‘Keep doing what you’re doing’: Advice to the tune of ‘Paw Patrol’ from WVU alum Scott Simons

A vocals-only track of Dua Lipa’s “Don’t Start Now” played over the speakers of Bloch Learning and Performance Hall. At the piano, West Virginia University alum Scott Simons plucked a few chords, warming up for the master class he was set to teach shortly.

Seemingly content with the acoustics, Simons paused the vocal track, hesitated, then turned it back on. He went back to the piano and repeated the earlier chords before launching into an alternative harmony, giving the song a whole new vibe.

As the song came to a close, he looked over at WVU School of Music Director Mike Vercelli, grinning, and said, “Completely changes the song, doesn’t it?”

From “VeggieTales” to “The X Factor” to Wiz Khalifa, Simons has used his WVU degree to succeed in all corners of the entertainment industry.

Millions of children and parents know Simons’ voice — he’s the lead vocalist for the “Paw Patrol” and “VeggieTales” theme songs.

Not to mention he’s co-lead vocalist for “The Thundermans” opening credits and a contributing vocalist for productions like “DuckTales.”

Simons graduated from WVU in 1998 with his Bachelor of Arts in Music Composition. After, he wrote music for himself and other artists, played for a while with a band in Morgantown, then landed a publishing deal that took him to Los Angeles, where he built a career as a music director, songwriter, composer, producer, pianist, vocalist and educator.

Simons has worked on some of television’s most recognizable programs, on film and television soundtracks and on live concert productions, including as a consultant, pianist and member of the music direction team for NBC’s “America’s Got Talent,” a role he has held since Season 8.

His songwriting, production and composition credits include projects for Nickelodeon, Disney, NBC, ESPN, DreamWorks and Netflix.

He helped bring “The X Factor USA,” “Little Big Shots” and “Building the Band” to life.

And he has contributed to recordings by artists ranging from Wiz Khalifa and Drake Bell to Mitch Grassi of Pentatonix and Shoshana Bean, who played Elphaba in Broadway’s “Wicked.”

“It’s always been personally important to me that, no matter how far I go away from West Virginia, I still have a connection to the state and the University,” Simons said. “If I could have stayed here, I would have, but to pursue the career I wanted, I had to leave the area. Still, all my memories are here.”

In fall 2026, Simons came home again.

He paid a visit to the Pride of West Virginia Marching Band, and he sat down and worked with WVU College of Creative Arts and Media students from the Music Business and Industry Program, the Music Composition Program and the jazz and funk-and-soul ensembles.

It was the most recent of several occasions when Simons has offered current WVU students the benefit of his experience.

This time, Rebecca Deimler, a junior Music Business and Industry major, got a taste of Simons’ first-person perspective on the world of professional music in her Executive Production class.

“I really enjoyed hearing about his musical process,” said Deimler. “It was enlightening to hear how a random joke that he just happened to record was scaled into a full-blown song.”

In the story Simons had told, he was out one night with friends, one of whom called Simons the “savior of the night.” Simons thought that sounded like a lyric from a hair-metal band and made up a tune for it on the spot. The next morning, he awoke with the ditty still playing in his head, so he sent it as a voice note to his bandmate. After all the workshopping was over, the quip that had sparked the whole thing was gone, but the tune Simons had created became the basis for “Messy” by TeamMate.

Deimler said, “Scott reaffirmed that making connections in this industry absolutely matters. You never know where the people you know now will go, including yourself, so it’s very beneficial to stay in contact, catch up, and collaborate with the people around you when you can.”

One of Simons’ lessons for students was that college can give them a foundation for success, but learning doesn’t end when classes do.

“School is an amazing place to expose you to so many concepts and ideas, and introduce you to people, and dork out about music, but it can’t be the end-all-be-all,” Simons said.

“The people who are most successful in the music industry are people who take what they’re exposed to in school and run with it. Being curious, learning on your own — that’s what’s going to make the difference between you and someone who is less driven.”

While life as a working musician took Simons far from home, he visits WVU whenever he can.

Simons didn’t learn to write pop songs when he was a WVU student.

But he did learn foundational skills, like music direction and arrangement, that have propelled his career.

“There’s no set path, no formula for being a working musician. I didn’t have a plan after graduation. My plan has always been that I love music, and I know that’s what I want to do,” said Simons. “I wish I’d had someone from West Virginia, from WVU, come back and just say, ‘It’s possible. It’s not easy, and it won’t look the same for you as it did for me, but it’s 100% possible.’”

For Deimler and her peers, Simons was that someone.

“Hearing success stories from people like Scott — growing up in Bridgeport, making it all the way out to L.A., and making it all the way up the ranks to be a working professional in the industry — gave us a lot of hope for going into an industry that is historically very difficult to break into,” said Deimler.

If Simons could go back in time and tell his WVU self one thing, it would be that everything will work out one way or another, he said.

“It’s not always going to make sense in the moment, but that random gig you don’t love or that’s not in your wheelhouse is going to lead you to another gig or get you a networking opportunity or get you into the room with someone else. It’s going to make you a better musician. Just keep doing what you’re doing.”

“There’s no formula for being a working musician,” Simons said. “My plan has always been that I love music, and I know that’s what I want to do.”

Story by Jessica Nelson.