Wheeling's Haley Reinhart dishes on post-'Idol' album debut
It's no surprise that Haley Reinhart's favorite song off her debut album is "Wonderland."
Because that's exactly how the 21-year-old Wheeling native describes her worldview right now.
Her life is a whirlwind, but she says she wouldn't have it any other way.
"I'm going through all of these crazy motions," Reinhart says. "But it's a dream come true."
After finishing third on "American Idol" last May, Reinhart took her time to record "Listen Up!" so she could get as close to achieving her vision of a "funky, soul-infused R&B record" as possible.
"It's pretty close to that. It's a mixture, a mesh of all the genres that I love," she said. "There are pop undertones, but the sultriness is there, a little bit of the funk route and rock route all blended in."
The album drops Tuesday and Reinhart says she was involved with every aspect of making "Listen Up!" - from the music to the lyrics to the lettering and concept behind the album's cover.
"I like to be hands-on with everything," she says. "Everything from the beat to the melody, which is my favorite thing to write because it comes to me the easiest."
She even spent time in postproduction, deciding which mixes would make the final cut.
"There are some artists, they like to record and then have people to take things away," Reinhart says. "That's not me. I wanted a hand in everything."
What emerged is one of the stronger post-"Idol" debuts in years, one that doesn't compromise Reinhart's singular vision of making a modern album with a retro feel. Reinhart says that's because she went into the studio with a clear idea of what she wanted. Where some Idols' plans have been run over when they hit the studio, "Listen Up!" sounds the way Reinhart wanted it to.
"You have to be yourself from the get-go," she says. "I felt like if I tried to be anyone other than who I am ... then who knows if I would ever get to be the artist I would ever really want to be."
Reinhart has always pointed to her parents, longtime local musicians Patti and Harry Reinhart, as a huge source of support and inspiration. So she was thrilled to be able to involve them in the recording process. Patti and Harry listened to potential tracks and offered feedback. Harry also plays guitar on four tracks, songs Haley describes as some of her favorites on the record.
"My dad made it on 'Keep Coming Back,' 'Hit the Ground Running,' 'Spiderweb' and 'Walking on Heaven,'" she says. "'Walking on Heaven' is one of our favorites. I love it, because my dad has an outgrow with the guitar and it feels so, so good."
Except for the first single, "Free," Reinhart had a hand in writing every track on "Listen Up!"
One of the album's standout songs is its shortest. "Oh My!" is a sultry, sexy affair with a killer horn section, and it features a cameo by rising rap star B.o.B. But that wasn't the initial plan.
"The song itself was very short. It was like a minute and a half," Reinhart says. "So I made up another little breakdown. It was still too short. So the producer, Rob Kleiner, and I were like 'What can we do to elongate it? Well, how about a rap?' I was thinking about Andre 3000. Someone with smoothness. Then B.o.B's name came up. He recorded it, it had the right slickness, the same vibe the song called for. When we heard it, we thought it was perfect."
"Listen Up!" has its sound firmly planted in Motown. Songs like the soaring ballad "Undone" and the funky "Liar" explore love, loss and heartbreak while "Walking on Heaven" takes a more worldly view, Reinhart says.
Longtime friends might catch a glimpse of the life Reinhart led before she hit it big with "Idol."
"I'm a storyteller at heart," she says, "There's a track on 'Listen Up!' called 'What You Don't Know.' It's about being in love with a boy who doesn't see it. I talk about being on North Rush Street and winter days, so there's a little bit of Chicago in the record."
The writing sessions were so fruitful - about 30 songs in two and a half months - Interscope is releasing a deluxe version of "Listen Up!" with four bonus songs in addition to the standard 10-track release.
The four deluxe tracks showcase unexplored sides of Reinhart, including a reggae song called "Let's Run Away."
Even with additional songs, Reinhart says there were tracks left on the cutting-room floor.
"I was going to have a really jazzy intro that I wrote years back," she says. "It was about a minute long. I wrote the music and sang to it. For a number of reasons, politics, whatever, it didn't work out."
But that doesn't mean the song is buried.
"I'm definitely going to bring that out again," Reinhart says. "Maybe you'll see it on tour."
While there are no official tour plans yet. Reinhart says they are targeting late summer or early fall.
In August, Reinhart will have the honor of being the first "Idol" to play the Lollapalooza stage. It's something of a coup for her as Lolla isn't wild about booking pop acts.
"I've never been able to go to Lollapalooza before, so how cool is it my first time there will be as a performer and then I get to hang around and see all these other amazing acts like Black Sabbath and the Black Keys."
Haley Reinhart's appearances next week
Haley Reinhart has a host of appearances planned around town next week to celebrate the release of "Listen Up!"
Friday, May 25:Reinhart will perform her single “Free” on WFLD-TV, Fox 32 around 8:30 a.m.
2 p.m. Saturday, May 26:Wal-Mart, 455 E. Lake Cook Road, WheelingReinhart will be signing copies of "Listen Up!" Distribution of wristbands begins at 9 a.m. and they are only available with the purchase of "Listen Up!"
9:30 p.m. Saturday, May 26:Hard Rock Cafe, 63 Ontario St., ChicagoReinhart will be performing and signing copies of "Listen Up!" Distribution of wristbands begins at 9:30 p.m. and are they only available with the purchase of "Listen Up!" There is no charge for the performance.