Hailey Kilgore Details Soul And ‘Self Worth’ In Every Track Of Her New ‘Desire And Devotion’ (Exclusive)

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The soundtrack for your weekend (and all weekends to come) arrived on Friday. Hailey Kilgorethe Grammy and Tony nominated singer who wowed audiences in movies like RESPECT and series like Power Book III: Elevate Kanan, fell desire and devotion, his first major musical release. “desire and devotion is the story of falling in love, knowing your worth, and feeling safe and seen even in your darkest moments,” Hailey says with the release of this EP.

Supervised by a world renowned producer Adam Blackstone (who worked with Nicki Minaj And Janet JacksonJust to name a few), desire and devotion sees Hailey becoming her own as a singer. Having honed his talents on stage with productions by Once on this island And In the woodsthis Texas native’s star kept rising, and with desire and devotionshe invites listeners for an intimate introduction to her as an artist.

The first track is just that. The opener, “Introduction,” went “from a warm-up to a welcome, so I knew that was how I wanted to start the EP,” Hailey said. HollywoodLife in an EXCLUSIVE review piece by piece. “It was just one of those magical moments in the studio where everything just fell into place so beautifully.”

There is magic woven throughout the project. Read on to get a taste of how the EP came together, while enjoying a few desire and devotion for your

“Introduction”

“It’s a really exciting track and honestly one of my favorites because of the way it came together. We were in the studio and I started doing some warm-ups to get ready to record. We we just had a bunch of different riffs, but they all went together! So, I decided to add a ton of stacks (so much that we actually maxed out the system), and then Adam Blackstone, my executive producer, came along and added those beautiful chords. It really went from a warm-up to a welcome, so I knew that was how I wanted to start the EP. It was just one of those magical moments in the studio where it all fell into place so beautifully. It was effortless, and it really introduced me musically in such an angelic way!

“Twice”

“”Twice” was a really fun song that I co-wrote with one of my favorite songwriters Kristal “Tytewriter” Oliver. Falling in love really starts with loving yourself. At the time, I was going through a really nasty breakup, and I just wanted to write a feel-good song. It was back when we were still very deep in the pandemic, so Kristal and I had to work remotely, which was a really interesting experience. We spent our days in the studio and just sent different voice memos until we really knew what we wanted to say. I knew what the verses were going to be, but I had a hard time figuring out what the chorus was, and then when it finally clicked, we were so excited! It was also really fun to talk a bit about my stuff! »

“Dream”

“Ooh, this is another favorite of mine! I wrote this when I finally started dating again, and I really felt what it was like to be wanted by someone again. There’s something really fun and mysterious about the start of a romantic relationship when you’re both really feeling each other!As a woman, it’s so exciting to dress up and feel good about yourself and to feel beautiful, desired, and admired. This is especially powerful once you’ve started to find your self-esteem and know what your limits are and what you bring to the table. This song took the most time on the whole project. There were so many different versions and there were so many different changes, but it was a really fun song to put together!

“Some Love Songs (SLS)”

“It’s one of the first songs I ever wrote and produced on my own. Honestly, I didn’t even like it that much. It was just something really fun and cute. When I sent the original demo to Adam and my other producer, Jay Townsend, they both loved it. The three of us went into the studio for a weekend and really tweaked the vocal details and arrangements, and it turned out to be a really nice song! it’s very different from what I thought was on the project but I like it. I’m so glad we decided to keep working on it. The lesson with this song was to absolutely believe in yourself and the story you want to tell when it comes to your art, because it’s definitely going to be about someone!

“I miss you”

“’Miss U’ gives retro R&B pop vibes. I absolutely love it! This is another song that came to us so easily. I’m in my early twenties and I want to be aware of my openness regarding my sexuality and my development as a woman. It seemed like the perfect way to express that without overdoing it. It was a song that we finished very early in the process, and every time we listened to it, everything sounded so good!

“Voicemail (Interlude)”

I love interludes. The original Miss U cut was over five minutes long! One day I was on the phone with one of my best friends and the song was playing in the background. We were totally messing around talking about a spoken output, and that’s when I got the idea.

“Hold me”

“’Hold Me’ was the first song I ever released. So special to me because it honors the people who got me to where I am today. I’m also a sucker for ballads. It’s a song that I wrote in 15 minutes on my piano in my small apartment in Harlem when I was 20 years old. I remember being super nervous when I sent it to Adam, but he absolutely loved it and encouraged me to get in the studio and record it as soon as possible. I’m so glad we did! Hold Me Like a song that impacted a lot of people in ways I could only dream of. In fact, the other day someone told me that he was using it as his first dance song at his wedding, and I cried!

“Three”

“I grew up listening to all the soul divas as a kid. Aretha Franklin is one of my favorite singers in the whole world (in fact, I played Caroline Franklin in the Respect movie with Jennifer Hudson)! I knew I wanted to record a song that had soul and was fun to sing. It’s also a song where I was able to showcase my voice in a really fun way. As soon as we finished it, I knew that was how I wanted to end the project.

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