How Hailey Haus Reframes Her Narrative On New Pop Single, “Flavor of the Month”
Hailey Haus – Photography by Hunter Lyon
Pop singer-songwriter and producer Hailey Haus had to find out the hard way that life isn’t like a Disney movie. Long story short – dating culture can be tough. While meeting up with new people over the course of a year on a mission to find the right person, what was simply Haus’s intentional search for love quickly turned into her fun and bold new single, “Flavor of the Month,” all thanks to a bit of gossip.
Released today via multi-GRAMMY® Award-nominated producer Gregg Wattenberg’s Arcade Records, a joint venture with Elektra Records, “Flavor of the Month” showcases an edgy, adventurous, and fun side of Haus that most people may forget exists amongst her honest, vulnerable, and deep songwriting. Inspired by misperception and spun into a lighthearted take on trying to find the perfect partner, Haus dives into reframing her narrative on the new single.
“It’s a story about taking the power back in a sense,” Haus says about the track. “At the time, I was single, and I was trying to find the right guy. I talked to a handful of boys over this one year. In my mind, I’m looking for my husband. Behind my back, some girl said, ‘Oh my gosh, Hailey always has a flavor of the month.’ I was so bothered because I’m not trying to talk to a million guys for no reason; I’m looking for the right person to commit my life to. One day, I thought what she said would be a hilarious concept for a song, so I made it my own.”
Through electric guitars and a mysterious edge, “Flavor of The Month” is a pop-rock leaning track that pokes fun at the pros and cons of meeting a new fictional boy every month. Co-written by Haus and produced by David Burris, the artist recently teased the single on TikTok , amassing 9M+ views on the platform in advance of today’s release.
Originally from Oakland, CA but now based in Dallas, TX, Hailey Haus is an artist with a passion to bring her creativity to life in whatever form that may take. Whether it’s teaching herself how to produce her own music, world-building through songwriting, or coming out on the other side of a panic attack to write her most vulnerable song to date, Haus is an honest artist at heart. After releasing her independent single, “Anxiety” in 2020, the singer-songwriter caught the attention of Gregg Wattenberg (John Legend, Train, Tom Morello) leading her to her newly announced signing with Arcade Records.
“I am beyond grateful for the opportunity to partner with Arcade x Elektra to make this lifelong dream a reality,” Haus says of her new creative home. “They have made me feel supported and a part of the family. I am so optimistic about our future ahead!”
For Haus, the gossip behind her back was fuel for a story, one that now marks the start of a new chapter for the artist. Embracing the character that people made of her, she drew from a narrative that wasn’t true and turned it into a pop anthem that can apply meaning to any girl’s search for love whenever and however they want. Hailey Haus opened up exclusively to Amplify Her Voice to talk about “Flavor of the Month,” being a woman producer, and how she’s grown as an artist the past two years.
Hi Hailey! “Flavor Of The Month” is such an awesome song! Can you talk about the story behind it?
It's kind of a funny story. A couple years back, I was single for a while and talking to a few different guys. In my head, I just wanted to find the right person, but unfortunately, I realized life isn’t a Disney movie, and we were gonna have to meet a few people before we find that right person. During that year, I found out this girl who I had known for a long time but wasn’t very personally close with was going around telling people, “Oh, Hailey always has a flavor of the month,” and talking bad about me. It kinda just hurt my feelings because I wasn’t just trying to talk to different guys at once, and I will also preface this by saying if anyone just wants to date people for fun, do your thing. But for me, when my friend told me she said this about me it hurt my feelings because this was someone who didn’t really get to know me. I laughed it off and just forgot about it, but then around this time last year, I remembered it and thought this would be such a funny concept for a song.
The first phrase that popped in my head was, “January boy had a fridge full of La Croix,” and I was like, “Either this is the stupidest line ever or it’s going to be an awesome first song!” The next day, I had a session with two writers (Natania Lalwani, Miranda Glory) and producers (Pj Bianco, David Burris) that I was meeting with for the first time over Zoom and I said, “What if every single month, there’s a different guy?” So I kind of planned around this character that this girl portrayed me as. It was the quickest writing session I ever experienced. I was blown out of the water with the chemistry we all had together creatively. I think we wrote the song in ten minutes or less. Sometimes you’ll write a song and overthink it so we kept going back trying to rewrite it, but we just kept going back to what we came up with in that moment. It was so special so we had to keep it that way. It’s a lighthearted story but I think it was so meant to be. Even the way that social media has embraced it with the snippets alone, I’ve been blown out of the water, like maybe I'm not crazy and this is working somehow! I just really feel so blessed.
Being gossiped about, especially behind your back, and especially if you’re a woman, is often really hurtful. There was obviously a misconception there where someone perceived you as a little boy crazy when in reality you’re just trying to find your life partner! I read though that your writing this song was like taking back your power from that. Why was it important for you to reframe that narrative for yourself?
I love that you said that. This really is like the deeper meaning behind it – You take the thing that someone used to hurt you and you turn it into something funny or something exciting that people can also embrace, and you let them put their own spin on it. That’s the thing I love about music. The listener is going to be able to interpret it in any way. Say a girl went through a similar situation, she can listen to it through the same lens that I’m listening to it. Even a girl who just wants to date guys for fun, she can listen to it in her own way. I think the song is empowering and exciting for women, but the depth behind it was that it was me redeeming that narrative for myself.
That reminds me of what Taylor Swift did with ‘Blank Space,’ because that’s exactly what she did!
Yes! I remembered that because I got a few comments that were like, “This reminds me of ‘Blank Space,’” and I went back and listened to the song and I loved that she did that as well. She took all the things that the media was saying about her and what they were portraying her as and made it into an anthem. I love that she just embraced that character too.
You released your song “Anxiety” in 2020 which was a beautiful song but super vulnerable and honest. How do you feel you’ve grown as an artist from 2020 to now?
I feel like that song was my leap of faith into the music industry. I had been holding on to music for so many years and between learning to produce and writing stories into songs that will never see the light of day. My family told me, “You need to put yourself out there.” So I decided to put out my most vulnerable song that literally came out of an anxiety attack, and I’m gonna put it out for the world because it was such a healing experience for me, but really that song has just changed my life in so many different ways. It’s set me up for the future and has opened so many doors for me. It’s mind-blowing but in the past few years, I’ve just been preparing mentally, spiritually, and focusing on the personal so I could be ready for this moment right now.
So would you say that “Flavor Of The Month” is the start of a new chapter for you? Is this a continuation of the world you were building when you released “Anxiety” or is this the start of something completely new?
I wanted to show people another side of my personality because I feel like it can tip on two sides of the scale essentially. I feel like I have this very serious side where I’m serious about topics like depression and anxiety and suicide and things that I’ve been through in my life that were traumatic because I want people to know that they’re not alone, but then I also have a side where I am just crazy. I love to make memes and make a fool of myself! I like to have fun so I wanted to show people I’m not always such a serious person. I have this kind of dark but magical polar opposites inside of me. I feel like this is a new beginning though and I’m ready for it.
Have you ever come across any roadblocks being a woman in music, and if so, how do you push through those to keep creating your art?
There have been a few times in my life where this happened. I started learning how to produce about three years ago, and I’ve gotten serious about it, but a lot of people assume since I’m a girl, they’ll ask, “Who is your producer?” They just assume that I’m not part of the creative process. They’ll ask, “Who writes your songs?” and there have been a few moments where people just make assumptions, but I don’t feel the need to prove myself because it’s going to speak for itself when they hear the music that my fingerprint is on it because I’m so deeply involved in the creation of writing, arranging, and co-producing, and I love that side. One thing I want to do is empower more girls who are producers and let them know to not be intimidated by it. Don’t let anyone push you around or say you’re not smart enough or tell you that you don’t know enough about music. Just do your thing. If this is your gift, this is your gift. You just gotta keep pressing on and it’s gonna shine, so that’s what I want to leave with women. I want to create more opportunities for women to get into the studio and be the head producer on a song because I think that would be the coolest thing ever.
What’s next for Hailey?
I have been preparing the last few years with so many songs in the arsenal that we’re ready to showcase online. I’m just excited about the future and one thing I’m very passionate about is building this world. I’ve always been drawn to artists who are big into storytelling and who aren’t just releasing songs with no intention. It’s always been thought out and part of a bigger storyline so I think that fans of Katy Perry or Jon Bellion are really going to be drawn to my music because I’ve been so inspired by them. I also want to implement Easter eggs and everything inner connected in this Hailey Haus-themed world so that will be something that fans of those kinds of artists can look forward to the future from me.