I love the practicality of a good car. You know what I mean? And when I say 'practicality,' I mean the complete practicality of a Ferrari 458, a wonderfully fantastic every day car.
— Hunter Hayes
Unfortunately, I'm more experienced than I care to admit on long-distance relationships. Just because that is my life. I travel because I love to. As a result, I have to sort of make it work when a relationship kind of comes into view.
My first instrument was an accordion. Growing up in Louisiana, my grandmother gave me an accordion because of our Cajun heritage.
I've got a lot of dreams I want to achieve, and I hope someone can cheer me on as I'll cheer them on in their dreams.
Writing by myself, I spread that out more. I'll spend more time on a song then. I'm more critical about it, because there's no one else in the room to tell me, 'That's really not translating. I'm not getting what you're saying.' So, I'm constantly rewriting it, thinking, 'No, that's fine,' and going back.
To be the name on somebody's shirt that they've made themselves in preparation for one of your shows - it doesn't get much cooler than that.
I am, by nature, a guitar player... I learned all of these other instruments around that, and around the theory that I built learning the guitar.
When I was in seventh grade, I asked my parents for a mobile recording system for Christmas, and I got it. I didn't come out of my room for years after that. I'd get invited to the movies and I'd say, 'I'm gonna finish a couple of demos.'
Every demo I do has a mandolin or resonator on it - some element of the bluegrass or classic country world that I grew up listening to and that first drew me in. And then I always try to find somewhere for a bluesy guitar sound, because that's also what I love.
There's a lot of people I'd like to write with, like Keith Urban or even as far out as Stevie Wonder.
I believe when you meet the right person it clicks, and you both know and you start making it work, you know?
I truly believe that when you've found the one you're searching for, you become a better version of yourself. You're better for it.
Every time I take a photo, it goes into SnapSeed. Even if it's just a price tag on something, it still goes into SnapSeed, and I start editing it. I'm not a photographer, so I need all the help I can get when it comes to make a picture look cool.
When I was 13 or 14, I took seven months off from touring. I did a lot of weekend gigs in Louisiana. We have fairs and festivals every weekend. But I took seven months off. That's when I really started digging deep. I wrote a couple songs that year that I still play every now and then for people.
Growing up in Louisiana, my grandmother gave me an accordion because of our Cajun heritage. What ended up happening was I started learning about more instruments, so I just kind of went that route. Music's really all I've ever done.
I'm naturally shy, so the social media thing is new to me. I haven't really figured out how my voice sounds on social media, you know? I don't want to tweet everyday just for the sake of tweeting. I want to make sure whatever I do there is honest. Social media can very quickly get fake, and I don't want to be that guy.
Music is by no means something I was like, 'I'm going to make a career out of this!' It's the only thing I know how to do, so it was more like, 'I hope to God I can make a career out of this!'
I love driving. I've been obsessed with driving something since I was a kid.
I am grateful I got the chance to meet Stevie Wonder! He's like royalty to me and is one of my biggest inspirations.
Anytime I can go fly for a few hours, I go. It's stressful and stress-relieving at the same time.
I'm not a photographer, so I need all the help I can get when it comes to make a picture look cool.
I've got some crazy, stupid big goals. I really wanna headline arenas. I wanna have such a big crew that we've got to have 20 or 30 buses on the road because that's how big the show we're putting on is.
I used to think there was a scientific way to do things. Like a proper way to answer a question or that kind of stuff. It's like, there's not! There's not a method, there's not a science to it.
Singing live is my favorite. When people sing along to your songs, the circle is complete.
I like driving around town and listening to new records.
My favorite song depends on the day, what I'm going through, what I'm feeling.
I don't believe in making a record and rushing it.
I don't even have a type, I don't think. My type is just whoever can get along with me.
'Encore' was an experiment. 'Encore' was the second chance at a first impression. 'Encore' was not completely planned.
My celebrity crush is not gonna find out who my celebrity crush is anytime soon. I'm so nervous! I may keep that to myself because if I do meet her and she already knows about it, that could be awkward.
I wrote my first song when I was 6 years old. It was actually called 'Six Years Old.'
I started writing when I was around 6. I say 'writing,' but it was really just making up stuff! I started writing and doing my own thing. I didn't really know what a demo was or anything like that, so I started getting interested in studio gear and started learning about one instrument at a time. My first instrument was an accordion.
There's something fun about the road because there's no 9 to 5. But I do find myself making the effort to take some time off. As much as I don't want to, I have to. I need to reset. I love weeks off, because I can go in the studio and just be creative again.
Country music busts the wall between performer and audience. There's a connection because there's a vulnerability, a confessional quality, to so much of the songwriting. Those lyrics take you in.
I am a huge, huge Ronnie Milsap fan. I have been for a long time.
A bass player has to think and play like a bass player. A drummer has to play and think like a drummer, and stay out of the way of the vocalist. The guitar player has to respect everybody else.
My dad said 'When you love what you do, you never work a day in your life,' and I agree with that.
The rule of songwriting: say what you want to say, say it again, say it a different way, then say it again.
I have a string of competitiveness in me. It's really strange 'cause it's not something that I would even expect myself to have, but every now and then it kinda sneaks out, you know.
I'm a nerd. Total geek. I never went to homecoming or prom or anything.
In any city or town, you can find a good, rocking Italian place. The most unhealthy thing on the menu? I'll have two of those!
I could be myself. I'm very shy and awkward. I think the best thing is to embrace it.
I struggled with feeling confident for a long time, but I think it's important to be strong and not compromise for anyone or a relationship - I'm drawn to that.
Albums are chapters. They're part of a story.
As a new artist - I don't care who you talk to - I think everyone would agree, it's hard to get your expectations right.
Anyone who tells you they're not nervous playing on the CMAs stage, I'm afraid they're not telling you the whole story.
I write for myself. I don't write because I have a record coming out. I write because I want to. I need to.
I'm from Louisiana, and that's where I got my start, in Cajun music. There's a huge music scene down there centered around our culture. Those are people that are not making music for a living. They are making music for the fun of it. And I think that's the best way I could have been introduced to music.
I was born with this love for music, and I say 'born with' because I don't really remember a day waking up and deciding that I'm going do to music. It's been all I've ever done and all I've ever wanted to do.
I'm very shy and awkward. I think the best thing is to embrace it. It's about accepting who you are and what you want to become and knowing all that you've got to work with, whether it's good or bad. My music was the only place I could be me for the longest time.
