Hunter Hayes Artistfacts

Hunter Hayes song list

Hunter Hayes Artistfacts

September 9, 1991
By the time Hunter was almost 2, he was picking up everything and making an instrument out of it. When his grandmother gave him a toy accordion for his second birthday Hunter immediately began picking up Cajun songs by ear from the radio.
When 7 years old, Hunter was invited to perform for President Bill Clinton for a White House lawn party.
Hunter co-wrote every song and played every instrument found on his eponymous debut album. Just how many instruments did he play? "On the record," he told Billboard magazine, "we counted 30. I learned a lot of stuff on the spot. I don't consider myself to be a professional on all of them, but it's that process that I took when I was young, and doing all the demos by myself. It all took on a new meaning when we started this record, and I just kept with it. I'm really glad we did. It allowed a lot of myself to come out on the record."
Hunter's #1 hit "Wanted" made him the youngest solo male act to top Billboard's Country Songs charts, surpassing the record previously held by Johnny Rodriguez, who topped the chart in 1973 with "You Always Come Back to Hurting Me."
Hunter spoke to the May 2013 issue of Esquire about sticking to his Country roots. "Every demo I do has a mandolin or resonator on it - some element of the bluegrass or classic country world that I grew up listening to and that first drew me in," he said. "And then I always try to find somewhere for a bluesy guitar sound, because that's also what I love. Musically, I'm always finding my way home."
A former child prodigy, Hunter was given his first guitar by actor Robert Duvall at the age of six.
Hunter Hayes broke the Guinness World Record for the most concerts played in multiple cities in one day in an effort to raise awareness to end child hunger. It also coincided with the release of the Nashville star's Storyline album. Beginning on May 9, 2014 with a performance on Good Morning America in New York, the singer played ten shows in ten cities in 24 hours, breaking the Flaming Lips' record of eight shows over the same period.

Hayes' record was broken by British singer Frank Turner, who performed 15 shows on May 4-5, 2024, across the UK.
Despite playing over 30 instruments, Hunter Hayes has never been able to get to grips with the violin. "We have never gotten along," he told Billboard magazine. "It would be different if I picked it up, I sucked at it, and I didn't care. I could let it go. But I want to play it. I want it in my music so bad. I want to design a string section and I want to play the double-stop kind of stuff. But I've never really gotten along with it."
Hunter Hayes designed his tour bus from scratch. He told Travel + Leisure: "I knew exactly what I wanted. I sent them the floor plan and the finishes. So we built this farmhouse bus, chesterfield-style leather couches, white shiplap walls, lighting is very specific."

Comments: 2

Kayla De Beer from New ZelandHe has inspired me with his music. I have to listen to it to fall asleep. I can't wait to show this amazing artist to my children and I hope he keeps making more and inspires more people.
Gregory from United StatesAbsolutely love his music and live concerts. Best performer and writer ever! Wish radio stations played more of his music. Even Pandora doesn't play much on his station!

see more comments

More Songfacts:

Black WidowIggy Azalea

Katy Perry co-wrote Iggy Azalea's hit single "Black Widow." Perry was originally going to sing on the track, but she couldn't fit it into her schedule, so Rita Ora provided the sung vocals instead.

IronicAlanis Morissette

The events described in Alanis Morissette's song "Ironic," like rain on your wedding day, are not examples of irony. Irony is the use of words to convey the opposite of their literal meaning.

StayShakespears Sister

"Stay" by Shakespears Sister is based on a 1953 B-movie called Cat-Women Of The Moon.

KashmirLed Zeppelin

"Kashmir" is the only Led Zeppelin song to use outside musicians, as it needed strings and horns.

Bob Seger's "Against The Wind" has the famous mind-bending line, "Wish I didn't know now what I didn't know then." Seger was going to cut it, but his Eagles buddies Glenn Frey and Don Henley told him it was the best line in the song.

Wrecking BallMiley Cyrus

Miley Cyrus didn't write "Wrecking Ball" but could very much relate to it. She was having problems in her relationship with Liam Hemsworth, so the theme of giving your love only to have it wrecked really resonated with her.