Hayley Jensen
Hayley Jensen (born 7 January 1983) is an Australian singer and songwriter who became well known after appearing on the second series (2004) of Australian Idol. She was the fourth finalist, leaving the show on 1 November. She spent three years as the lead vocalist of alternative rock band Seasons and dance-rock outfit Silver Cities. Toward the end of 2015, Hayley started writing a new record, an experience that guided her back to her Country roots. The EP "Past Tense and Present Peace" was released in February 2017 and made it #1 on the Australian iTunes Country chart[1] followed in 2018 by the album "Turning Up The Dial" which she toured across Australia, the UK and Canada.
Hayley Jensen | |
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![]() Hayley Jensen performing at the Broadbeach Country Music Festival 2017 | |
Background information | |
Birth name | Hayley Jane |
Born | Albury, New South Wales, Australia | 7 January 1983
Genres | Country, alternative rock, pop rock, pop, roots music, folk rock, dance-rock |
Occupation(s) | Singer-songwriter |
Instruments | Vocals, piano, keyboards |
Years active | 2004–present |
Associated acts | Silver Cities |
Website | www.hayleyjensen.net |
Early life
Hayley was born in Albury, New South Wales, but has lived in Canberra for most of her life. Before entering the Australian Idol competition, she studied Jazz vocals at the ANU whilst completing year 11–12, and then went on to study Economics and Management at the University of Canberra.
Early Career
Australian Idol
In 2004, Jensen audition for Australian Idol. She did not progress from her hometown of Canberra, but travelled to Sydney to try again and was successful. Hayley was selected for a spot in the Final 12 and continued in the competition for a number of weeks, eventually placing 4th.
Post-Idol activities
After Australian Idol, Hayley formed her own record label (White Dove Music), released a solo album (Note To Self) and released a number of singles, music videos and toured the country. She performed for Coalition Forces in Iraq[2], for the Prime Minister on a number of occasions, and at all major entertainment centres around Australia.
In March 2010, Jensen co-founded alternative pop/rock band Seasons with drummer Peter Wright and guitarist Sam Young. The band released their debut EP "A Moment of Clarity" on 15 April 2011. In late 2012, Seasons changed their name to Silver Cities, and released their first single, 'Lights'. They toured as a supporting act for Evermore on their 'Hero' National Tour. In November 2013, Hayley and her band received an award for their single 'Lights' at the 2013 Australian Independent Music Awards.[3]
In 2015, Hayley joined Casey Donovan, Doug Williams and Darren Mapes, in a concert celebrating the songs and life of Burt Bacharach.[4]
The Voice Australia
Hayley auditioned for the third season of the Australian version of The Voice.[5][6] She performed the song Freefallin in the episode broadcast on 7 May 2014. Coaches Will.i.am and Kylie Minogue pressed their buttons on time, but Joel Madden pressed too late attracting a lot of national media attention after he fell on the ground when his chair unexpectedly turned around. Hayley chose to join Kylie Minogue's team.[7]
The Voice performances and results (2014) | |||
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Episode | Song | Original Artist | Result |
Audition | "Freefallin" | Zoë Badwi | Through to Battle rounds |
Battle Rounds | "Roar" | Katy Perry | Eliminated |
Return to country music
2016 saw Hayley return to country music with her new ukulele laden single "The One" released on Friday 15 January. Hayley was nominated as a Toyota Star Maker Finalist at the Tamworth Country Music Festival 2016 where she performed at the iconic Tamworth Town Hall on Sunday 17 January together with 9 other finalists from across Australia.[8] She subsequently released the single "I'll Always Love You" (June 2016) and "Young Years" (December 2016), followed by her EP "Past Tense & Present Peace" which made it to #1 in the Australian iTunes Country Chart.
Hayley's new single "Summertime Soundtrack" was revealed on 6 November 2017 under the Social Family Records label[9]. Hayley was a finalist in the 2018 Country Music Channel Awards for New Artist of the Year. She released a second single "Saturday Night" from her album "Turning Up The Dial" on 26 March 2018 with the album coming out on 11 May 2018[10]. 2 more singles from the album were released: "Forever Won't Be Long Enough"[11] and "This Love" respectively on 3 August 2018 and 19 November 2018, both accompanied by music videos played on online media and the Country Music Channel (CMC).At the end of 2018, Hayley was announced as the winner of the Australian Female Artist of The Year award in Planet Country's Music For A New Generation Awards.[12] She released 2 more singles of her album in 2019: "Next Big Thing" and the title track "Turning Up the Dial".
Hayley toured ‘Turning Up The Dial’ across the south east coast of Australia[13] before heading to Manchester in the UK in 2018 to perform as a headline international act at Buckle & Boots Country Music Festival[14] alongside popular international acts, American Young (US), Filmore (US) and Jenn Bostic (US) and to Canada in 2019 to perform at Calgary Stampede[15] (Alberta) & Dauphin’s CountryFest (Manitoba).
Early 2020 Hayley re-released Sarah McLachlan's Angel, the song which got her to the top 12 in Australian Idol, this time as a duet with Australian Country Artist Beccy Cole.
Discography
Albums
- Note to Self (16 September 2007)
- Turning Up the Dial (11 May 2018) – No. 52 Australia[16]
Extended plays
- Past Tense & Present Peace (3 February 2017)
Singles
- "Alive" (August 2006) – No. 68 Australia,[17] No. 2 AIR, No. 20 ARIA Australian Artist Singles
- "Stronger" (16 June 2007) – No. 11 AIR, No. 7 ARIA Hitseekers
- "Waste Away" (2008; radio single)
- "The One" (January 2016)
- "I'll Always Love You" (June 2016)
- "Young Years" (December 2016)
- "Summertime Soundtrack" (November 2017)
- "Saturday Night" (March 2018)
- "Forever Won't Be Long Enough" (August 2018)
- "This Love" (November 2018)
- "Next Big Thing" (April 2019)
- "Turning Up The Dial" (October 2019)
- "Angel" feat Beccy Cole (February 2020)
Others
- Australian Idol 2 Top 10: The Final 10 (2004) – No. 20 Australia
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Hayley Jensen. |
References
- Doherty, Megan (10 February 2017). "Canberra's Hayley Jensen sings from the heart about a past abusive relationship in her chart-topping new EP". Canberra Times. Retrieved 20 June 2017.
- "Australian troops in Iraq treated to Christmas show". The Sydney Morning Herald. 26 December 2005. Retrieved 23 June 2020.
- Nott, Jemma (10 November 2013). "Australian Independent Music Awards – The Star, Sydney (07.11.13)". Moscamedi. Archived from the original on 30 January 2014. Retrieved 10 December 2013.
- Ball, Jack (19 December 2014). "BURT BACHARACH CELEBRATORY TOUR ANNOUNCED FOR 2015! (19.12.14)". theaureview. Retrieved 4 January 2015.
- Doherty, Megan (3 May 2014). "The Voice brings Hayley Jensen back to the small screen". Sydney Morning Herald, Canberra times. Retrieved 3 May 2014.
- Booker, Chloe (7 May 2014). "The Voice for Border vocalist". The Border Mail. Retrieved 7 May 2014.
- ""Hey, if I make it through that's awesome": Ten years after Australian Idol, Hayley Jensen goes for glory on The Voice". Daily Telegraph. 9 May 2014. Retrieved 15 May 2014.
- "Star Maker top 10 announced". The Land. 8 December 2015. Retrieved 18 January 2016.
- "Exclusive: Country music label Social Family Records & Market the Music ink new artist development & distro". The Music Network. 15 November 2017. Retrieved 23 June 2020.
- "HAYLEY JENSEN - SATURDAY NIGHT". Australian Independent Record Labels Association. 27 May 2018. Retrieved 23 June 2020.
- "Hayley Jensen's real-life wedding features in her latest music video". The Canberra Times. 10 August 2018. Retrieved 23 June 2020.
- "Planet Country Radio Show". Planet Country Radio Show. Retrieved 13 December 2018.
- Doherty, Megan (3 May 2018). "Hayley Jensen to perform in Canberra as she tours new album". Canberra Times. Retrieved 5 May 2018.
- "Buckle & Boots Join Forces With Australia's Tamworth Music Festival". LifeInASong_UK. 20 June 2018. Retrieved 23 June 2020.
- "Australia singer-songwriter Hayley Jensen plays 2019 Calgary Stampede". Global News Calgory. 7 July 2019. Retrieved 23 June 2020.
- "ARIA Chart Watch #473". auspOp. 19 May 2018. Retrieved 19 May 2018.
- "The ARIA Report issue 865" (PDF). ARIA. 20 September 2006. Retrieved 29 November 2016.