Hayley Brooke on her latest single, ‘Marble’, female empowerment and growing your artist identity
We all know that Broadway makes the best popstars. Think of Renee Rapp or Ariana Grande - they have amazing voices, an incredible passion for music, and they know how to put on a show.
Hayley Brooke is the newest triple-threat popstar from Broadway. At only 22-years-old, she has already been in two Broadway productions and has started her solo music career. Impressively, Hayley also studies at the University of Southern California (USC), majoring in Theatre.
She released her debut single, Fairytale Love in June 2021, a song about overcoming doubt and retaining your vision of magic in the world. You can listen to it here on Spotify:
Hayley’s latest song, Marble, is a collaboration with the production duo, Goldlove. Released on May 3rd on streaming platforms, it is their second song together. We’d recommend you listen before reading ahead…
VoiceNoted reached out to Hayley Brooke to discuss this new release, as well as her upcoming projects and plans for the future…
Artist Interview
To start at the beginning, we asked Hayley what got her into music, and when she realised it was something she wanted to pursue professionally:
“My parents have no music background, but when I was really young, I just loved to sing - merging my love for music with theatre and storytelling.”
Having grown up as a star on Broadway, we discussed how different it feels to have a solo music career, and if performing as herself feels more vulnerable than playing a character.
“It feels more vulnerable because they’re my lyrics, my experiences, and what I’ve been through. Sometimes when you’re acting on stage, you’re so focused on that character and whatever they’re doing that you get kind of lost in it…
…Although performing my own music is more vulnerable, it’s also less scary because I can just talk and interact with the audience like they’re a friend - and I can be my complete self.”
Hayley quotes her popstar inspirations as Olivia Rodrigo, Renee Rapp, and Mimi Webb. You can certainly hear these influences in her music, but it’s her Broadway roots that drew her to a music career.
She told us: “When I was growing up, I was a big Annie fan. The song, Maybe was how I really got into music in the first place. When I got to high school, it evolved into artists like Katy Perry and Taylor Swift.”
Returning to the present day, we asked Hayley how she wrote Marble…
“[Writing Marble] was different in the way I write most songs to be honest. There was a draft of lyrics already written by one of the members of Goldlove, so it was more of a revision process as I rewrote some of the lyrics. They produced it, and the majority of what I did was the singing and harmonies.”
When asked how the experience felt, she said “I really enjoy cowrites because they challenge me to think differently and not get stuck in the same groove.”
“We recorded a bunch of songs together, but Marble was the first one we really wanted to put out.”
Hayley also told us how her songwriting process normally unfolds:
“For most songs I’ve written, I’ll listen to a track or an existing instrumental. I’ll play on the piano sometimes for inspiration, [starting] with the chords. I then write the lyrics and melody over the top.”
Mentioning one of her upcoming singles, Chicago, Hayley told us “I wrote it in my head on a train.”
The songwriting process is not always simple and is oftentimes is more fragmentary than people might think. So, it’s fascinating to hear a little more about how Hayley creates her music, especially when collaborating with other artists.
Hayley told us: “This [newest release] is the first time I’m releasing music from the standpoint of ‘this is something I really want to do’. In the past, it was more of a hobby.”
So, we asked her what it’s been like experimenting with her sound as an artist:
“I’m still creating my artist identity. There’s not a universe of songs yet, but I’m hoping to start building that.”
Hayley told us about the next single to be released called Love of my Life: “It’s really special to me, because it’s more like a ballad all about self-love. It’s very true to who I am as an artist.”
Hayley added that she is creating a music video for Love of My Life, which “adds another layer” to the song’s meaning. Though sonically different to Marble, she reminds us that both songs are ultimately empowering.
It’s clear to us that Hayley Brooke is passionate about what she does. Because of that, we asked her what she enjoys most about being a musician:
“I adore singing and I’ve loved it forever. One of the best thing is the process of creating music. I love speedwriting, when you put down all of your thoughts into words and melodies and lyrics. That moment where it really hits and you think wow - that feels so rewarding.”
“Also, performing live and being able to impact people. Interacting with the audience is really awesome and it’s getting to do what I love.”
Hayley frequently performs on campus at the University of Southern California (USC) or in the Los Angeles area. She mentioned loving her performances at the Tirebiter Brewery, Breaking Sound, and The Bourbon Room in LA.
You can see a clip of Hayley’s set at the Tirebiter Brewery on her Instagram below:
Hayley told us that “At a lot of the shows, I feel empowered [by the] welcoming spaces and communities”, adding that she feels like herself in live venues.
Hayley Brooke found a supportive community by sharing her music online on Reddit. We asked her what that online community was like, and how it gave her the confidence to pursue music professionally:
“It made me feel a lot less alone in my struggles, and I was really surprised and excited by people’s responses. It was awesome to hear about the ways [my music] impacted people.”
Discussing Marble and its reception both in person and online, Hayley said “I’d love to build a fanbase of people who are passionate about music. A community that is all about female empowerment, self-love, and positive perspectives.”
To do this, she has been promoting Marble on TikTok:
“In USC, we have a village area where I’ve been going up to girls and giving them little note cards with words of affirmation.”
Here’s one of her most recent videos:
We absolutely love this idea and can only hope that the sweet gesture empowered every girl just like Hayley’s song does.
Finally, we talked about the general aesthetic of her music, particularly regarding colour. Hayley told us that her favourite colour is purple, saying: “Purple is very calming - especially light purple. It makes me feel confident and gives me a sense of self, so I try to incorporate that into my artist identity.”
Hayley mentioned Olivia Rodrigo and how “she’s an example of someone who’s done a really good job with the branding of a colour.”
We asked Hayley Brooke if she will continue emulating her by colour-coding future releases:
“I’ve always liked purple, pink and blue. They have a girly, comforting presence. Purple has that double-edged thing of being girly and soft but also calming. [Think of how] people smell lavender and calm down.”
“For performances specifically I’ve been trying to wear purple to create a more cohesive, memorable look.”
On this subject, VoiceNoted asked Hayley if her new single, Marble could be coded or categorised in other ways. Specifically, we asked her what ‘era’ Marble is in.
“1989 - it’s an empowered bop that perfectly fits that album’s tone.”
We’d certainly agree. And that’s a compliment to Hayley of course, as 1989 (Taylor’s Version) is one of Taylor Swift’s best and most iconic albums.
At its heart, Marble is a great song and an important anthem of positivity for young women and girls. Here at VoiceNoted, we loved getting to dive deeper into Hayley’s music.
We have no doubt that Hayley Brooke is on her way to becoming a prominent popstar, and are excited to see where her next projects take her.
In the meantime, you can stream Hayley’s music on Spotify…
…and check out our Song Review of her new single, Marble.
Remember to follow Hayley Brooke on Spotify and Instagram so you don’t miss out on her next releases!
