Idol Chatter & Voice Views

The singer is Hailey Steele; the song — “Where I Thought I’d Be.”

It’s a single born of nearly nine years of trying to break out as a country singer/songwriter for a South Dakota native relocated to Nashville.

“Oh, my goodness. I thought I was gonna be here and be the next Carrie or Miranda,” Steele told Taste of Country. “You know, I thought I was gonna put my time in and be here for a couple of years and explode onto the scene.”

It hasn’t quite happened that way, of course, and Hailey sings about how “maybe all those visions were pipe dream wishes, and reaching for the stars was a little ambitious” on the new song.

But there’s also a sense of hopefulness in “Where I Thought I’d Be.”

And it isn’t like Hailey hasn’t enjoyed any success. “Boyfriend,” a song she co-wrote, was released by RaeLynn. In fact, she wound up performing it during a guest appearance on The Voice.

Another co-write, “Fight Like a Girl,” was recorded and released by Kalie Shorr earlier this year and has gotten some attention, according to a blog on Hailey’s website.

Oh, and she recently got engaged. And the new song is the first one recorded for a planned new EP. It a followup to her five-song self-titled EP from 2014 (check out “Getaway Car” here).

In fact, Hailey recently tweeted this about her new single: “Thanks to anyone and everything that caused this song!”

As for The Voice, Hailey and Leland Grant were members of a duo called The Line when they landed a spot on Team Christina during Season 2.

That was back when the show was still finding its way and routinely forced artists out of their comfort zone in an effort to … well, I never figured out that part.

Anyway, The Line was pitted against rapper Moses Stone in the battle round and the trio were asked to sing “Satisfaction” by The Rolling Stones, which fell well outside everyone’s wheelhouse. Christina declared Moses the winner, bumping The Line from the competition.

Hailey’s since gone solo and you can keep up with her through her website and Facebook. On Twitter, she’s @hailey_steele.

See also:
2016 albums, singles and videos from former Voice contestants (so far, of course)
2015 in Review: Top 15 Voice songs
2015 in Review: Top 5 Voice albums
2015 in Review: Top 5 Voice videos