I loved chatting with rising country star Haley Mae Campbell. Check out Part 1 of our interview here, and read on as we chat Miley Cyrus, life in Nashville, artists to watch out for, and how a country song comes to life - enjoy!
Ciara's Country (CC): You mentioned Adele when talking about putting out music at different stages of your life, and you’ve also taken inspiration from another superstar. You recently released a country cover of Miley Cyrus’ Flowers, and a truly stunning cover at that. What inspired you to take on Flowers?
Haley Mae Campbell (HMC): Thank you so much for your kind words! There's definitely something to be said about the way we consume and popularise music right now, so it’s cool to see a song like that from an artist that we all grew up with. Hannah Montana was such a big part of my growing up! I think it's really cool to see her in her adulthood now and still thriving and putting out this really raw, honest music that connected with billions of people. I kept hearing and loving the song, and I was listening to the lyrics really closely one day when I thought ‘this is a country song’. I know it's a pop song but it has a country lyric, it’s a story from start to finish.
It was literally a week before Valentine's Day, and I came into the studio and was like ‘we should record this tonight and put it out for Valentine's Day!’ So we sat down that night, made the entire track, recorded all the vocals and I sat there on my laptop and made the cover art. It was genuinely so much fun! It was unexpected to see the response, so I'm so glad to hear that you loved it, because I'm really proud of it and it was a very fun, authentic project to make.
CC: Definitely, there are some songs out there that you listen to and think ‘this could really work in a different style’. Do you have any other songs that you think ‘I really wish there was a country version of that’?
HMC: I'll have to think on that! But I am doing a project with my friends over at the 615 House, a series of videos called ‘Can It Country’. Flowers was my contribution to that, but you'll have to check out the other videos they roll out on the 615 House page. If anybody wants to hear their favourite pop songs or rock songs as country songs, that’s the place to be! Folks in that group are so creative, so I know they're going to have some major hitters.
CC: My kind of country! I know that along with your music, you keep yourself very busy – what’s an average day like for you?
HMC: I think my favourite thing about what I do is that no two days look the same! But to try and give a general overview, normally during the week, I'm in town (Nashville) either having songwriting sessions, which are always so much fun; or interviews, meetings, going to friends shows in town and showing support for the community. All very high priority during the week! And then on the weekends, I'm usually out playing shows either in town, or travelling on the road with my band.
That's a general idea of what my weeks look like, but sometimes I get the rare weekend off and I try to make the most of it by being a couch potato! I feel like I'm so all over the place sometimes so it's really nice that I can focus my energy on whatever I'm feeling that day. If I'm feeling really creative, I can work on photoshoot ideas and album artwork, or style and pick out outfits for shows and things like that. If I'm feeling like I need to get some shit done, then I can just hone down on my computer, respond to emails, try to reach out and set up writing sessions, send out emails to book shows. I actually still book all my own shows! So I just love that every day there’s a new and different task from the day before.
CC: That’s incredible to hear. It’s so easy to see an artist like yourself up on stage and think ‘Oh wow, I would love that life’, but we never really think about how much goes on behind the scenes. I had no idea that it’s you yourself who’s organising so much of it.
HMC: Yeah, so much goes into it. Even for me, it's easy to get distracted by my own highlight reel and see everyone on Instagram and think about what they’re doing. I feel like especially in this community in Nashville, we make a point to rally together, and all the artists here are absolutely busting it behind the scenes. We’re all just are working towards the same goal. But there’s so much that goes into it especially if you're more on the independent side like myself. It’s everyone's dream to get to the point where you have a team you can pass off some of these responsibilities to, but you have to start somewhere. I'm really grateful to be independent though, I'm really enjoying it.
CC: Judging from that answer I think you’re going to be the perfect person to ask this next question. One of the things I love about festivals like C2C is that we get to see the big names but also those who are coming up in country music. Being so involved in the growing Nashville community, are there some underrated artists out there that you think everyone should be listening to?
HMC: Yes, 100%! I can even tell you some of my friends that are going to be on the C2C lineup that you have to see. My friend Alexandra Kay will be there - I got to open up a show for her on her tour, and she is absolutely amazing. One of the best people I know. I don't know how underrated he still is because he’s going like a rocket ship to the moon, but our buddy Breland is also going to be at C2C – hosting, performing and doing one of the after parties. Don’t miss out on him too. He's so talented and he co-wrote my song Ms Fire with me, so we love him so much!
CC: This is Breland’s second year at C2C back-to-back, so clearly he makes quite an impression. Let's just hope we get to see you year after year as well!
HMC: That’s the plan! I'm bringing the full band back next year.
CC: I’m excited! Alright Haley, I have one last question for you – what’s one question that you've never been asked in an interview before but would love to be?
HMC: Oh, wow, that’s a great question! I guess I don't get asked all that much about my creative process. I’m always curious to know about other people’s, like do they start with lyrics or with a melody? How long do they have to sit with a song before going to the studio? I’m nosy and I love those intricacies about people. For me, it's normally a gut feeling - once I'm finished writing a song, I’ll know immediately if it’s a ‘me song’. I'm always curious about how that works with other people.
CC: How does it work for you?
HMC: I have to start with an idea. If I'm not starting with a hook or an idea I get lost along the way. It's true what they say about ‘shower ideas’, you know? I'll get an idea for a hook or a lyric in a song and I'll start to mess around with some melodies, voice memo that into my phone and then take it into a writing session.
CC: I can’t wait to hear even more of those stories when you come over for C2C.
HMC: I can't believe it, it's coming up so quick. I’m so excited to just be there.
CC: Thank you so much for your time today Haley!
HMC: Thanks Ciara! I really appreciate your time and look forward to seeing you and giving you a big hug at C2C.
What a joy to talk with Haley! I have plenty more C2C related content coming soon, so make sure to stay tuned to @CiarasCountry to be the first to know when it drops!
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