Haley's New Songs

[Rachel]

I thought we could have our own thread strictly to discuss all new Haley songs (although some may not be considered new anymore), but basically all the songs we've heard post "Listen Up!" era.

(My Cake, Better, Love is Worth Fighting For, Show Me Your Moves, Knock Me Out, Listen, Good or Bad, Lover Girl, new duets with Casey such as You Were There, or Never Knew What Love Could Do & whatever else I might be missing, or even some of the leaked songs that you may have really liked)

Which one is your favorite?
Do you think she has a new sound or vibe that's different from her first album?
Do you like the lyrics? (Also we can discuss lyrics here too)
Do you believe she has a new style?
What songs do you hope make the EP, or maybe which ones you don't really like...etc!

We can be honest here

& whatever else you'd like to add!

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I'll start by saying this:

Based off what I've heard, I think Haley's songwriting style has changed a little bit since Listen Up!. I think her newer songs like My Cake, and Lover Girl showcase a type female confidence, not being afraid to tell people that basically...."I'm the shit". LOL. Some of her lyrics are almost sassier in a way. Sassy, but not like a diva or cocky. And I like that style for her a lot.

"Better" for whatever reason, has never been my favorite. Performed live, it's a very good song and it does showcase her vocals great. I know she likes the song a lot and did just say she hopes it's on the EP. I don't believe it's single worthy, but it's a good song. I just hope the studio version does it justice!

One thing I have noticed is Haley's new songs don't really have "bridges" in the song writing. She tends to kind of just repeat the same lyrics over and over again towards the end. It's not always a bad thing, but I do hope that some of her other songs we haven't heard have real bridges in the songwriting. "Undone" for example has an excellent bridge

"I'll come around again
I know it's not the end
But right now I've got nowhere to begin
To begin"

and even the ending of the song takes a twist:

"Nothing but emptiness inside
Love leaves a black hole where it dies
How can I ever love again, I've come
Undone, undone, undone"

I really like songs that have an awesome bridge and different ending that separates itself rather than hearing the chorus kind of just repeated over and over. I'm hoping we get more of that.

Now, Good or Bad is probably one of my favorites right off the bat. I think it has such an awesome melody, and it's really catchy. I'm sure it'll be on the EP since they mixed it but you never know. I really hope it's on there!

Ok, that's all I've got for now

[dswim2]

Lyrics are really important to me, so I'm glad that the songs this time around have a lot more depth to them. Her sound is definitely more organic and sassier( like you said.) One thing that I've noticed is that these songs work a lot better for just an acoustic set. Her last album was hard to transfer over to that type of environment. Show me your moves was too overproduced for my liking--as opposed to "Listen" which has a really organic feel to it. The lyrics were also pretty mundane compared to what she was coming out with. I can't really comment on 'listen" because we haven't heard the full version, but the instrumentals are flawless in my opinion. From the guitar, the xylophone at the beginning, the tambourine, the African drum style(?), and even a slight pop drum beat to it. Her voice also sounds really good on the song and I love the message; compared to her other songs, this one isn't about love. Unlike "Listen Up!", it's harder to pinpoint which songs I prefer, which I believe is a testament to how much she has evolved. But I would say "Better" and "My Cake" are definitely up there. These songs have given us some nourishment while we were in the Sahara Desert. My cake is just a really fun jam song and better showcases her bluesy tone and the lyrics are--in my opinion--the best she's come up with. The whole floating, sinking, anchor arc is great. AS for LIWFF and KMO, I'm thinking only one can make the album. They are both great songs so I'm fine with whichever one she goes with. They are also ballads that she seems to enjoy singing--unlike "Undone". One of the leaked songs, "Hard", is hard to get behind because to me it was a little bizarre for Haley. I'm still a little bit iffy on "Lover Girl' and "Good or Bad". The lyrics are both really creative--particularly "Lover Girl". I think I need to hear the studio version before I can get behind them. I agree with you on the lyrics; I hope she includes some songs with some diversity lyric wise. She said she wants to include some songs we haven't heard before, so I hope that includes "listen" because we've only heard a snippet. I've been waiting a long time to hear the full version.

In the end I'm hoping her EP has 8 songs:

1) My Cake
2) Better
3) Listen
4) LIWFF/KMO
5) New song
6) New song
7) New song
8) New song

However, it is Haley's decision and I'll be ecstatic with whatever she puts out!

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I think the EP is going to be stronger than "Listen Up!"[/align]

[Rachel]

My first attempt at the lyrics for "Good or Bad"

Can't tell if I'm really close or way off. I can't even tell if she's saying "hot hot" or "hard hard".

But it was worth a shot so this is what I've got:


Feel free to give me some input if you think the lyrics might be different at some parts.

[Tusk]

Random thought, while listening to Good or Bad, I had a sense that there was something similar to Pathetic, in it

[dswim2]

Random thought, while listening to Good or Bad, I had a sense that there was something similar to Pathetic, in it

I had a similar thought!

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"Good or Bad"

Not sure who's game it is, or what it...

You ask what kind of girl am i( No question mark)

fulfill your fantasies once...

The lyrics look amazing written out...I'm starting to really dig this song.

[Rachel]

Random thought, while listening to Good or Bad, I had a sense that there was something similar to Pathetic, in it

I had a similar thought!

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"Good or Bad"

Not sure who's game it is, or what it...

You ask what kind of girl am i( No question mark)

fulfill your fantasies once...

The lyrics look amazing written out...I'm starting to really dig this song.

Wow! You're good! And right! Gonna correct those right now

[Tusk]

I'm not sure "Cake" will make the EP though she performs it more than any other song recently... I get the sense it's her 'jam song' for live performances, and w/ a 6 song limit, I'd like to think it can be left out to make way for newer songs, since she performs it often live, and it changes depending on who she's performing with and with what instrumentation.

IMO "Better" and I hope "Listen" will make it, not a HUGE fan of the Clare Reynolds songs (KMO & LIWFF) so I hope the remaining 4 will be new songs (written more recently, within the last year), although I wouldn't mind anything from the 1st set of leaked songs, like "Follow my Heart"

[mercfan3]

I actually think Love Is Worth Fighting For is my favorite.

To me, there are some Christina Aguilera "Stripped" influences/similarities (she never mentions her as an influence, but they're very similar in style and vocal choices) in her newer songs. Which I think is an interesting direction to take..more of a bluesy R&B EP rather than retro R&B/pop.

[Rachel]

Someone pointed this out about the "Good or Bad" lyrics, glad I'm not the only one cause I thought the same thing at first but it was still hard to tell.

At the very end of the song, it sounds like she changes the chorus to:

"wrap yourself around my body let it go"

[dswim2]

Someone pointed this out about the "Good or Bad" lyrics, glad I'm not the only one cause I thought the same thing at first but it was still hard to tell.

At the very end of the song, it sounds like she changes the chorus to:

"wrap yourself around my body let go"

You should include the lyrics in the description of your video!