Hunter Hayes Reveals How His Watch Inspired His New Music

Hey, what's up guys? Nicole Kotch here with Hunter Hayes. And I love your outfit too by the way. It's very stylish. I'm liking the all the all dark.

Thank you. I appreciate it's really honestly just to make me look taller. Every attempt is made to add some height to this very short human being.

Well, what kind of like fashion trends are you loving right now? Besides all black.

Well, I'm not the guy to ask honestly because I'm like the opposite of like the fashion trend studier. Like I keep it pretty basic in my world. As long as I got a watch and like the watches always have a story.

What's the story of that one?

But that this one why I'm glad you asked. I I realized that I accidentally segued into that like without realizing that I totally plugged that. But I'm a watch nerd. I found this in Australia. We had just sold out our first Australia tour. Our first UK tour was sold out. So it was kind of our first time really honestly properly touring through through all those places. And so it was a celebration watch and I broke it. Yeah, it going into rehearsals I dropped it on the ground didn't think anything of it. And then it was kind of floating around in there. And I realized how much work was going to be needed for it. And I put it on the counter and it was kind of just a reminder. I said you're not allowed to fix it until the new music comes out.

Was that really like a like a motivator for you?

Honestly, yeah, it was because it sat there staring at me for a long time.

Yeah. Yesterday's Song and Amen. That's from your music that you released on your birthday. Which by the way, you're two days older than me. No way. Kind of birthdays when. Same sign. Whatever that means. Not that I know honestly, but

That is everyone knows me here that I love talking about that stuff.

You're a Virgo. Everything that you just explained about your watch. Is it?

Yep. 100%. Like spot on. Pretty much.

That's amazing.

I'm glad I'm consistent. That's good.

But anyways, I brought that up because I wanted to know why you decided to release it all right after your birthday, or near your birthday and then also on your social media, right? On your SoundCloud.

Yeah. Well we know everything's changing, right? I mean we've been seeing it for years. Like we've been talking about it. We've been afraid of the change. I just feel like it's time to embrace it as far as for the way we released it because the way the fans found like Young Blood and and Yesterday's Song and Amen. To me it just felt very refreshing to tell them about something that was on SoundCloud rather than the traditional like here's 12 songs in a day or like here's one song and then one more song and then oh, there's the 12 song album. I know my fans want more they want it in a different way and I I want them to tell us how they want to get music too. I want to open that door to that conversation. And we want to kind of just listen and serve that, you know.

And then you created these songs in your like super cool backyard, right? You have like some weird cool studio in your backyard.

I wish I wish it was mine. Honestly, it's um it's a really cool spot that I found in order to alleviate the thinking process of this because it's really easy for records to get caught up in budgets and time. And it was such a great space for me because that's the kind of space where, you know, if nobody's watching you can really kind of try you you have the bravery to try anything. Even when you know it sucks. You're going to do it anyway and that'll lead you closer to the thing that you know you're supposed to do, you know, it takes the fear out of the equation and allows you to kind of realize what's important to you, you know. And so that's what that space did for me. And it was literally my buddy's like backyard studio that a very fancy backyard studio might I add. It's a cool spot. It's a great area too and it was good it was good for my soul, you know. more than anything.

That's perfect. Yeah. And then lastly, you are going to be headlining something really cool. The Malibu Guitar Festival, right?

Yes. I'm stoked. What I love is the charitable aspect of this obviously benefiting youth. I mean, I know how important it was for me to find music when I was young. But I was really blessed to find music. I don't know how I did when I did, but I did. And so I think it's kind of any time anything around youth or young people finding their passion. Really nurturing that and doing anything to make sure that they have all the resources at their disposal to to experience. And I love that that's what this festival is all about. And I love that it's it's about jamming it's about guitar fest. I love that's kind of the title and it's exciting, you know.