[3] Later, in December 1996, Starner's father gifted her a three-hour slot at a studio where she recorded four demos of original songs.

In December 1997, Starner signed her a record deal with Warner Bros.[4][3] It consisted of a six-album contract worth more than $5 million.

[7] Starner's song about the lack of trust and loyalty in a relationship entitled "You", was featured in commercials for Dawson's Creek.

[9] In February 1999, Billboard announced that Starner would be going on a small concert tour through the United States in mid-spring and that Monterey Peninsula Artists was the booking agency.

She wanted to move into rock and roll, but she did not release the album and chose instead to drop her contract with Warner Bros. Starner's mother commented that, "Warner Brothers wasn't creative enough to find a niche for her ... She was a little mellow and thought of things a little too deeply compared to kids her age that listened to the radio."

Starner and her family initially intended to find another company for her to start over until her mother was diagnosed with breast cancer.

[2] Music critic Tom Moon praised Starner'sd debut album From in the Shadows, saying it contained "... powerfully revelatory songs, with lyrics that alternate between the scribbled journal entries of a tetchy teenager and the thoughtful, disarming observations of an adult.

"[7][13] A USA Today article stated, "folky debut album 'From the Shadows' got good notices last year (1999), but made little commercial headway.

[3] In January 1999, Jonathan Bernstein, a film critic at Spin, wrote that Shelby Starner and Britney Spears "make up the front line of the next assault of girl-teen prodigies.