The story of pop-rock country singer-songwriter Hailey Newman begins in a small and quaint mountain town in Eastern Kentucky. Born in Pikeville, and living just outside of Prestonsburg, Hailey calls the heart of Appalachia home, which makes her a true bluegrass girl at heart. She possesses a strong sense of family, music, culture and a small town, tight-knit sense of community. Life philosophies which have been at the core of her upbringing.
This is her first Josie Music Award win, however, Hailey is no stranger to the awards scene, She was named The Appy's - Appalachian Arts and Entertainment Songwriter of the Year in 2022 and 2023 brought her the Best Pop Award.
She has also impressively won Mountain Top Media's "Best in the Mountains" Recognition for 2022 and 2023.
"Winning Songwriter of the Year at The Josie Music Awards was a very exciting experience for me! I couldn’t be more honored to have received this award. Songwriting has been always been a part of my life since I was young. I even still have small journals of songs I wrote when I was younger. It’s great to know that it all finally paid off in the end. I’m so proud about being able come this far in my music career and plan to keep going!"
Hailey first realized she wanted to be a singer after she performed for her 8th grade talent show at South Floyd Middle School in 2015. After belting out her very best version of Miranda Lambert’s “Mama’s Broken Heart,” she received a cheerful and energetic response from her audience which she interpreted as a life-calling.
“My parents always encouraged me to just go for what I want in life, and were always very supportive of me and my pursuit to becoming a singer-songwriter,” Hailey explains. “My cousin is a comedian who also plays guitar, but other than that, I’m basically starting my own little musical revolution on my side of the family” she says smiling.
We are looking forward to hearing more from this young artist in the years to come and for future generations to enjoy!
Renee Collins Cobb, M.Ed. and Warren Cobb are Executive Producers of Overtones LIVE and Co-Owners of Listen Locally, LLC, as well as Executive Directors and Founders of Room 17 Productions, a non-profit 501c3 organization. We are also partners in Dreamland Entertainment Group and The Scribe TV Network.
