A Mahoning Valley-based singer-songwriter has signed with a new music production company that will start releasing her songs in April.
Shiloh Hart is one of the inaugural clients of Aigel Galaxy. The company is owned and operated by music industry veteran Gene Lennon, who is a songwriter, producer and engineer.
The pop-friendly songs that Hart will release will showcase her powerful and expressive voice. They were co-written by Hart and Lennon and recorded at his New Jersey studio.
She will use them to relaunch her music career – this time as a singer and performer.
Hart, who grew up mostly in Niles and graduated from Firestone Academy of the Arts in Akron, has a long history in music and acting.
She worked for a decade as a studio vocalist for Sony Records and Jason Wyatt Productions and also as a songwriter and composer in Nashville and other cities.
She is doing some songwriting for Aigel Galaxy, too, but her role there is primarily as a singer and performer. That means that – for the first time – her career is moving from behind the scenes to center stage.
Hart moved back to the Valley six years ago, where she started Hart’s School of Performing Arts in space at the Kent State University at Trumbull campus.
She has gotten involved in local theater, appearing in a much publicized performance of “Rent” at Powers Auditorium in 2023, and also directing “American Idiot” at Kent Trumbull Theatre in 2024.
She has also written a children’s play, “The Magic of Books,” which was published in 2025 and has been produced at Kent State University.
Taking a leap into a singing career was not something she was looking to do. It happened after she was contacted out of the blue by Lennon, who learned about her from a friend in the industry.
“He reached out to me in March of 2025, asking if I would be interested in joining his team as an artist, singer, songwriter and instrumentalist, which was a huge step for me,” she said. “I’ve been a demo artist or ghostwriter for my entire career, and I’ve very much enjoyed my privacy. Sharing my work as [a singer] has been nerve-racking.”
Hart said it was flattering to be asked to help Lennon launch a label, but she wasn’t interested at first.
“I turned him down the first time he called,” she said. “Then he convinced me to spend a week with him as a test run. He reminded me why I loved being in the studio so much and definitely filled a void I had since leaving it.”
Hart left her songwriting job five years ago after the industry had become distasteful to her. She especially cringed at the way young female artists were manipulated.
“It was a hard decision, but [the industry] wasn’t what it used to be, and it was burning me out,” she said. “Even though I’m no longer a ghostwriter and am presenting as a full artist now, Gene has made coming back very peaceful and reassuring. I told him how scared I was to return to the industry, and he’s been very patient with me.”
New Approach
Lennon had also been out of the music industry for a few years. He is getting back into it in a way that he hopes will circumvent the obstacles.
The circumstances afflicting the playing field today make it much harder to move a worthwhile artist up the ladder, he said.
“It’s a tough time for artists right now in the open market, and everybody has their own opinion of why that is,” he said. “Mine is that it’s because there’s so much noise because of AI and the fact that anybody can put stuff up onto the streaming services. Those two things have resulted in storms of songs being dumped onto the streaming services. And as a result, it’s more difficult than ever for an individual artist to be seen above that noise.”
Lennon’s approach is based on his insight into how the music industry works.
Instead of releasing one more artist “into that giant mess,” he will simultaneously release several songs by at least six of the artists on his label. That, he said, will establish the viability of his new company as it is launched.
“Whether that will work has yet to be determined,” he said, “but that’s my model.”
He has signed eight artists in varying genres and has recorded them singing music he has written. Marketing will be handled by outside publicists when the songs are released, with each artist also getting involved.
Lennon had written the songs over the past two years but realized they were “going nowhere.”
He could have sold some of them to “a B-level artist,” but the revenue would have been meager.
“I have a history of getting my songs [obtained] by more major artists, but even if you do that today, the reality is that it doesn’t bring very much back to you unless it becomes an astronomically successful record,” he said.
Hart describes Lennon as “a big deal in the industry,” and his track record bears that out.
He is credited with writing and producing on Aretha Franklin’s Grammy-nominated album and single “What You See Is What You Sweat” (1991).
He also wrote and produced for Rebbie Jackson’s “R U Tuff Enuff,” featuring Michael Jackson.
Lennon’s discography reflects work across the Epic, Arista, Atlantic and Capitol Records labels.
His studio credits include work at Greene St. Recording, The Hit Factory and Manhattan Center Studios.
He is credited as an engineer for artists like Daryl Hall and on tracks for the Rolling Stones, and he has done engineering for Grandmaster Flash.
He also was a songwriter for MCA Records and has been associated with several smaller labels.
Lennon is a cousin of the late John Lennon of the Beatles, said Hart, but he grew up in the U.S. and never met the rock legend.
First Song
Hart is impressed with Lennon’s experience, his recordmaking know-how and his incredible ability to find just the right sound in her voice and the songs he crafts.
“He has, like, supersonic ears,” she said.
Hart has already recorded about a half-dozen songs that will be released on the Aigel Galaxy label.
First up will be “The Quiet Kept Our Names,” a slow- burner that allows her to use her soulful style.
The song is a perfect fit for her voice, and it’s easy to imagine it reaching a large audience.
Hart hopes it will catch people’s ears and set the stage for songs where she can really soar.
“I’m a hell of a singer,” she admitted. “That’s one place where I’m super confident.”
Pictured at top: Shiloh Hart at a microphone during a recording session at Aigel Galaxy records.