[1] CMT documented her rise to fame in the six-part series Crystal: Living the Dream, which was broadcast in February 2008.

She became the first full blood Indigenous woman to appear in the Top 20 on the American Billboard Country chart, to sell over 300k records, and to sing at the Grand Ole Opry, as well as the first to win the CCMA for Female artist of the year in 2009, and the first to win a Juno Award for "Blues Album of the UYear" in 2020, and the first to appear in the Top 10 of the American Billboard Blues chart in 2022.

Marie, Ontario, where she attended Korah C.[6] Her surname translates to "Dawn of a New Day",[7] which was the inspiration of the title track of her debut album of the same name.

[citation needed] Upon returning the final time she played for tips at Tootsie's Orchid Lounge on Broadway.

Many of Shawanda's songs have been inspired by her connections to Wiikwemkoong and part of her 2016 album was recorded at the Debajehmujig Creation Centre in Manitowaning, Manitoulin Island.

It became the highest charted album by a full-blooded Canadian First Nations country artist in the SoundScan era.

Perhaps best said by DMME.net "She's a force of nature, Crystal Shawanda, the Canadian singer may reside in Nashville, but her casting as a country artist, whitewashed as the genre demands, is hopefully over".

In 2017, Shawanda released "Voo Doo Woman", consisting of 6 covers of blues standards, and 4 originals.