New York native Liv Hanna is a 21-year-old singer-songwriter, recording artist, and model. Back in March, the singer-songwriter released the single, “crazy,” which was met with much acclaim. We caught up with the artist following the release of her latest single “Sign it on the Line”.
She explains how she grew up surrounded by music, listening to every genre, and being introduced to all aspects of the industry. Having began voice and piano lessons at the early age around seven, and then began theater intensives and NY Class Act programs. Hanna went onto join the Metropolitan Youth Orchestra and toured Europe for a summer, participating in Berklee’s Five-Week Songwriting Program, etc, she explains. “I really tried it all. It wasn’t until I started making my own music around the age of fourteen, and had my first studio experience that I was like, wow I really love this.”
Her new song “Sign it on the Line” was originally written and recorded in the fall of 2022; with Hanna saving its release for a particular time. With May being Mental Health Awareness Month, a topic that reigns of high importance to the artist. She points to having struggled mentally on numerous occassion, releasing this song to tell the story and bring some sort of support to those who are struggling as well. Despite the depressing and graphic lyricism, the New York native hopes her song can serve as an anthem and a reminder. Having further developed Hanna as an artist as it challenged her to think deeper and be even more vulnerable with her music.
When it comes to her music, she openly admits how it changes quite frequently, a blend of Pop, Dark/Alt-Pop, Indie Pop, and Pop Rock. With Hanna’s favourite creation being “Back to Hell” and “Sign it on the Line”; she points to the fun she had with writing both, even though both discuss quite somber topics. “The writing process honestly started with me journaling. I moved from my bed to my keyboard, and the songs kinda came flowing out ’cause I was so passionate about the subject matters”. Hoping to invoke hope, comfort, support, and reassurance. The singer-songwriter is keen to remind listeners they are never alone and others might even have similar struggles, but no one shares that secret part of them. Going on to point out how you never know what someone is going through, so just be kind to everyone.
Perseverance of a Dream
The singer songwriter would definitely say she has experienced bullying in pursuit of her dream. To the point where she found herself not wanting to leave the bedroom or house for weeks at a time. Highlighting how once she got accepted to UMiami and began to meet new people, she got excited for her future and things really turned around.
Utilized social media to enhance your career, Hanna believes it is a necessary tool to enhance your career. Going onto emphasize how through proper brand marketing, cohesive across all platforms one can easily build a target audience with substantial engagement. “I’m extremely passionate about brand strategy, marketing, and consumer engagement. I also see artists as brands, and I think that helps a lot if you’re a musician trying to make it. You’re not just a girl who can sing and posts singing videos, you yourself are the brand”.Liv Hanna explains how it is vitally important to make sure you’re working with the right people. Having had the opportunity to work with a great number of studios, producers, and engineers, she admits how sometimes they just don’t get your vibe. If you click with a producer or studio, you’ll be able to tell right away, she explains. That they’ll understand what you’re going for without even having to articulate it.
She points to her greatest challenge as trying to gig in NYC, although by her own admission this is the struggle of an artist. “I went to over twenty-six venues with my friend, also named Liv, and we only got one ‘yes.’ It’s definitely discouraging, but we keep going”. For Liv Hanna, the key advice she lives by is to just go for it. That if you have a passion, do not stop. To keep going no matter how long it takes. The artist is currently working a on host of projects, having taken the opportunity to dabble into EDM a bit, so there might be some of that coming this summer as well. A lot of exciting songs coming, so stay tuned!!!
