HAILEY VERHAALEN

                                                               "Leaving 'em in My Twenties'" 

                                                                Independent Release

Since her introduction to the national audience with her appearance on American Idol, and since making the move from Oregon to Nashville, Hailey Verhaalen has been playing the songwriters rounds, writing and singing around town, and making a name for herself among peers, critics, and fans based ultimately, but now exclusively, on her undeniable musical talent.

While the Oregon City, OR native has written songs for other artists including Whitney Miller’s “15 Minutes of Fame” and The Boondock Boys’ “Bar Hopin’”, she is also proving herself as a force to be reckoned with as a recording artist.

Her latest single, “Leaving ‘Em In My Twenties”, is a stripped down, vulnerable and honest ode to a decade full of ups and downs, trials and triumphs, and a lot of growing up through mistakes and accomplishments.  Perhaps no other decade of our lives shapes who we are and where we go than our twenties, and this song encompasses the retrospective approach to the decisions we make and how we felt about those choices at the time differ from our perspective now.

The self-penned tune was released a matter of days before her 30^th birthday, paying homage to this decade of her life while acknowledging and admitting what she will leave behind as she enters this new chapter of her life.

“This song is a promise to myself that I still believe in me and believe I am capable of letting the hard stuff go, even the things that have been engrained in me from a young age”.

This is a “songwriter’s song”...there is something so refreshing about the image of a person sitting down with nothing more than a guitar and thoughts and being able to create an unapologetically authentic account of one’s life while not only being honest to oneself, but also delivering that message in such a way that connects with others who hear it.  One of the true elements of a good song is its ability to resonate with a large variety of people who hear it, regardless of who they are and what they have been through.  Hailey Verhaalen is a good songwriter and this is a damn good song.

“Leaving ‘Em In My Twenties” follows her previous single from last summer, “Words In My Mouth”, a tribute to her future husband that was released the day before their wedding date.  Hailey has dates scheduled both in her new home of Nashville, TN as well as her childhood home in Oregon City, OR throughout the summer.

(Review Written By: Chad Carlson)