Happy New Year!! We’re kicking off 2021’s Artist Spotlight features with one of our newest artists to join our community — Brittany Hadley! Join us as we get the scoop on her new music, how she got her start with the arts, and a whole lot more. Let’s dive in!

Thank you for taking some time to chat with us! Let’s start things off with a little background. Tell us a bit about yourself and how music became a part of your life.

Thank you so much for taking the time to get to know me and my music! I am a Nashville-based singer-songwriter and loving every moment of my musical journey. I grew up in Howell, New Jersey, and while most of my friends were focused on musical theater and the NYC music scene, I was always in love with country music. My mom always had Shania Twain, LeAnn Rimes and Keith Urban playing in the house and I dreamed of writing and singing these types of songs one day. I started taking voice lessons at the age of seven and began writing songs a few years later… I then went on to play live shows in my hometown throughout high school and ended up studying music in college. I moved to Nashville about ten years ago to study commercial voice and songwriting at Belmont University and after graduating, I just couldn’t leave Music City! I have been blessed with the opportunity to write with some of the industry’s greatest songwriters here on Music Row and have spent countless hours in writer’s rooms at legendary publishing companies, such as Sony/ATV and Warner Chappell. I have also been fortunate enough to perform regularly in Nashville and to record with incredible producers and musicians. I have released two original albums since moving to Nashville and am very grateful to say that I am able to make a living doing what I love most: writing, recording, and performing!

We’re really excited to be working with you and we know our customers have loved every song you’ve composed. Since starting with us a few months ago, what has been your favorite part about writing for Songfinch?

Writing with SongFinch has been such a dream! I have been thoroughly enjoying writing meaningful songs for our incredible customers. My favorite part about writing for SongFinch is seeing how happy our customers are when they receive their personalized songs! Since I can remember, my favorite thing to do has always been writing songs and poems for the people I love. I love sentimental, meaningful gifts and music has always been my greatest passion, so writing for SongFinch makes me happy on so many levels! Writing music that makes a difference is literally a dream come true for me, so I am truly loving working with SongFinch more than I can express!

With all that has happened over the course of the past year, how have you adapted, and continue to adapt to the music industry? What kind of things are you doing to stay connected with your fans and win over new ones?

This past year has definitely been a scary one… but with a bit of creativity and a ton of determination, I have made it all work and am very grateful to still be able to make music full-time! I had been playing multiple live shows each week prior to the pandemic and was sad and nervous when the venues started canceling their live performances. However, as a musician that is used to hustling and constantly looking for new opportunities in an ever-changing music industry, I found different ways to make music this year. I expanded my business as a session singer and have been working with producers, musicians and songwriters all over the world on new projects, all from my home studio. I have also continued to write with Nashville songwriters via Zoom and have been fortunate to play some live shows at small, outdoor venues. I have also been teaching voice lessons virtually, which has been wonderful. I love when fans reach out to me on social media and love to hear from the amazing people that I meet playing shows and recording songs for! I try to stay connected with as many fans as I can, and always appreciate the support and feedback I receive from them.

In 2019, you released your latest album, “Her”, and it sounds incredible! Can fans expect to hear some new material in 2021?

Thank you so much! I had so much fun working on “Her”… it is a culmination of years of work and collaboration with some of my favorite co-writers and friends. I am actually looking to record and release a holiday album in 2021, so fans can definitely expect to hear some original holiday music from me! This is something I have been wanting to do for a while and my goal is to make it happen this year! I spent most of 2018 and 2019 working on “Her”, and 2020 was… well, 2020. So 2021 is definitely going to be a year full of new music for me! I am also constantly writing with other musicians and hope to continue to have my songs recorded and released by other artists this year, too!

If you had the opportunity to collaborate with any songwriter, producer or artist, who would it be and why?

I have to say, if I could collaborate with any musician in the world, I would probably choose Sara Bareilles. Even though I write a lot of country music, Sara Bareilles is probably my favorite singer-songwriter. I just think she has an amazing voice, plays the piano beautifully, and writes clever and creative songs. She really does it all and would be a dream to write with! I would also love to collaborate with Keith Urban, as he is an amazing musician and seems like a really nice person, too. I’ve always been a big fan of his!

Did you have a favorite artist or album of the year in 2020? What artists should we be adding to our playlists?

Little Big Town released “Nightfall” in 2020 and I just love everything they release… their beautiful harmonies just bring every song to another level! I have also been loving Tenille Townes and Steve Moakler this past year. I really admire the songwriting on their albums, as it comes from such a real and vulnerable place. I love songs that tell stories, and these two artists do that particularly well, in my opinion.

Be true to yourself! Make music that means something and make music because you love it. I started finding more success when I stopped trying to fit a mold and instead, began to find my way back to what got me started on music in the first place: love. I encourage aspiring musicians to take notice of the songs that make them feel something, take notice of the songs that make them cry… and figure out why and how they do that. If your music comes from a real place, it will touch others in a real way, too! On a more practical level, I encourage aspiring musicians to continue to sharpen their skills in different areas- the more instruments you know how to play, the more you know about production, etc, the more ready you will be for the opportunities that may come your way!

Anything else that you’d want to let the readers know?

Interested in having Brittany create you a personalized song?

We hope you’ve learned a bit more about Brittany Hadley. If you’re interested in getting a personalized song created by Brittany, feel free to click the link below and let us know in your submission. We’ll be sure to pass it to her to work on.

Start your personalized song here!