Portland based singer/songwriter Haley Johnsen has released her empowering new single, “Higher” today. Accompanied by a vibrant, dazzling video, the song features oscillating synth, a strong drumbeat and powerful vocal work. Listen to it now below.
According to Johnsen, the track is “about not giving up on yourself. It’s that feeling of knowing that no matter what, you’re going to continue growing, continue dreaming, and that in itself is the greatest high. Knowing that you’ve built that trust within yourself to keep going even when life has worn you down.”
Growing up as a competitive gymnast, Haley quickly learned how to be a daredevil and step outside her comfort zone. This influenced her musical journey by prompting the prolific songwriter to take inventive and unexpected risks sonically at an early age. In the span of about three years, Haley wrote around 200 songs in her parents back shed, with the most memorable songs being added to her debut EP, Through the Blue, which was released in 2015. She followed up with her second EP, When You Lit The Sky, in 2017, along with a handful of singles and national tours.
It was through her critically acclaimed 12-track debut album, Golden Days, where she gained much deserved recognition and ignited the interest of Allen Stone who appeared on the album. Later that year, Haley began touring with the power-trio sister-band Joseph and with EDM/Indie pop artist Big Wild, who she currently works with as a bassist and back-up vocalist. During her first Europe tour in January of 2019, Haley was further granted the opportunity to record an acoustic album entitled London Sessions at the Legendary Abbey Road.