A voice from the past takes flight.
Sheryl Ann Padre is a lifelong singer, songwriter and creative spirit based in Stockton, California. A teenage YouTuber turned acoustic R&B artist, she built her audience with heartfelt covers, original songs and raw vocals that make people stop and listen. Now enjoying a new wave of attention through Wale’s “Fly Away,” Sheryl continues to follow where her gifts lead — as a mother, runner, fitness creator, woman of faith and competitive hula dancer, too.
I’m not really the type of person to comment on everything I see online.
Most times, I’ll just take it in and keep moving. But every now and then, a story makes me stop. Sheryl Ann Padre’s story did that for me.
Sheryl is 31 year old mother, a singer from Stockton, California, who’s been posting R&B covers online since she was a teenager. Years ago, she recorded an acoustic version of Maxwell’s “Pretty Wings.” Somehow, that old cover found its way to producer D.Woo, then into “Fly Away,” a song from Grammy-winning rapper Wale.
Then the story kept going.
When Wale came to Sacramento this spring, Sheryl took a chance and put the word out online. The internet picked it up, Wale’s team reached out, and before long she wasn’t just at the show. She was onstage singing her part.
I love when the underdog wins. That made me want to know more about the artist behind the voice. That made me want to know more about the artist behind the voice.
NOW PLAYING
Andre Saunders: For people who are just getting familiar with you, how would you describe yourself and your music?
Sheryl Ann Padre: I would say I’m simply just a creative. Every time people ask what genre I prefer, I’m always like, “I’m just a musician.” I appreciate all kinds of music.
But I like to classify my sound as acoustic R&B. A lot of my covers are hip hop songs or rap songs, but I sing more than I rap. I’m just free-flowing and here for whatever sounds good to me at the time.
I see you have videos going back to when you were like 13 or 14. Talk to me about how music started for you.
In our culture, karaoke is really big. I’m Filipino, so singing and dancing are a big part of the culture.
My parents say I’ve been singing since I could speak. Growing up, I sang at church and then when all my friends started posting YouTube videos, I asked my parents if I could make videos on the internet.
I started singing covers in the bathroom because the acoustics sounded better. I had this blue guitar that had been sitting in the corner of my room for four years, I’d never touched it. But now I finally picked it up, taught myself guitar, and practiced playing while I sang.
That summer, all I did was sing. My dad would drive me to open mics in Daly City, about an hour away. I’d sing my 15 minutes, and if they asked if anyone wanted to go again, my dad would be like, “Do it again.” So I would do another set.
What made you want to share that gift online?
I loved watching other YouTube musicians. A lot of my friends were musicians. I’d see their videos and be like, “I can do that too.”
When I was 13, I kind of went viral with a song I wrote called “Distant Romance.” People still listen to it, which is such a trip to me. I was a kid! I didn’t know what romance was like, but I wrote a song about it.
That opened a lot of doors. I had a manager, I did all the things. But when I turned 18, my parents were like, “Hey, you gotta go to school.” And it’s their house, their rules. So I went to college and that slowed me down musically but it never really stopped me.
I also believe I was given a gift, and it’s not for me to keep to myself. It’s for me to share. And since I lived in a small town, my audience became whoever was on the internet.
LIFT OFF
I love when the internet is used in a positive way, because so often we see the opposite. With your story, it actually helped make something happen. How did “Fly Away” come together?
In December 2022, D.Woo, the producer who made “Fly Away,” messaged me on Instagram. He said, “Hey, I just want to let you know I used your ‘Pretty Wings’ sample for a beat I made.”
That video was from like eleven years ago, too, so I was thrilled but didn’t really think anything of it. A couple months later, he told me Wale was interested in the beat. I could not believe it.
But they thought they’d need a new recording, and I wasn’t really set up for music anymore so when I didn’t hear back I figured they couldn’t use it. Then in 2024, Wale’s office called me for my information on the credits. I was like, “Wait, so I’m in it?”
And then the Sacramento show happened.
Yes! One of my friends went to Wale’s San Francisco show and texted me like, “You need to go to the Sacramento show. They’re singing your song. I’m crying in the audience. You need to figure out a way to go.”
I felt this nudge to reach out and see if I could get an invitation. So I turned on my camera and did a video where I said, “Hi, I’m Sheryl, I sing the ‘Pretty Wings’ part on Wale’s song ‘Fly Away’ and it would mean the world to me to have this opportunity to witness this song played live.”
I posted it and went about my day. That night, I got on my phone and was like, “Holy crap, what is going on?”
His manager hit me up and they invited me to sound check but I couldn’t make it so when I showed up I didn’t expect to be on stage but they made it happen.
What was that moment like when you got there?
It was crazy. A song or two before my part, they brought me down and put my in-ears in. Then he called me out. I’d never met Wale or even seen him perform before, and he literally stepped away from the mic to give me my time onstage.
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I felt so much gratitude. I thought I was going to sing my little 30 second part and be off, but no. Wale kept telling me, “One more time, one more time.” So I kept singing.
Looking out at all these people, with all their phones up, it felt like this was everyone who had been helping me all along on the internet. The audience I’ve been singing to since I started sharing my music, in front of me, in person. It was very validating but also a little hard to get my head around.
Part of me was thinking, “I don’t belong here,” and another part was like, “No, I deserve this.”
TRUTH IN THE TAKE
I think that’s part of what made me gravitate toward your story. You’re confident in what you bring to the table, but still humble and grateful.
And before I knew your name or what you looked like, “Fly Away” was one of my favorite songs on the album. I loved it because of the rawness. It had that stripped-down feeling. Maybe it wasn’t technically perfect in certain ways, but that was the relatable part.
Yeah. Wale talked about that in interviews. He was like, “If you listen to the girl singing, she sounds like she’s in pain. That’s what I want. I don’t want somebody to go in the studio and try to remake it.”
He wanted it to feel like a girl sitting in her room playing guitar and singing through something.
I relate to that 1000 percent. As an artist, sometimes you know what is technically correct, or what people expect, but the feeling matters more. That’s what I heard in your voice. The feeling. It stripped everything else away.
That’s the beauty of art. The more feeling you put into it, the more others will connect with it. If it’s too perfect, it doesn’t feel real.
There was this person that was like, “I feel so close-minded and naive because I really thought that it was a Black girl singing this part.” I get that a lot and honestly take it as a compliment. To me, that means they really felt something. I grew up in a diverse community, around great singers at school, at church, everywhere.
MEASURE OF GRACE
I also want to ask about faith, because it’s clear that’s a big part of your story. How would you describe that role?
You’re right, I’m a believer, I’m a Christian. I drew away from my faith for a while in college but since becoming a mom, I’ve returned.
I feel like there are so many branches of my life that grow and die out and grow again. My purpose is to keep growing in whatever direction — whether that’s running, music, building community, whatever God is asking of me.
I love what you said, because sometimes you can be trying to get on the right path, but things don’t happen when you want them to happen. They happen when God wants them to happen. And sometimes we think our energy is pointing us in the right direction, but we still have to hold ourselves accountable. It’s not always about being right. It’s about being righteous. You can make changes, but you still have to keep checking yourself.
Yeah. At the end of the day, what is it all for? If everything disappeared, who are you?
I saw a post you did that was like a letter to your younger self. If you were looking at that little girl now, what would you say to her?
I would say, “People see you. Just keep doing what you’re good at. Sing. Make people happy. Bring joy into every room you walk into. Just continue being you.”
You know those questions where you ask your friends what color you are? Everyone tells me I’m yellow. Every single person. And to me, that means people see me. They see the joy, the energy, the person I am.
Right now, everyone wants to know what’s next, but I’m just trying to stay open to whatever God’s plan is for me. So I would tell that little girl what I’m telling myself now: “Keep going. People see you. There’s more to come.”
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LET IT FLY
What I took from Sheryl’s story is that the things we create can keep moving long after we let them go.
A song recorded years ago in a bedroom became something new in someone else’s hands. It reached Wale, reached his fans, reached a stage, and somehow reached me here in Philly. That’s the part that stays with me. Art can travel farther than we expect, but it still carries the feeling we put into it.
Sheryl reminded me that real talent does not always need to be polished to be powerful. Sometimes the part people connect with is the part that still sounds human.
I love when the underdog wins, but this conversation felt bigger than that. It was a reminder to keep going, keep sharing your gift, and trust that what you put into the world may still find who it’s supposed to find.
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🌟Spotlight Sessions is a series conceived of and developed by artist-educator Andre Saunders to highlight inspirational local people with personal, community-focused interviews. Read Andre’s previous Spotlight Session on Sweet Sadie, a Philly poet bringing her truth to the stage.
Congratulations to Andre on the continued success of his latest book, Honest Becoming Me, where he shares his artistic journey in an interactive format that encourages young readers to find their voice. And be sure to check out Andre’s latest music project “Better Late Than Never”, a deft, layered introspective with unforgettable rhymes and hooks.
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