Hailey Dawn

Our Under 1M Spotlight for this week is a new artist Hailey Dawn! Congratulations Hailey Dawn for being Lyricritic’s first female artist! I discovered Hailey Dawn on Tiktok promoting her recently released single “ballad for a dead poet.” Hailey has just under 22,000 monthly listeners. She is very talented and has a Chappell Roan esq sound. Her lyrics are very relatable for misunderstood teenage girls who find joy in love and creativity. With that, let’s get into her analysis.

Dawn’s single “ballad for a dead poet” begins with a magical sprinkle sound accompanied by some soft vocals. We are placed into a brisk morning where her thoughts are clear and collected. The chorus is a shout of yearning for a passionate love. She admits “I like being alone but/ God I was meant to be a lover.” The little double vocal shout that is tagged onto the line really reminds me of Chappell in a creative sense. She wants so desperately to devote herself to a love. She wants to run away from a life where she is under the pressure of her father where she is forced to have a medical career. Clearly being a doctor is not something she is inclined to do. It is obvious she is interested in feeling and going through life in the fullest way, taking advantage of all the beautiful things. It is abundant in the second verse that she is deeply misunderstood. She spits out a few things that keep her up at night and quickly moves to repeat the chorus. The bridge to me is a plea for people to listen to her. She desperately wants to be seen and understood. People must understand that the way she thinks and acts is not a choice, it is just the way she feels deep inside and she is dying to let it all out. The rock&roll guitar solo at the end displays a sense of creative freedom and tells the audience that Hailey Dawn is not afraid to show who she is.