Q&A: Haley Reinhart on 'Better,' Her First Album in Four Years
At the age of 20, Illinois native Haley Reinhart placed third on American Idol Season 10 (the one where Scotty McCreery won). She went on to drop Listen Up! in 2012 and finally makes her return this Friday, April 29, with Better. The soulful, jazzy, altogether genre-defying singer-songwriter spoke to Fuse about having her dad play on her album, her first voice-acting gig and dropping an album the same week as Drake and Beyoncé.
Fuse: So it's almost album time! How are you feeling?
Haley Reinhart: Oh my gosh, I'm just on cloud nine right now. Walking around my hometown city and visiting a lot of radio stations, just prepping for the release.
What kind of response have you gotten since putting out "Better" at the beginning of April?
It's been really great, I feel like the message I've been
trying to send out with the song has really translated, especially to younger
women. I just wanted to be really motivating and empowering—y'know, that goes
for anybody, being able to realize your self-worth.
Do you write with
that audience in mind, do you work for that connection with young women
particularly?
It is really important to me. That's one of the bigger
messages that I like to send out through my music, going out to the younger
generation of women. I feel like I've grown up and faced my fair share of
hardships in my own right, and it's made me a lot stronger of a woman today. I
follow my instincts, so I encourage everybody around me to do the same and to
know their self-worth and not settle.
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