By Debbi Tan
22-year-old American country singer Hunter Hayes performed in Singapore for the first time on July 17. Although it was only a showcase to promote his recent album, Storyline, he had the audience up on their feet, dancing along to his music throughout the one-hour performance held at The Star Terrace. The showcase included an autograph session with Hayes himself, which left many teenage fans screaming hysterically as the meet-and-greet leads to an unexpected surprise.
“Singapore! Thank you so much. We’ve been looking forward to this for quite some time,” greeted Hayes as he kicked off the performance with Storyline. Hayes tapped his leg to the beat of the music as he played to a crowd filled mostly with teenagers, holding hilarious signs like, “I must be a horse, because I’m hunting for Hayes.” Hayes not only captivated the audiences’ attention with his flawless vocals as if it was pre-recorded, he also showed off his wicked guitar skills. He even gave out his guitar picks to his fans after every song.
“We’re going to bring it way, way down,” said Hayes as he sang Invisible, a meaningful song to anyone who has ever felt out-of-place in life. To take things slow, Hayes exchanged his guitar for a piano. During the chorus of Wanted, Hayes stopped singing and let the audience took over instead. The audience sang in unison, as he grinned to his band member and applauded the crowd.
“Can we do one more?” Hayes asked the audience as he ended the performance with I Want Crazy, before proceeding to the autograph session. Hayes was unlike any other celebrities during a meet-and-greet. Instead of handshakes, he gave out hugs. He hugged every single fan and chatted with them while autographing their poster. Everyone was shocked at first as they expected handshakes like how a usual meet-and-greet would normally be. But their feelings turned to excitement as the thought of hugging Hunter Hayes hit them.
With a press conference planned the next day, Hayes entered the room smiling and looking energetic, holding a cup of coffee in his hands. “I have to, it’s still early,” explained Hayes. Besides coffee to help fuel his day, there’s another thing that Hayes need. “You totally could have guessed this. I have to have a guitar or an instrument,” confessed Hayes. “I will feel ridiculously out of place. I’m learning that I need something that I could write and play with me at all times.” In fact, Hayes can play over 30 instruments, but a guitar is still his favourite.
Similar to successful pop sensations such as Demi Lovato, Taylor Swift and Selena Gomez, Hayes was also a victim of bullying in Middle School and High School; it was what inspired the song, Invisible. “Bullying exists in a lot of different ways your entire life. It may change in the way it looks and how it comes to you but it never changes definitions,” explained Hayes.
“A lot of people go through so much worse than what I went through. All I felt was a complete outcast because I didn’t have a place to fit in,” added Hayes. Even though he choked on a few sentences when he talked about his past, he feels lucky enough to share his story of being the outcast to having a place now where he feels kind of cool. “I believe the good side will happen someday. I just want to give someone else the power to believe in themselves by hearing my story and sharing my perspective. It’s a story that happens a lot when you believe in yourself; in your dreams and passions or whatever it is that makes you different. You don’t go about changing that. You keep that, you preserve that, because it’s important,” shares Hayes with a smile.
Check out Hunter Hayes’ music on his Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/hunterhayes.
