MuzicNotez: First off, it’s an honor to be doing this interview with you again, thanks for taking the time to sit down with us.

We last talked back in June, what’s new since then?

• Hayden Grove: Well, my new album is out, finally! It was an exciting, exhausting, exhilarating journey, but the album in its entirety is available for the world to listen to!

MuzicNotez: You’re influenced by the greats like Sinatra, Elvis, and Michael Bublé, who got you in to these artists? When did you know you would follow in their foot steps?

• Hayden Grove: The short answer is me. The long answer is that my parents had an expansive CD collection and one day I was going through the cabinet and picked out Harry Connick Jr.’s ‘Blue Light, Red Light’ CD and instantly connected to the sounds. I then told my voice teacher that I really enjoyed that music, so she started playing some things in the genre on the piano for me and once I started singing, it clicked. She said, “this is you, this is your voice, this is what you were meant to sing.” And from that point on, I naturally gravitated towards the music of the Great American Songbook, but also towards music that just felt good—the Elvis stuff, the Motown stuff, Ray Charles, etc. It’s always just been me.

MuzicNotez: You sing some amazing covers of classic tracks, I imagine there’s some titles in mind that you’d like to do in the future, can you give us any insight in to any track you want to perform that you haven’t yet?

• Hayden Grove: That’s an amazing question. I’m already thinking about my next album and have a ton of different ideas for it. I would like to pay tribute to Harry Connick Jr. in some way. I haven’t really done that yet. On my first album, I wanted to do a song called, “I’ve Got a Great Idea,” which he wrote, but it just didn’t come to fruition. “Too Marvelous for Words” and “Artificial Flowers” are another couple that come to mind as well. The reality is you can throw all that out the window because I desperately want to do a Christmas album and do it in a big huge way. White Christmas. That’s the one.

MuzicNotez: You’re just as good in the studio as on the stage, but what’s the main difference for you in both situations? What gives you the most satisfaction?

• Hayden Grove: Well, first of all, I disagree. I think I’m better on the stage. I get to truly give all of my energy and all of my feeling and emotion into a performance. I think that’s what makes me a little different from other ‘crooners.’ Secondly, I think the main difference is that when I’m in the studio, I’m more worried about hitting the right notes and getting the right sound, where as in a performance setting, I’m worried more about engaging an audience.

MuzicNotez: One of your latest releases is the track ‘If I Can Dream’, what was it like recording this one?

• Hayden Grove: It was a beautiful process. It was a song that I sang when I was in a production of ‘All Shook Up’ in high school and it just brought back so many beautiful memories. The song is so powerful and meaningful and I just tried to give my all to it during the recording session. I harkened back to those days and really tried my best to relive the wonderful moments as I sang the song.

MuzicNotez: What’s your recording process like?

• Hayden Grove: This one was pretty simple. I had tracks that I brought into the studio and we sang 12 songs in about two to three hours. I did each one two or three times. If I didn’t like something, I would go back, but there are some things I didn’t get to.

  My first album, it was multiple days, multiple studios with many musicians and much more money spent.

  My next album, I won’t do the tracks again. It’s just not as real, it’s not as authentic. My goal in using the tracks was to show as much range as I could and show who I am through the tracks that I sang, through the album in its entirety, rather than the individual songs themselves.

MuzicNotez: Any pre-show rituals?

• Hayden Grove: Honestly, not really. I try to stay hydrated as much as possible and try to get a workout in before a show so my body and my throat can be activated.

MuzicNotez: What else are you working on? What can we expect to see and hear from you in the future?

• Hayden Grove: At the moment, I’m not working on anything. I’m staying active on the performing circuit and already have some “residencies” for 2023, but I think it’s a good time to sit back and recharge the creative batteries.

  The next album will come. I don’t know if it’s in 2 years or 10, but it’s coming. It’s going to be the biggest thing I’ve ever done and the best thing I’ve ever done. I don’t know if it’s going to be a Christmas album—I hope it is—or a real album, but either way, it’s going to be life-changing and it’s going to be done the right way.