Better Days Ahead For Haley Reinhart

During her time on the tenth season of “American Idol” competition, the judges acknowledged that she was one of the most talented performers in the competition. She developed a loyal following based on her soulful covers of rock and pop classics, and ended up finishing in third place.

Soon after, she signed with Interscope Records in July 2011 and promptly recorded her debut album Listen Up! which released less than a year later in May 2012. Reinhart said an element of the album she enjoyed the most was that she was very much involved in the songwriting for the album, although at 21 years old, she did not yet have much experience in composition. Listen Up! went on to sell more than 50,000 copies and the subsequent touring allowed Reinhart to become the first former Idol contestant to perform at Lollapalooza.

Haley has since been collaborating with Scott Bradlee and his group Postmodern Jukebox, and their videos have been viewed by millions. PMJ, currently on tour, has become a fixture on Pollstar’s Global Concert Pulse, and Reinhart has become of the most recognizable singers associated with the group’s work.

In October, her cover of “Can’t Help Falling In Love With You” for an Extra Gum commercial went unexpectedly viral, and the video has garnered over 18 million views at publication time.

Pollstar had a chance to talk with Haley Reinhart about her upcoming album and what life has been like for her for the past few years.

So what can fans expect from Better?

It’s been a long time coming. Some of these songs were written four years ago, but they have lived on and taken a big place in my heart. I’ve collected the songs that I’m really proud of for this album.

Listen Up! was more of a pop album, but your music over the last few years, including singing with Postmodern Jukebox has been a much different style. What kind of music is this new album going to be?

Well, I think there are a lot of messages in this album that can relate to the content of Listen Up! It relates to younger women, it’s motivational. Musically, it is [more of] an extension of the last album. I have pretty much honed in on a full live sound and I work with my favorite people I’ve really gelled with best over the years.

My collaborators give me a lot of freedom to explore different directions and dig deep. I think the best way to get close to your authentic sound is when you have that kind of freedom. I believe you will get to know me a little bit more through the songs I’ve represented.

Did you write the music on Better?

Yes, all the songs are collaborations. They’re very driven from my point of view and where I was at the time that I wrote them.

As an artist, I want to I want to pump these songs out as soon as I can, while I still relate to them whole heartedly.  Some of these songs were written three or four years ago, [so] I am very ready to get them off my chest.

What was the recording process like?

So, I’ve worked with a lot of different producers over the last four years. I became attached to the [original] demos [but I] also wanted to include a full live band to really connect the dots and make it a very cohesive sound throughout. And so that’s what we did. We went into Westlake Studios and I got some of the greatest musicians in the L.A. Area. Stanley Randolph, Brandon Brown, Quintin Zigler, Jacob Scecney, Roland Garcia, they are all on there. And last but not least, my dad Harry Reinhart is playing lead guitar on the tracks as well!

But no (fellow American Idol contestant) Casey Abrahams? I thought he was your guy.

Yeah, Casey was on tour while we were recording, [but] he is credited as playing on the album because he played the keys for “Can’t Help Falling In Love With You.”

That track has really gone viral! What has that been like, to be getting so much attention again based on a song that was recorded for a gum commercial?

So the team from Extra came to me and asked if I wanted to record a studio version. So Casey played that one with me. Once I saw the commercial, I knew it had to be an intimate performance. [But] I never thought that radio stations would enjoy it and really start playing it…. It makes me feel really good that so many people appreciated my rendition of such a classic.

So talking about covers, you have done a lot of covers. You started with American Idol, which is basically all covers. Then you did Listen Up! and promoted it, but your next major project was Postmodern Jukebox, which is again covers in different styles. What is it about covers that has attracted you?

Well I never like to be put in any sort of box. [With PMJ] I get to pick out songs that I love naturally, like Radiohead’s Creep, and put my spin on it. [In the project], I get to channel way back to the ‘40s and the ‘20s and wherever we want to go, a New Orleans dirge or Billie Holiday. It’s been really refreshing in so many ways.

Postmodern Jukebox is touring right now, but you weren’t able to join them in Europe because of the upcoming album release?

Yeah, I was able to do a handful of shows in the UK. A memorable show I did out there was on the day George Martin died, we played When I’m 64 and from there the show just flowed.

What is the process for selecting songs for PMJ like?

I think the process is probably different for each vocalist. Out of all the songs [Scott Bradlee shows me], I tell him which ones I see being amazing.

For “Creep” they already had an arrangement, so I just sang it from my soul. Scott Bradlee is an incredible arranger so the trust is very much there. We give each other feedback, and we talk about whether there should be scatting, a solo in different points, and how to build the song dynamically.

How have you continued to grow, moving through these different stages in your career?

Postmodern Jukebox has allowed me to practice things further, to move into different genres and evolve. If people ask me how to categorize the new album, I usually give them about 10 different genres.

I [think] each record [should] evolve into its own sound. In this one I was just as much into the production as my own vocals. I really got into the cinematic, epicness, etherealness of it all.

That’s the reason I’ve named it Better. [In the artwork] I’ve surrounded it with roses and flowers, to represent this process of growth and flourishing that I have been going through.

You were very young when you started “American Idol,” and within a year after the show you had released Listen Up! and were promoting it. I’m sure your life changed a lot during that time.

Yeah, I was [20] years old. I left Chicago; I left my family. When I started writing the album, I was working with a different producer every day. I think we cranked out that album in six months, which as I look back on it was crazy.

Just like “Idol”, I think the writing process and speeding through it like that was such a great learning experience for me. When I get in the studio, I intend on creating something authentic and that experience helped me learn how to work hard to get that… Now, I don’t really have a problem spending 14 hours in the studio if that’s what it takes.

It makes sense that you waited almost four years to release your second album. You probably needed a lot of time to process things.

Yeah, I think because of how quickly the other album had to be put out, I didn’t realize how many other, different ways that could be done. I really had to take time to look at the songs and decide which ones were truly essential to the album.

Does that mean some songs were cut from the album?

Well it was originally going to be an EP, but I was never really excited about that. I wanted it to be more worth peoples’ time and money and my own time. There were more songs that I could have shared, and I still will, but the fact that we were able to make this full-length is really a dream for me. That’s how I saw [this project] from the get-go.

Do you feel good about the album?

I am so ready to get it out there. I can’t tell you how big of a breath I am going to take and really let my shoulders drop [after the final changes are made].

Do you feel nervous about the album’s upcoming release?

No, I’m more excited than anything. I have no expectations other than my fans loving it. These are songs that they have already heard me perform live, [some] for years now. I [just] intended to take this record and [share these songs with] more people.

Do you have any goals for your career? Are you interested in signing another contract?

Yes, I want the Grammy. I want SNL. I want the luxury of it. I want to be able to support my family. My dreams are very large and they always have been. I enjoy creating new ones as I achieve old ones.

The beautiful thing about life is just how reachable everything is if you believe in it. In my heart I believe in everything I’ve been sent down here to accomplish.

I’ve met with [many] record labels since the “Can’t Help Falling In Love With You” cover took off. I am willing to get into another contract if it feels right, but I’m surely taking my time this time around and making sure that my instincts are speaking to me.

You had a lot of fans on Idol. You’ve mentioned that a lot of those fans have carried over, and many have seen you perform your new material. What can you say about them?

It’s incredible. The Idol fans span various ages and a lot of them travel far and wide to see me, whether with my own shows or with Postmodern Jukebox. There is a mutual love and respect between us.

For them I feel bad having kept them waiting. They would joke around and ask when the new album was coming and I would always say “Soon!” but that was only because I am a woman of my word and I didn’t want to promise a date that I couldn’t be sure of.

I even know [some] of them by name now. I really appreciate them for sticking around all this time.

Any last thoughts?

My single ‘Better’ is out today as well as the pre-order of the whole album. Make sure you check out my U.S. summer tour dates this June!

Here are the June dates at publication time:

June 3 — Petaluma, Calif., McNears Mystic Theatre
June 4 — San Francisco, Calif., Great American Music Hall
June 6 — Los Angeles, Calif., El Rey Theatre
June 7 — Solana Beach, Calif., Belly Up Tavern
June 9 — Phoenix, Ariz., The Crescent Ballroom
June 11 — Denver, Colo., Bluebird Theater
June 13 — Minneapolis, Minn., Varsity Theater
June 14 — Chicago, Ill., Lincoln Hall
June 15 — Columbus, Ohio, A & R Music Bar
June 17 — Detroit, Mich., St. Andrews Hall
June 18 — Pittsburgh, Pa., Stage AE
June 19 — Philadelphia, Pa., World Cafe Live
June 21 — Washington, DC, The Hamilton Live
June 22 — New York, N.Y., The Gramercy Theatre
June 23 — Boston, Mass., Brighton Music Hall
June 25 — Bay Shore, N.Y., YMCA. Boulton Ctr. For The Perf. Arts
June 26 — Asbury Park, N.J., House Of Independents

More information on the shows is available at HaleyReinhart.com.