The Dream by Hailey Whitters, when released last year, catapulted Whitters’ into the public consciousness with critical acclaim. Today, Hailey Whitters has released the deluxe version of the record – Living The Dream – that sees her partner up with the artists that enabled her to ‘make music full-time’ and the result is something majestic.
Hailey Whitters’ debut record The Dream was one of the stand-out records of 2020, establishing Whitters as one to watch, hailed by the likes of Stereogum, Rolling Stone, Paste Magazine and The Washington Post. Now, Whitters is returning with five brand new tracks to make up Living The Dream. These five new tracks position Whitters as an artist with longevity, and show that she has only just begun to scratch the surface of her enormous artistic potential. Marking five collaborations with some huge names in country music, the collaborations have all been as tenderly chosen as the lyrics that Whitters masterfully creates. Of the project she states, ‘All of the artists featured on this project are responsible for me being able to hang up the apron strings and make music full-time. The royalties from Little Big Town’s cut on ‘Happy People’ helped pay for part of THE DREAM, Brent Cobb and Jordan Davis were two of the first artists to take me on tour, Lori McKenna and Hillary Lindsey are my two songwriting idols and favorite co-creators, and Trisha Yearwood is one of the first artists that got me excited about moving to Nashville and pursuing Country music. I wanted to show fans full circle what ‘living the dream’ looks like for me – from where I started with ‘Ten Year Town’ to the bucket list moments that have resulted since I released my record, THE DREAM. I felt it was important to show them what can happen when you don’t give up on yourself.’
‘Fillin’ My Cup’ that begins the deluxe portion of Living The Dream is a mammoth track, rammed full of mind-blowing harmonies, a track about what brings you joy. ‘It ain’t the bartender, it ain’t the bottle / It ain’t the headache I’ll have tomorrow / It’s a high-low life when you shake it on up / Fillin’ my cup.’ It’s a track that brims and effervesces with joy and sheer love of country music – led by fiddles, with a meaty drum and guitar section, with the kind of quirky lyrics we’ve come to expect from Whitters, as does later track ‘How Far Can It Go?’ that sees Whitters team up with mammoth vocalist Trisha Yearwood. This last is a beefy track about moving away from home and pursuing your dreams, but always looking back. It’s one of the more catchy and radio-friendly moments on the record that is infused with a 90s country feel, and sees Whitters match Yearwood note for note – not an easy feat considering the extraordinary nature of Yearwood’s vocal.
More meandering and emotive tracks form a big part of the deluxe part of the record – Whitters partners with Brent Cobb on a track he penned ‘Glad To Be Here.’ Cobb’s tender vocal marries well with Whitters’ unique tone in a winning combination, a track about being at peace with her place in life and being content in the moment. It is a breezy and moving track that matches two brilliantly unique artists.
The only track to be released today is the stunning new track ‘How To Break a Heart,’ on which Whitters partners up with Lori McKenna and Hilary Lindsey, with whom she wrote the track. The trio’s vocals match up perfectly in this heart-breaking track about the ways to break a heart, a revenge-riddled song that ‘what goes around will come back around…Better off looks worse on you… So tell me how’s it feel to get a taste of what you are / She knows how to break a heart.’ It’s a meandering, gorgeous track that shows off the best of each artist’s vocals and lyricism, in a way that McKenna and Lindsey have an extraordinarily unprecedented way of doing. The record rounds out with ‘The Ride’ – another gem on the record that sees Whitters partner with Louisianan singer Jordan Davis, a song about the journey to the top. ‘It’s the low that makes the high / It’s the song that makes you cry / It’s the road that makes the ride / That makes the ride,’ sing the duo in the chorus, in the emotive track that feels like autobiographical for both of them.
Whitters has accomplished an extraordinary feat on Living The Dream that sees her able to vocally compete with some of the biggest vocalists in country music today, at all ends of the spectrum. Her lyrical poise is quirky and unique and it is this that will give her the longevity as she moves further into her career. The collaborations are clever in their range and depth and feel artfully chosen, rather than just throwing in big names for the sake of it – it’s meaningful, poetic and enhances Whitters’ range and artistic expertise. Hailey Whitters may be Living The Dream, but it also feels like she is only just getting started.
