You probably recognize her from the high-stakes stages of The Voice or American Idol, but long before Sloane Simon was trade-marking her airy pop vocals in front of Michael Bublé and Gwen Stefani, she was a teenager in Pittsburgh trying to balance math homework with a blossoming music career. It sounds like a Disney Channel trope. It’s not. It was her actual life.
Honestly, the "overnight success" narrative people try to pin on her is pretty far from the truth. If you look at her journey through Sloane Simon high school years, it’s less about a lucky break and more about a kid who was playing 80 shows a year while most of her peers were just trying to pass driver's ed.
The Fox Chapel Connection
Most people searching for her background find themselves looking at Fox Chapel Area High School. This is where Sloane spent the bulk of her formative years. But there is a bit of a twist that most casual fans miss.
Early on, she actually attended Shady Side Academy. In 2020, as a ninth-grader, she was already performing remote live sets for local Pittsburgh outlets like Neighborhood Voices. It didn't take long for the transition to Fox Chapel to happen, and that's where the cheerleader-turned-pop-star persona really took flight.
Think about the pressure. In 2021, she was a sophomore at Fox Chapel. She had just joined the cheer squad. Most sophomores are worried about whether they’ll get invited to the Friday night party. Sloane was in a Zoom call with American Idol producers, auditioning for the biggest show in the country, just minutes before she had to run out the door for her first home football game.
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She did the audition in her red and black Foxes cheer uniform. Pom poms and all. She got three "yes" votes from Katy Perry, Luke Bryan, and Lionel Richie, then went out and cheered at a football game. That’s not a normal Tuesday.
Why Fox Chapel Mattered
Fox Chapel wasn't just a place she went to class. It became her unofficial PR team. When she landed that Golden Ticket to Hollywood, the community went into a bit of a frenzy. Principal Michael Hower was publicly praising her "heart and passion," and her fellow cheerleaders were holding watch parties.
But here is the thing: the American Idol edit was brutal.
Despite getting those three "yes" votes and making it to the Top 40, her audition didn't even air. She was relegated to brief montages. For a high school kid, that could be crushing. Imagine the hype at school—everyone is waiting to see you on TV—and then you’re just a blur in a 5-second clip.
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She didn't quit.
Instead of fading away, she leaned harder into the Pittsburgh scene. While still a student at Sloane Simon high school, she was playing venues like the Viper Room in LA and the Bluebird Cafe in Nashville. She wasn't just a "student who sings." She was a professional musician who happened to have a backpack and a locker.
The Reality of Balancing Two Lives
Sloane has been open about the fact that her music started as a coping mechanism. When she was eight, her mom was diagnosed with aggressive spinal cancer. Her parents bought her a guitar to give her something to focus on.
By the time she reached high school, that focus had turned into a career. She was winning awards from the National Young Arts Foundation and the Grammy U program while still a teenager.
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- Year 2021: Competed on American Idol as a sophomore.
- Year 2023: Graduated from Fox Chapel Area High School.
- Year 2024-2026: Transitioned to NYU’s Clive Davis Institute.
The transition from Fox Chapel to NYU marks a massive shift. In Pittsburgh, she was the "cheerleader who sings." In New York, she’s a student at one of the most prestigious recorded music programs in the world.
What Most People Get Wrong
There’s a misconception that she was "discovered" on The Voice Season 26. Kinda. But the groundwork was laid in the halls of Fox Chapel. By the time she stood in front of the coaches on The Voice, she had already released seven singles.
She wasn't a "discovery." She was a finished product.
When her father passed away after his own battle with cancer, she used that grief to fuel her music, specifically her audition for The Voice. That level of emotional maturity doesn't just happen. It was forged through those years of playing 80+ gigs a year while trying to maintain a 4.0 GPA and a spot on the cheer team.
Actionable Insights for Aspiring Artists
If you’re looking at Sloane’s path as a blueprint, here is the actual takeaway from her high school years:
- Don't wait for the "big break." Sloane played pizza shops and local festivals for years before the TV cameras showed up.
- Community is leverage. She didn't distance herself from her high school identity; she leaned into it, which built a massive local fan base in Pittsburgh that followed her to national TV.
- Education and career can coexist. She didn't drop out to pursue fame. She finished high school, got into NYU, and then took her biggest swings.
The story of the Sloane Simon high school era isn't just about a girl with a golden ticket. It's about the 80 shows a year that nobody saw, the Zoom auditions in a cheerleading uniform, and the grit it takes to be "local famous" while aiming for something much bigger. She’s currently a student at NYU, still balancing 18-credit semesters with a touring schedule, proving that the hustle she started in Fox Chapel wasn't a phase—it was the foundation.