Passionate performer
Summerside artist releases first recording in ‘Real Luv’
Hailey MacIsaac’s dreams are finally becoming reality. On Monday, the 20-year-old Summerside native released her first recording to all music platforms.
“My song, ‘Real Luv’, is about my high school boyfriend. In a lot of ways, it wrote itself. It’s about two people who are in a relationship but don’t have the same expectations. It’s like you don’t want this mediocre relationship you want real love,” she explained.
For the song, she teamed up with another Summerside artist, Bray Schurman.
“It’s great to be able to work with someone you trust so completely. He really does understand what I hear in my head.” MacIsaac has been singing since she was a young girl, but began to branch out when she was 11.
She’s written about 100 songs. “One of my favourites is ‘Good for You.’ It’s a love letter to a boy. I’m telling him how I feel and that I care for him. In the end, he writes me a letter back, but it’s too late. So it’s like ‘good for you’ look what you missed.” One of her most trying moments came when she was performing at a local talent competition.
“I was around 11 or 12. It was a two-day competition and I had performed well enough to make it to the second day. I was on stage and right in the middle of my set. My mic and track completely shut off.” But it didn’t faze MacIsaac. “I feel like I should have been like what do I do? But I just kept singing.”
She won most promising performer.
That was a really big moment, she said.
More recently, MacIsaac won a provincial singing competition.
“I’m glad I won it when I did. Now I can say I did that and I’m onto the next step.”
After graduating high school in 2015, MacIsaac decided to go to St. FX.
“I felt like I had the have the generic university path.” But MacIsaac realized it wasn’t the right fit. So she transferred to Saint Mary’s located in Halifax.
“I really liked city living. But I had the same experience as I did before. I spent most of my free time in my room singing or playing music.”
Now MacIsaac is going into another year at Holland College.
“For years I never thought I’d be able to get anywhere with music. It was only recently that I decided I needed to be as passionate
about school as I was in music, which lead me to the performing arts programs at Holland College,” said MacIsaac.
“What’s really neat about this program is our courses are transferrable to Berklee College of Music in Boston, Mass. I’d like to take my music to the States one day.”
Now MacIsaac is putting herself, and her music first.
“I still have a lot to learn about being a recording artist.”
One thing she tries to establish with her music is an honest image of who she is.
“No matter what I’m doing I want to connect with my audience. I want them to understand me the way I’m trying to understand them. It is literally a reflection of my soul. I want them to know this is me.”