 14, 2008 as stated on her MySpace page, which also featured the bonus track "Girl Like Me".

In a recent video she posted on her Youtube page, "Skye Plays Dress Up 2.- Princess Purple", she showed previews of two new unreleased songs entitled "Heartbreak" and "Boomerang".

The music video for "Human" was nominated for a 2008 MuchMusic Video Award for Best Cinematography, but lost to Hedley's "She's So Sorry".

On April 25, 2009 Skye posted on her personal Twitter that she was at the studio. Previous to this, Skye also announced that she would be in the studio working on a new album. An unreleased song "Love Sugar Sweet" was featured in a video she posted on Youtube. On August 26, 2009 Skye posted on her twitter that she is recording vocals for a new single that will be released in Japan.

Skye provided vocals for the song "Where I Want To Be", a song on Jun Senoue's new album, The Works.

Sweetnam also recorded "Where I want to be" for Jun Senoue's album, The Works, and directed a music video for Leah Daniels' song "Northern Señorita" as well as for Ashes' song "Explode (Makes My Head)". Sweetnam also co-wrote two songs for Ashes.

2009–present: Sumo Cyco

Sweetnam began working on new music in 2009 and formed a new band, Sumo Cyco, a four-piece heavy metal and punk rock band that opened for Hollywood Undead in Toronto in April 2011. Sweetnam now went by the name Sever, which was her current alter-ego.

As of July 2012, Sumo Cyco has released six singles: "Mercy", "Limp", "Interceptor", "Danger", "Loose Cannon", and a cover of Oingo Boingo's "Who Do You Want To Be?". With each new song, Sumo Cyco would direct and put together their own music videos for their YouTube channel which, as of July 2022, has received over seven million views.

Sweetnam's song "(Let's Get Movin') Into Action" was also used in an episode of the Canadian teen drama Degrassi: The Next Generation, in one deleted scene from Bandslam, and in the films Balls Out: Gary the Tennis Coach, Hotel for Dogs, and the 2010 popular film Ramona and Beezus (starring Joey King and Selena Gomez). It was also included in the soundtrack for Music from Degrassi: The Next Generation.

In April and May 2014, Sumo Cyco toured Ireland and the UK after their performances at Indie Week Ireland. Then, on June 10, 2014, they released their debut album, Lost in Cyco City, in Canada.

On March 10, 2015, Sumo Cyco announced that they had signed with TKO (The Kirby Organization) Booking Agency, known for its representation of hard rock and metal acts, for worldwide representation.

Sumo Cyco released their second album Opus Mar in 2017.

In January 2020, the band announced that they had signed a deal with Napalm Records. They released their third album Initiation through Napalm Records in 2021.

Shot to Pieces
Skye Sweetnam Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

I sit
Biting
On the
End of my pen
Chewing
It up
Just like
It was your head

I'm running away from here
Shot to pieces, shot to pieces
Have nothing to say from here
Shot to pieces, shot to pieces
Going my own way from here
Shot to pieces, shot to pieces
Just Leave me alone,
Leave me alone [Repeat: x3]

Forgive
Forget
What you
Did to me
I got to
Get free
Before
I go crazy

I'm running away from here
Shot to pieces, shot to pieces
Have nothing to say from here
Shot to pieces, shot to pieces
Going my own way from here
Shot to pieces, shot to pieces
Just Leave me alone
Leave me alone [Repeat: x3]

I'm running away from here
Going my own way from here

I'm running away from here
Shot to pieces, shot to pieces
Have nothing to say from here
Shot to pieces, shot to pieces
Going my own way from here
Shot to pieces, shot to pieces

Just Leave me alone
Leave me alone [Repeat: x3]

Overall Meaning

The lyrics of Skye Sweetnam's "Shot to Pieces" are a representation of a young woman who has been done wrong by someone she cared about, likely a romantic partner, and is wrestling with the conflicting emotions that result from that betrayal. In the first verse, she is sitting with her pen, biting it and chewing it up, as if it were her betrayer's head. This is a clear expression of her anger, with the pen likely symbolizing the means through which she would have expressed her feelings towards the person, had it been a real-world confrontation. Despite this, the anger and aggression in this verse fade away as the song progresses.

In the chorus, the lyrics take on a more defeated tone as the singer sings that she is "shot to pieces" and has "nothing to say." Her anger seems to have given way to a sense of helplessness as she feels at a loss for words to express her emotions or deal with the situation. She states that she is "running away" and "going her own way," signifying her desire to leave the situation behind and start anew. However, in the final verse, she acknowledges that she needs to "Forgive / Forget" what was done to her before she can truly move on.

Overall, the lyrics of "Shot to Pieces" express a range of emotions, from anger and aggression to helplessness and a desire to move on. They are a relatable representation of the emotions that follow a difficult break up or betrayal.

Line by Line Meaning

I sit
I am sitting

Biting
I am biting

On the
On top of

End of my pen
My pen is in my mouth

Chewing
I am chewing

It up
The pen is being chewed

Just like
Similar to

It was your head
I am imagining your head as I chew on this pen

I'm running away from here
I am getting away from this place

Shot to pieces, shot to pieces
I feel broken

Have nothing to say from here
I don't want to talk anymore