Nothing Sweeter Than This: Naomi Sharon Talks Spiritual Connections, Ambitious Pathways and Inspiring People To Open Their Heart

Meet Naomi Sharon. Sculpted and passionately moulded much like the latex she adorns, but her essence as gentle as Camellia petals scattered by the wind. A newcomer to the world of music, for our ears at least, but someone who knows their oncoming path and has manifested each milestone within her journey. As we connect over a video call, Naomi radiates a warming aura, basking in the Caribbean sun as she unwinds and recharges after her monumental collaboration with Tems, serving as her tour opener. An inkling to her artistry that fans not only came to see her perform too but also, long to be moved by her music in the same way as she was when penning the lyrics she sings. Her tone so unique and commanding, she echoes a siren as she lures us into her moonlit world.

"If you want to listen to music to feel a type of way, I want to do that to other people and to be that for them as well." she states. With her stunning 2023 debut, Obsidian, being warmly embraced, and she’s eager to continue surprising and connecting with listeners as she works on her next album, which we hope will be released soon. In the meantime, as we continue to indulge in Obsidian's brilliance and the revamps of popular tracks like latest 'Goodbyes (Myrrh)' with DJ Snake, or manage to catch her live on stage, her goal remains simple: to connect. Whether it’s with a devoted fan or a curious newcomer, Naomi hopes her music will inspire and encourage people to open up their hearts for the better. She has a lifetime to explore new paths beyond music. Whether it’s releasing her own fragrance or inspiring listeners around the world, for now, her greatest desire is for people to fully grasp her essence and everything she can share.

Hi Naomi! Where are you right now?

Right now, I'm in the Cayman Islands, we just finished tour. On Sunday we had the last show of the tour that I did with Tems, which was incredible. And now I'm here to do another show as well and then have some rest.

Are you taking some time off right now when it comes to the music?

Yeah, I’ll be back eventually. During touring you can’t really do that because you need to focus on the tour but once I’m back, it’s crunch time with the music as well.

How did you and Tems connect initially? Did you listen to her music before?

We never actually met initially. It was her manager who I think found me on Instagram. He’s also managing Omah Lay who I have a feature with and he was the one who said that maybe this would be an interesting match. The first time I met her was on tour, but we followed each other before this whole thing. I think she's incredibly talented and I really love her music, and I love her voice. I think she has a very unique, tone to it, which is refreshing right now.

You also did a few dates for a headline tour a few months back. How did it feel to connect with both these audiences from Tems’ tour and your own considering your tracks can be quite intimate and heart-felt?

I experienced that it is something that really doesn’t matter, which is a great thing and you kind of find out by doing it. You know, 6,000 people are willing to be captivated like that and have an intimate moment and be vulnerable with me. But it really doesn’t matter as long as you tell a truthful story. And so, with my own audiences, you have people that know your songs and whatever but still with the tour, a lot of people that knew me came to the show to see me initially, and then came to see Tems as well. And that’s a compliment that they want to follow me even though you’re a special guest. It felt really good to perform to a new audience as well. It challenges me to captivate them as much as possible and gain new followers by doing that.

It must have been a quite rapid scale of audience size, so how do you prepare for live shows? Do you have any rituals?

I do my own makeup, and that's a choice, but I really love doing my own makeup. I just cannot blame anyone or anything for mistakes, and it's just my little therapy moment before the show starts. And I usually, combine that with, of course, a vocal warm up. I don't eat 2 hours before the show or 3 hours before the show. No sodas, anything like that that can disturb my voice. And then before the show starts, we have a little circle, and we put out our intentions for the show, and then, it starts. And then, of course, I need to put myself into the latex, which is also a very… interesting ritual. [laughs]

What do you use? Like Vaseline or baby oil?

Lube, actually. So, whenever the time comes, when the team is in my dressing room I’m like ‘okay guys, its lube time!’ [laughs]

What do you hope that your audiences can take away from seeing you? What do you what do you want them to feel after they've seen a Naomi Sharon set?

Oh, I often say to my audience that I want them to be vulnerable and it’s really a compliment if they can be that during the concert. And of course, it’s an intimate moment where there are no spotlights on the audience. I think that allows you, like watching a movie, to be vulnerable. I always say if it resonates with you then let it resonate with you then, you know, it’s for you. I just want them to maybe be inspired to make bold moves in their lives when they’re stuck or to have hope when they feel like there isn’t any. I just want that whatever I go through, I know that music will heal me in a way. If you want to listen to music to feel a type of way, I want to do that to other people and to be that for them as well.

That's really beautiful. So, alongside you giving this guidance to your fans, I'm sure that you're also receiving a lot of guidance as well. As you paved your own journey, you connected with OVO sometime before you were signed to the label. So, how did your relationship with the label evolve over time?

It went very natural. Drake reached out to me, and then the rest was kind of history because it was like, okay, this is a good match. I wanted to meet the team, they wanted to have me. And eventually, we just really built this beautiful relationship with each other. I think that nowadays a lot of artists are doing it by themselves, which I really respect and also understand. But I'm just happy to be with a label that feels boutique but has a huge impact on this industry, and they just know what they're talking about, obviously. But, yeah, it's just nice to have them, and they feel like a family to me.

Has your experience working with the team shaped your artistry at all? Are there any creative insights you’ve gained that have changed your outlook or how you make music?

Oh, yeah. Drake and 40, they're just really good at what they do. They give me their insights of how it works but in a liberating way. It's not like they they're forcing it onto me. It's just like, ‘hey, this is what we did’, or ‘this is what we see you doing if you're open to it’ or ‘you should try this and this’... And it's just always an open conversation with them to guide me through it if I want to. Of course, we all want the same thing. I have certain dreams, and we're all aligned on that. But they're like, ‘it's up to you.’ You can either do this, or you can go this way and try something new or whatever. Like, surprise yourself, surprise your audience. It feels really good to have that company with me.

For sure. And I guess it must feel quite liberating as well knowing that the power really is in your hands, and you can do whatever you want to do. And you can listen to them consult you with things, like but at the end of the day, it's entirely your decision.

Yeah. And you know, it's still business. So don't get me wrong, you still do it together with the label because otherwise you can just do it yourself. But I love that I have creative freedom, and that was one of the biggest reasons why I signed because it’s very important to an artist to keep that integrity for yourself and not step into another path that’s not suiting you or not happy about. And you see that a lot in this industry where people just go and it's not coming from them anymore, which is one of the most unique gifts you receive as an artist, right? Like, telling a truthful story. That's all that's only possible if it's coming from you and it's not forced upon you.

With your Dutch-Caribbean heritage and being raised in the Netherlands, what are some of the artists you enjoyed listening to growing up and did any of them shape your artistry today?

For sure. I was a huge fan as a kid already, of Sting. My mom and dad were huge fans of The Police and Sting. They were also listening to jazz a lot, and world music. So, a lot of different things that came into my brain definitely altered my taste. Till this day, the way Sting writes really inspired me because he really tells a story without giving away everything. It's not too on the nose, it's more in a very poetic way. And I just love that.

We do see a lot of people compare your music to artists like Yebba or Sade, for example. But I feel like it's quite interesting the way that you compare yourself to someone from a genre that you don't particularly present entirely as well. And I guess that just shows that difference of people just kind of listening to your voice, and then there's the other separation of people actually understanding what you're trying to tell them.

Yeah. I also don't like to compare myself with anyone. I mean, at least what inspires you can help you further and navigating your own style, but I’m not going to write a song like Sting. And I know a lot of people compare me to Sade. I think that if I was a male singer then it would be Sting or anyone else. But people like to do that, which I understand and it’s also a compliment, but I think there is so much uniqueness in this world as well that is also still inspired. Nothing is new, let me put it like that.

You did release some music before being signed but your debut Obsidian was met warmly and is also drenched with a spiritual essence from top to bottom. Obsidian, the stone, is powerful and is sometimes said to be the stone of truth. Was there any personal experience that you had that relates to the stone becoming the name of the album?

Yes, it was actually the first crystal I’ve ever bought and I didn’t even know it was obsidian. I didn’t look it up, I was just drawn to it. I remember the lady at the store telling me ‘hey, this is a very powerful crystal and just see what it does for you.’ I had it around my neck as a necklace and I took it off the next day because it was a bit too heavy. If you would like to believe in crystals and what they can do for you, but it was just a little bit too heavy for me, so I just put it away. I went to the store another day and told her ‘yeah it was pretty intense’ and she told me about what it was. And it kind of clicked for me like ‘Oh, wait. I’m going through a lot…’ and sometimes you don’t want to confront yourself with the things you need to do right now to move on a grow and so that was my first experience with it. Later on, a few years later when I made the album in Toronto, I was there for seven weeks and we found this beautiful spiritual store, Shanti Baba. I went there and was immediately drawn to the obsidian again. And I was like, ‘actually, the things I’m going through right now are quite similar to what I was experiencing then.’ And it was just a more mature version of myself, but I’m still transforming. I’m shedding the old skin and all these things and I was like, ‘this is it, Obsidian is the album title.’ Because every song is about transforming and being vulnerable and just going through it.

Did that inspire your visual aesthetic at all? We can see you have a very tailored Instagram page but also with the clothes you wear, how you do your makeup or your hair, it’s all very sleek and sharp.

I mean, I was already on that aesthetic, but it definitely was shaped more into something that complements the whole Obsidian vibe. But it's also me. I personally love to transform and morph into different Naomi's as in the hair short, from thick eyebrows to thin eyebrows. And, you know, it's like a new album for me is like a new era. But it will always be in that aesthetic because that's just my personal style. But yeah, the latex, definitely. The latex is representing the obsidian stone. I thought it was a good fabric to represent the shininess and the fragility of the stone and it's still you know, latex. Latex is a very essential fabric, and at the same time, it's so vulnerable to wear it because you see everything. Like, you're basically naked.

You kind of own black latex now! Other artists can wear latex but when I see other pictures of you or of you on tour, I’m just like yeah, that’s a Naomi Sharon fit.

I love that. I tried to own it for sure! No, no, no, I did not. But to me, it's like, the other day I saw a comment on Instagram, and someone asked me ‘hey, why are you always wearing the same outfits?’ Well, first correction is it's not the same outfit every day, but it's just different pieces, but the latex stays the same. I'm not going to change that. It's just, like, that's obsidian. You know? The next album will be something else.

Are there any designers that you're currently loving as well?

Well, I love them [latex] because every time I'm wearing it, it’s so comfortable. So that’s Atsuko Latex that made this. And other brands… just in general I think my closet consists of Entire Studios, Ottolinger, SKIMS… I think that’s about it!

What tracks from Obsidian are your favourites?

I love ‘Myrrh’. I love that it can touch people, and I have this little moment with certain people in the audience that start to cry maybe or really feel the song. That to me is the biggest compliment you can get. I recently kind of had to adjust ‘Another Life’ because I was like, you know when you do this over and over again, at the end of the day you’re just a little bored so you should always challenge yourself. And so now I’m starting to do that with songs where I make the live version slightly different from the album. Now with ‘Another Life’ I just add something to it at the end and now it’s one of my favourite moments in the show. That last moment. So, I’m always looking forward to building up to that climax.

I guess that really relates to your whole kind of ethos of evolving and changing constantly as well. Never just staying set in one place.

Yeah, absolutely.

It must be hard trying to write out all your emotions out when dealing with things, showing all your feelings for literally anyone to listen to and I feel like you’ve been able to now get in the position of how to do this comfortably. How can you teach others to be vulnerable within themselves and what have you learnt along the way?

Not to counter you but I absolutely don’t have anything against being vulnerable. I don’t have difficulty doing that myself. I think it’s something that I did my whole life, and I learned that from my mom, just to say what’s on your heart. And because it helps and that’s the truth. I think that if I were to give someone advice to be vulnerable, I would just tell them to tell the truth and how they really feel. Even when you’re fighting with someone and you’re like ‘this really hurts me’ if it’s not a narcissist in front of you, it’s someone who is affected by that. If you tell someone that instead of yelling back and telling them ‘Hey, that really affected me in a negative way, and it really hurts me’ there's almost no way that someone is going to be indifferent about that. If they’re not aligned with themselves, they will, but I think that’s the most powerful thing to be vulnerable. If you tap into that and agree on that yourself, you’ll see the rewards for being that. I think it’s important for an artist to be relatable in a way. Of course, we have rappers that sing or rap about things that they can afford or are not experiencing at all, and I think that that has a place in the music industry as well, which is fun. And it also maybe helps to manifest or whatever but just want to have a compilation. That’s to me the most important thing.  

With one of your songs ‘The Moon’, it’s a self-love journey that you performed for Ted X Amsterdam Women. How can one begin that process of self-love? Are there any things that you used to do, or have you always had that for yourself?

Absolutely not. Not at all. And I'm still struggling with it, which is okay. I still have to check myself. But that is something that I really learned too through experiences and just the fact that it's draining yourself to be so negative to about yourself or to compare yourself with anyone, or to love the wrong partner because you think that this is it, this is what I am worth. I think that now I'm growing older it's easier to tap into that ‘hey, stop doing this!’ you’re worth much more than this thought train or this situation. But no, it’s one of my life lessons or the biggest one to me to understand the worthiness of myself and to put myself above everything and everyone else the whole time without being, of course, a narcissist or whatever. But, just put yourself first. If you were giving advice to a friend or hearing this story from a friend, would you be like ‘oh yeah, that’s okay.’ Or would you be like ‘no, no, you deserve better’? and if that’s the answer, then you know.

We really enjoyed your COLORS performance as well on their platform. Was there any particular reason you chose ‘Nothing Sweeter’ as the track to perform?

Yeah. I always thought that that will be the song that deserves a moment on itself. Because it's to me a very special song. And, I had this little checklist with manifestations and COLORS studios was on it, obviously. And then when the chance came, I was like, ‘okay. This is it. ‘Nothing sweeter’ is gonna be the song.’

Where do you see your musical journey taking you next? What kind of legacy do you want to leave behind?

I would love to do a world tour, of course release more music, put other things in the world. I have a passion for fragrances, clothing… there’s so much I want to do, and I think that I always applaud people that do a lot of things that they want to do. So that, to me, I can always grow. And then I think that also speaks for the legacy itself that I just want to be of course, I'm the singer, but I think that I can do more for myself and also for this world. I just hope to keep inspiring people to open their heart.

Follow Naomi Sharon on social media https://www.instagram.com/naomisharon/