Haley Gold isn’t just your average girl from New York. The 24-year-old is a dynamic singer/songwriter who is not only reinventing herself, but reinventing what it means to enjoy a fun pop song. Being a former member of girl group DAME, Haley released her first solo single “Butterflies” in 2020. Her solo journey has been full of lessons and surprises, all leading her to her latest single “Laughing In My Sleep.” She’s ready to share the tea on it all, so grab a cup and enjoy!
Let’s start with an informal introduction! I want you to think of a song that pretty much embodies who you are. This is gonna be like your theme song, and the song you walk out to on an imaginary red carpet.
The song that honestly comes to mind right now is “God is a Dancer” by Mabel. That just gets me on my feet all the time, and it’s such a fun girl anthem that speaks about confidence and beauty. That is definitely my song to walk out to.
Period! Now, let’s get into a formal introduction. Introduce yourself to the class, please.
Hi guys, my name is Haley Gold, I’m 24 years old and live in New York, NY.
I know you were in a girl group, then you decided you were gonna go at it solo. How has the journey of re-introducing yourself to the world been like?
Coming out of a girl group, it was like walking into a whole other universe. For so long, I was trying to look like and be like somebody else in the group, because we all had to mesh together and we all had to be in sync. Walking out on my own was a little bit of a nerve-racking situation for me, because alright… I spent half of my teenage years and my college years just being somebody else. It was like, who am I? Let’s define who I am, and let’s be confident about it. Let’s be unique, let’s be different, authentic more importantly, and truthful. It’s definitely been a wild journey to say the least to be at those points of exposure, and coming out of the fire. It’s been a lot of fun, a lot of tears, a lot of happy laughter, but I’m very proud of to be where I am today.
That’s so amazing! Back in the day, did you ever feel like it was hard to express yourself on your own?
Absolutely. I was also born a twin. I have a twin sister, and we grew up very alike. We were wearing the same clothes, doing the same things, having the same group of friends. When I was in high school, I was also at the point of like, let’s differentiate myself. Who am I still? Then going into a girl group, it was like… oh my God… I still have to be like other people, because we all have to look alike and be the same and have that one voice and harmonize! That was kinda where I started, and it definitely put me at a little bit of a rough patch. It only made me stronger, as corny and cheesy as that is to say. It truly did.
Have you found any aspect of your solo journey in particular to be challenging?
Oh my gosh yes. Not just from a songwriting perspective, because there are times where it’s like… how can my songwriting stand out from everybody else? How can a breakup song of mine be different, speak to other people, and resonate with them? I would definitely say being an independent artist in itself is just challenging, because you need to know how to work social media on your own… how to create those 30 seconds TikToks that will stand out. Everybody is kinda doing the same thing, and chasing that one goal. I would say in general, if you want to be in this industry, it’s very cut throat. You really need to have that thick skin, because a lot of the time some things may not go your way… and you know what? It’s okay, and you’re learning from those problems and challenges.
Is that the advice you’d probably give yourself back when you released your first solo single?
Totally. When I released my first solo single, I thought everything was gonna be all shiny and roses. Like YAY, FIRST SINGLE! Let’s see how far it goes. Putting it into perspective, I had only shown my family, close friends, management, and agency that this was my music and my sound. It was totally different than what I’m doing today, but I thought from that one single… that’s it. That is it, and it’ll all spark from there. Reality is, it takes a lot more work than just putting out one single… and really trying to define yourself as an artist, too. It takes time. Definitely take the long road, take those challenging lefts and rights, and trust me… you’ll get where you need to be.
What kinda sparked your interest to shift towards your current sound you have with “Laughing In My Sleep”?
I have been begging myself… because I write a lot of sad songs, I’m not gonna lie. I feel like a lot of people write them, and I tend to turn a lot of my terrible decisions into really good stories. I was at a point last year where I was like, I need something that will just get me up on my feet. I need something that will put me back in that confident state and say “you got this.” I was with my friends Jesse Blumenfeld and Mark Sanderlin, and they were the right people in the room to let myself loose and let me express myself in that sort of way.
Even though at the time I wasn’t really feeling it, I knew that writing the song would certainly help me get there. That’s where “Laughing In My Sleep” came from, and I just only hope that people who listen to the song not only love it because of how dancey and poppy it is, but they actually understand the lyrics and take it all to heart.
Listening to this song is a very empowering experience, if I’m being honest. If there’s two other artists you could dance to the song with, who would they have to be?
For starters… well if anyone were to listen to the song and I would be in the room, I would need Julia Michaels to be in that room in front of me. I worship the ground she walks on when it comes to songwriting and melodies, so to actually have her listen to the song and be physically singing it, would probably bring me to heaven right there. I would also say Dua Lipa. I draw a lot of influence now from Dua Lipa’s sound, and Miley Cyrus’ sound. It’s very authentic, disco, pop-rock, I found a love for that genre and that’s where I fell in.
We love the pop girls!
Right?! We do! It’s so funny, because now a lot of artists are trying to steer away from that. Not all pop is like Taylor Swift love drama, like you know what I mean? Pop can be fun, let’s bring pop back!
Exactly, and I feel like this song is doing a great job at bringing pure, fun pop back to the forefront.
Literally, you’re not wrong! I’m kind of over going to clubs and bars where they’re playing the same old music from last year or two years ago. I definitely wanted that pop song that would rise up from the ashes, so that definitely also sparked my interest in making “Laughing In My Sleep.” I knew I wanted a song that could be played in clubs and people will still love it while the lyrics are something so totally different.
Check out “Laughing In My Sleep” below, and keep tabs on Haley Gold via Instagram @haleygoldd.
