Hailey Whitters joins Kelleigh Bannen today on Today’s Country Radio to talk about creating Living The Dream. In the interview Hailey Whitters talks about working with her idol Trisha Yearwood and her advice for struggling artists.
Hailey Whitters will join Today’s Country Radio with Kelleigh Bannen today (March 5) on Apple Music Country to talk about creating the purest music she’s ever made with ‘Living the Dream,’ and what it was like singing with her childhood hero, Trisha Yearwood. Kelleigh also makes Mini-Mixtape introducing listeners to her favorite new Apple Music Country show, ‘Love Junkies Radio.’
Tune into the full conversation on Today’s Country Radio with Kelleigh Bannen tomorrow (March 5) at 6am LA / 8am Nashville / 9am NYC on Apple Music Country at apple.co/_TodaysCountry.
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Hailey Whitters on singing “How Far Can it Go” with childhood idol Trisha Yearwood on ‘Living The Dream’ album
“I’m just a die hard Trisha Yearwood fan. ‘She’s in love with The Boy,’ it came out… I was 10, when that song came out and it was the song… Singing into a hairbrush microphone, barefoot on the lawn and forcing my family to sit around and listen to me, sing this song. I mean, Trisha was just everything that I wanted to do and be in country music. And so I came from a fan-girl perspective. We wrote this song, ‘How Far Can It Go,’ just trying to channel a modern day, ‘She’s In Love With The Boy.’ Yeah. And so, when we got that one and we’re thinking about who could be on it, I mean, I was like, ‘if we could get Trisha Yearwood, that would be insane.’ And we got that phone call. I remember getting that… I kind of was like, ‘no, she’s not going to do it. I’m not going to get my hopes up…’ But we got that phone call and Jake and I literally jumping up and down, screaming in the house, texting everyone in my family and friend group that I knew would just die. It was just, it was insane. And the first time I got to hear her vocal on it, I was back home in Iowa driving those same back roads that I used to drive in high school, in my truck hearing her voice come through the radio. Only now this time, 14 years later, I’m getting to hear our voices together on a song and something about being in that place, again. The place where it all started for me and getting to hear that and feel that moment was just literally one of the, ‘Living The Dream,’ moments.”
Hailey Whitters on advice for struggling artists
“I would just say, keep going. I mean, that year… It was Year 10. It was so… I don’t know if anyone cares, but I do. At least just a little more. I’m just going to make another record. And if it’s only ever for my own personal collection of that I did, that I’m proud of in my life. A record that literally only I get to put on my record shelf and be proud of, that’s it. And that was the most pure music that I’ve ever made. And it was just the most honest music that I ever made.”
Hailey Whitters on the Nashville music community
“I think it’s just, doing… Surrounding yourself with the people who see it, the people who get it, hanging on to them, whether it be the people in the industry or whether it be the fans. The people that get what you’re doing, cling to them for dear life, serve them, overserve them. They’re going to be your energy. They’re going to keep you going. It’s easy for people who don’t get it to just dismiss it or write it off or whatever, but you stay with those people and you build and you grow. And this music that I’ve gotten to do, I just feel like in so many ways… I mean, I was just telling Jake the other day, there’s so many times I felt very broken-hearted by this town, but at the same time, this town just feeds me. You know what I mean? And the people they’re just… It’s a community and we got each other’s backs and we’re supporting each other and we’re fans of each other, you know what I mean? And we all want to see each other have success and everything.”
