Lyndsey Parker's (Yahoo Music) interview with Haley at Grammy rehearsals

[john]

Indeed she is a quick study -- another really good sign in a musician. And while I also agree with you that she's in a different league, I'm not so sure that it's growthwise. Scotty is developing quickly. He's a smart kid and he seems to be gobbling up his opportunities to learn the business of music. However, it depends on what you mean/how you're thinking, that "musically", Scotty's task is less challenging.

Assuming that you mean as long as Scotty stays within the country genre, he's fine, I suspect you are correct -- although, since Haley has been absorbing all that she does since birth (if not before), I suspect that Haley and Scotty are on the same par.

However, if for some reason, Scotty wanted or needed to venture beyond the country zone, his learning curve would be significantly greater than Haley's would be -- unless she suddenly developed a love of opera and decided to pursue that as a career. (Not that I don't think she could do it, but that takes years of development! And, well, there is her signature raspiness that probably wouldn't mesh too well )

Musically, I think Scotty has a relatively simple template to follow within the country zone. He can stay right in the box and thrive. Perhaps down the road he'll try some new things, but I think he will remain very predictable in coming years. To a large extent we know what he'll sing, where he'll sing, and how he'll sing it. He is sharp, has a nice personality and he will make a lot of money as a country artist. On the tour I think Scotty was quickly polishing his performance skills. His growth has been impressive. He looked right at home on stage and I see him as developing as an entertainer.

I think Haley's task has been quite a bit more challenging and has involved pulling her experience and talent together to arrive at a "cohesive" sound as she put it. She has had exposure to a large variety of music and pursued experience in different genres in recent years. A big task has been to tame it all and create a lane to cruise for this album. After grappling with a way to describe it she now referred to her musical style simply as "my own." Opera would be a major shift, but she could do a jazz, rock, R&B, or country album right now. Or some creative hybrid. In coming years I think she will not be so predictable and I think she will hop into different lanes at times.

I wear Haley colored glasses so I think she is in a league of her own in all ways. That might be the long and the short of it. But if someone thinks they have found a musical box for her, either with respect to style or her level of skills, it is likely that the next time they look in the box she will be gone.

I'm also expecting a lot out of Casey and it will be interesting to see where he goes in his post-idol career. I expect Casey to develop production skills that could prove interesting.