Haley's in the studio.

[Miguel]

Haley believes everything happens for a reason. Normally, I'm not one to buy into that. But it would be hard to argue against her regarding her career at this point. Everything is setting up perfectly.

• Because she missed the cut last year, she got to work with Jimmy Iovine and earn his respect (an AI vocal coach said it bothered him that people didn't realize how good of singer Haley is)
  .
  
• Adele landing atop the charts this year for weeks on end showed there is a big market for music that is more than auto-tuned pop
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• Amy Winehouse's death and the reaction to it further affirmed the timing might be right for something new with old influences
  

I think, as a result, she is being given more resources to work with than someone new might otherwise get. However, that may make it more difficult to produce an album with a "cohesive vibe."

The one criticism of Haley that I think is sometimes deserved is she doesn't emote the meaning behind the lyrics (in part because she is so in the moment when performing). So I would like to see some different shades of her on different songs. I assume it's the producer's job to help pull that out of her.

[midnightblues]

Every thing happens for a reason, I never bought into that kind of philosophy eather. I think it depends if you take things in a positive or react in a negitive way.But eather way Haley a good perspective on her way of thinking.Shit, she is still a kid at 21,and I beleive her parents had a lot to do with that. Song writing is 90% in feeling whats in your heart. Real life situations,Ya know like getting your heart broken, and other crappy things that life throws at you. Thats why I love the blues.There is a lot of power in the blues, The same with a lot of country songs It's all about life experience. Im just wondering about some of the songs Haley wroat when she was younger.She said she likes potery.Do you think the producers will let her incorporate that in her songs? , or will the songwriters do all the work. Eather way it's in the makeing cant wait.

[john]

EDIT:

From Miguel:

John, my apologies.

I replied to this post, and then posted a followup reply.

Somehow, because I was tired I suppose, my second reply was actually an edit of your post. I didn't realize that until the damage was done.

I truly regret overwriting your post. I think I quoted most of it in my first post, so I would encourage everyone to look at the quotes posted below to see John's thoughts.

[Miguel]

Haley might have been up and down with respect to "emoting" the meaning of lyrics, but the structure and pace of the show is probably a big part of that. It's bam, survive...

Building on that, there is also the expectations of the show. Tied to the accusation her performances didn't always reflect the emotions of the song is the criticism that she sometimes engaged in unnecessary vocal theatrics. I don't think this is true, but feel it is understandable she would use them given she is performing in a vocal competition and wants to demonstrate she can do things with her voice that other contestants can't. I enjoyed the nuances of Haley's performances and felt such criticism was better reserved for performers who wailed at a high pitch just to show they could wail at a high pitch. Week after week.

Haley seems to be a very upbeat and optimistic person who loves to sing. Like her stylistic range, I think she has the potential to connect with a wide range of emotional tones in her singing. She can do crappy life, angry, heartbroken stuff -- but she can also connect with joyous, uplifting songs. For example, in her performance of Beautiful she radiated positive energy. She made it look effortless and it was a remarkable, if often overlooked, performance. Do this kind of song wrong and you can look as sincere and meaningful as the host of a local TV morning talk show.

This is a great comment (I especially like the "local TV morning talk show" reference). I agree Haley is generally upbeat and I recall her cousin saying that Haley always put her interest in music before her interest in boys. So in my shallow understanding of her life, I think she hasn't suffered the torment of unrequited love or serious heartbreak. That's why I think she may need someone to slow things down and help her think about what she is singing -- set the stage as we sometimes saw in the mentor clips on Idol.

I liked Beautiful and would love for her to have a song that radiated similar positive energy to call her own. I feel that way even more having seen on Twitter how so many young girls actually do look to her for inspiration.

In watching her tour videos I found her interaction with the audience between songs to be a bit stiff at times. I think she would really shine in smaller venues.

I agree. The interaction at larger venues would probably be better if nearly everyone was only there to see her.

This is the most recent video posted of Haley performing on the AI tour. It's not exceptional in any way other than the fan in the nosebleed seats screaming her head off for Haley. Posted here mainly for entertainment purposes:

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Songwriting is 90% in feeling what's in your heart. Real life situations,Ya know like getting your heart broken, and other crappy things that life throws at you.

A few months ago, I thought I might write a song for Haley to perform. Being a cheap bastard, I went to Half-Price Books and bought several titles. Most of them had been published some time ago. One in particular was titled something like, "How to Write Hit Songs."

It stressed power ballads and the themes of falling in love, being in love or getting over a lost love.

[midnightblues]

There was a time in my life that I could have written many songs about getting burned in relationships. Most were rather morbid to say the least. There are many books to show you how to write songs, like what words go with other words what rimes and what doesn't. The best way is just to start writing what you are feeling. Or to carry a note pad around with you and write about events of the day that gets your attention. Than try to put them all togeather and see what corresponds to what your feeling. Kinda sorta i guess. what ever works for you. keep in mind that a good melody is importiant also, the piano or a guitar will put a buzz in you head as to where you want to go.

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Also look at Adel rolling in the deep. It was about a relationship that went wrong. And was a #1 hit for many weeks.Im kinda glad im single, that way if I ever want to write another song, It won't be about gettiing shit on.If the only thing you know about love is that it hurts when its over. Time to rethink things.

[Miguel]

If the only thing you know about love is that it hurts when its over. Time to rethink things.

That there sounds like a theme for a song.

[john]

Miguel - ouch! Oh well, I appreciate your replies to my comments.

I don't recall everything I wrote but I did agree that things had set up nicely for Haley. She was lucky, with the kind of luck one gets when preparedness meets opportunity.

Related to our discussion, I am very encouraged that Haley, more than any other contestant i think, showed a lot of professional growth on AI. I expect that to continue, and if it does, further success is in the cards. It should be fun.

While the focus is always on new material, at some point I'd love to see Haley do an album of covers of old rock songs. In many ways it could be newer and fresher and more interesting than the vast majority of stuff that comes out of the pop mill. For youngsters, as well as oldsters.

[fover]

Miguel - ouch! Oh well, I appreciate your replies to my comments.

I don't recall everything I wrote but I did agree that things had set up nicely for Haley. She was lucky, with the kind of luck one gets when preparedness meets opportunity.

Related to our discussion, I am very encouraged that Haley, more than any other contestant i think, showed a lot of professional growth on AI. I expect that to continue, and if it does, further success is in the cards. It should be fun.

While the focus is always on new material, at some point I'd love to see Haley do an album of covers of old rock songs. In many ways it could be newer and fresher and more interesting than the vast majority of stuff that comes out of the pop mill. For youngsters, as well as oldsters.

To quote music producers, Rock Mafia, when they commented on “Blue”: “Mostly when we make a classic record, it’s a step down from the nostalgia of what it was. I think you (Haley) can actually reinvent it.” Haley has a really unique voice. She can definitely take a classic song and make it hers. I agree wholeheartedly that Haley should take a few select classic songs and reinvent them for today’s generation of music lovers the same way many of the great artists did in the 60’s and 70’s. But, Haley’s first priority should be to increase her fan base. To do that, her songs must be relevant and meaningful to today’s music generation. So, maybe the classic album should be on the back burner for now.

[Miguel]

While speaking about “Baby It’s Cold Outside,” we, of course, had to ask Reinhart, who was signed to Interscope back in July, what she’s been up to out in Los Angeles (where, lets be honest, it probably isn’t cold outside). As expected, the 21 year-old wailer is hard at work on her debut album.

“I’m working my butt off right now,” she tells EW, “just getting in there with a bunch of different writers and producers every day.” Reinhart has already recorded a few tracks—including some that she wrote herself a few years ago— and she describes the sound of what she’s recording as “soul and R&B mixed, with some jazziness in there.” The singer adds, “You can hear the retro-ness, but it definitely has a modern twist. Hey—that rhymes!”

So we're going to get a taste of Haley as a songwriter.

[Miguel]

On Twitter, HaleyRLikeAStar noticed Haley just followed a bunch of people that are probably related to her work in the studio:



One of them just made this Tweet: