Hayley Brooke explores reframing the concept of first loves in her newest single, ‘Love of My Life’
On Friday 19th July, singer-songwriter Hayley Brooke released her latest single, Love of My Life.
Comparing it to her previous release, Marble (feat. Goldlove), Hayley said:
“It’s more of a pop ballad piece and it’s more personal as it represents the artist I am and want to be in this moment , which is someone whose music can make people feel less alone."
If you haven’t already listened, you can find Marble (feat. Goldlove) on Spotify here:
How was the process of writing your newest song, Love Of My Life?
“It started when I found a random YouTube track, and I had been wanting to write something about self-love, so I was thinking about that in the back of my mind. My songwriting process oftentimes is just letting things flow and I’ll start singing to music that I’m playing and write down whatever comes out.
I wrote it over the Summer/early Fall when I was falling back into obsessing over the past, so it was a healing process for me - almost like a diary. It’s not like writing a song just magically heals things, but that place of falling back into feelings of heartbreak and loneliness and emptiness inspired me.
I found a great producer to work with and we transformed the song into something beautiful and unique, making sure to highlight the emotive vocals and utilize instrumentals that supported the melodic and lyrical journey of the song.”
Are there any lyrics that are particularly special to you?
“Definitely ‘I am my first love, I am my last love, I am the love of my life’. That lyric stemmed from thinking about someone and realising that he wasn’t actually my first love - my first love was myself and what I enjoy: making music, writing songs and storytelling. I reframed the idea because we’re always talking about first and last loves as romantic interests, so I flipped it’s meaning.
Another lyric is ‘I’ll give a promise of my devotion, to the best thing that is mine’. It’s at the beginning of the chorus and that phrase really sticks out to me because it shows the dedication that we can make to ourselves. Like a marriage, it’s making the promise that you’ll always be there for yourself - so I liked using that metaphor.
I also love the pre-chorus lyric: ‘But now I’m dancing in my bedroom and I’m all alone, finding a happiness that I thought I would never know.’ I like that it represents the change in the song and the part where you’re starting to find things that make you happy and don’t need someone else to fulfil yourself. It triggers a positive image in my head of doing that myself - like when you’re listening to music and dancing, which I think a lot of people can relate to.”
What music have you had on repeat recently? And do you have any recommendations for fans of yours?
“I’ve been listening to Olivia Rodrigo, Chappell Roan, Sabrina Carpenter and some of Gracie Abrams’ songs. As an artist, songwriter and listener, the thing that strikes me most is melodies. I think certain artists that have been around for a long time get complacent in the melodies they create and there’s not much excitement but Gracie’s music is so new and fresh - her melodies take you on a journey. I really like her new album The Secret Of Us, especially the songs Risk, Let It Happen, Close To You and I Love You I’m Sorry.
VoiceNoted made a playlist based on Hayley's recommendations for fans to enjoy:
And Hayley herself even made one!
Talking about the online reception of Love Of My Life on it’s release day, Hayley said:
“It’s been nice to see people supporting [my music] and being excited about it! I’d really like for the content of the song to impact people more and motivate them, because the times when I felt most proud of the music have been when it’s impacted people and I’ve had comments from people saying ‘wow, this really made my day’ or ‘wow, this made me feel hopeful.’ One of my main goals as an artist is to help people, and that’s why the song Love Of My Life is so important to me.”
How have you been celebrating the release?
“I hosted a release party in New York on Saturday (July 20th)! It was at this karaoke bar/speakeasy I found when I was walking on the Upper West Side and went into what I thought was a boba shop, then all of a sudden I heard someone singing. It was so cute and girlie - my kinda vibe - so I asked to rent the space out and they said ‘yeah’!”
Hayley’s release party started at 8pm and included self-love activities for guests to take part in such as:
-A self-love letter station
-A posterboard where people could write things that they loved about themselves
-A small, intimate performance of Hayley’s music & an interactive song where guests could provide feedback and ideas for a song in progress
-A discussion with the executive producer of the music video, Mitchell Jung.
-A screening of the Love Of My Life music video
-And karaoke to finish off the night!
Excitingly, the Love Of My Life music video was released Friday July 26th, so we asked Hayley all about it:
“We filmed the music video in two days with a team of over 20 people from the USC Film School who did an amazing job. One of my best friends from college directed it and everyone was so passionate about the project - it was really great how everyone worked together.
It goes along with the self-love narrative of the song about not relying on someone else for your happiness, but it has its own trajectory focusing on mental health and the emotional journey; dealing with hatred, negativity and self doubt, but doing little things to get yourself to a place where you feel more love and contentment.”
Make sure to follow Hayley Brooke on Instagram to stay up-to-date with her releases and, as always, you can find her music on Spotify:
