Introducing herself as ‘Haley Exotic Reinhart,’ the American Idol alum welcomed fans to her ferocious Billboard Live At-Home concert recently, wearing a Tiger King-inspired print dress she admitted “might remind you of something you’ve recently seen on Netflix.”
Backed by guitarist Balam Garcia, Reinhart’s acoustic set raised money for MusiCares, the nonprofit organisation incorporated by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences in 1993, which provides health, financial and rehabilitation resources to music workers in need.
“We are here to support artists,” she said. “Luckily I’m partnering up with not only Billboard today, but also MusiCares. I’ve done some really cool stuff with them in the past helping to give back to these artists and musicians all around the world that need some relief during this crazy time. Anything you can do to donate, please do.”
The soulful songstress began her Billboard Live concert with the songs Honey, There Is the Door and Crack the Code from her latest album Lo-Fi Soul.
“Really with what’s going on right now I want to get this point across,” she explained. “It’s all about cracking the code. So, in this case I hope we can find eternal love and peace in all the things that are going on right now. Sending you all love and light.”
Reinhart ended the set with two impeccable covers that showed off her raspy and powerful vocals: Radiohead’s Creep and Janis Joplin’s Piece of My Heart.
Haley Elizabeth Reinhart (born September 9, 1990) is an American singer, songwriter and voice actress from Wheeling, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago. She first rose to prominence after being placed third in the tenth season of American Idol. In July 2011, Reinhart signed a recording deal with Interscope Records. Her debut album Listen Up! was released on May 22, 2012, to critical acclaim, and she subsequently became the first American Idol alumna to perform at Lollapalooza. After being dropped by Interscope Records following a change in the company’s management in 2012, Reinhart expanded the agreement she had with her music publisher, ole, in 2014. Reinhart signed with ICM Partners in March 2016, in addition to her ongoing deal with ole.
Reinhart garnered widespread recognition in 2015 for performing and touring with Scott Bradlee’s Postmodern Jukebox. Her most notable collaboration with the band on a Jazz cover of Radiohead’s Creep spent 58 consecutive weeks on Billboard’s Jazz Digital Songs chart and received critical acclaim. In the same year, she gained additional notice when her cover of Elvis Presley’s Can’t Help Falling in Love, which was used in a commercial for Extra Gum, became a viral sensation, peaked at number 16 on the US Adult Contemporary chart, and was later certified Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America on October 4, 2019. Reinhart won a Cannes Lion for Entertainment and a Clio Award for the song in 2016. Additionally, she made her voice acting debut as Bill Murphy in the Netflix animated comedy F Is for Family on December 18, 2015. She reprised the role as a main cast member in the series’ second, third, and fourth seasons.
Her second studio album, Better, served as an expansion of an initially conceived EP and was released on April 29, 2016, following the lead single and title track, Better, which was released on April 8. The album debuted at number 22 on Billboard’s Independent Albums chart. She supported the release of the album with a 2016 summer headlining tour that was held throughout the United States and a spring leg that was held throughout Europe in May and June 2017. Reinhart’s third studio album, What’s That Sound?, was released September 22, 2017 through Concord Records. The album produced four singles in total, including the lead single, Baby It’s You which was released June 16, 2017. Reinhart supported the album with a 2017 fall US headlining solo tour.
In 2018, Reinhart gained additional notice as a featured vocalist on Jeff Goldblum’s debut album The Capitol Studios Sessions and on Vicetone’s single Something Strange, which peaked at number 23 on Billboard’s Dance/Mix Show Airplay charts. On June 1, 2018, she released the standalone single Last Kiss Goodbye, which charted at number 15 on Billboard’s Jazz Digital Songs chart.
Reinhart’s fourth studio album, Lo-Fi Soul, was released on March 27, 2019. The album produced four singles in total, including the lead single Don’t Know How to Love You, which was released on September 14, 2018. The album was supported with a headlining North American tour in the fall of 2019.
Reinhart will make her live-action acting debut in Robert Rodriguez’s upcoming science fiction superhero film, We Can Be Heroes, set to be released via Netflix.