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Hailee Steinfeld: Music, Music And More Music

If you aren’t familiar with Hailee Steinfeld yet, you might be living under a pop-culture rock. Besides the fact she’s already been acting for nine years (including lead roles in the “True Grit” and “Romeo and Juliet” remakes), Steinfeld rocketed onto the scene last year when she showed off her pipes in “Pitch Perfect 2,” became a regular member of Taylor Swift’s ever growing “squad” and released her debut EP “Haiz.”

“It’s two completely different ways of expressing yourself,” she says by phone from Albuquerque, N.M., on a rare day off. “With music, there’s more sort of an immediate reaction to things you do and choices you make. With acting, I can express myself through the look and the life of someone else.”

Steinfeld is in the middle of touring with female-empowerment icon Meghan Trainor as the opening act for her “Untouchable” tour. The tour started July 14, around the same time the trailer for Steinfeld’s upcoming film “The Edge of Seventeen” was also released.

“For this film, I play someone trying to make it through not just school, but just their teenage years, as am I,” says the 19-year-old. “I was home-schooled and a lot of people say, ‘Oh, you skipped right through all that drama.’ But I didn’t. I dealt with my own things, and it’s nice to have those outlets to express some of those things that I’ve been through. I’m honored to be a part of telling [this story].”

The film — due out in late September — sees Steinfeld opposite industry veterans Woody Harrelson and Kyra Sedgwick. Young professional that she is, pairing up with big names is something she’s been doing since she was 13, and her budding music career only creates more opportunities for collaborations with other rising names in pop.

“We shot the film in the beginning of October last year. Interestingly enough, I was spending so much of my time in the recording studio. The EP was released during the making of ‘Edge of Seventeen.’ That was my first time doing both [music and film],” Steinfeld says. With filming on “Pitch Perfect 3” set to begin soon, and Steinfeld ready to produce more music — “I’m always writing, always thinking of new material” — she’s likely to see more overlap in the coming year. Only two weeks ago, her most recent single “Starving” — with artists Grey and Zedd — became her first new release since “Haiz” introduced her to the pop scene in November of last year.

“When you play [a song] that people know and sing along to and then follow with a new one, it’s always nerve-racking when you introduce people to something new,” Steinfeld says of playing “Starving” on tour. “I’m really excited for the show [at the AMP] and hopefully people will know the words but if not, I’m really excited to play it for them. It’s been really cool introducing people to [the new song] night after night.”

With plenty to keep her busy, Steinfeld cherishes her off days. When there isn’t down time or she’s splitting her efforts between projects though, it’s her loved ones who keep her going.

“My mama,” she says in a jokingly firm voice when asked what keeps her sane. Laughing, she adds, “My dad. My friends. Things are going on at home, and it feels like another thing you’re missing out on. Catching up with friends always keeps me sane.”

On tour, Steinfeld feels her pairing with “All About That Bass” singer Meghan Trainor is a perfect match. Trainor’s attitude of self-love and self-confidence is demonstrated again in her new album with songs like “NO,” “I Love Me” and “Me Too.” In a show guaranteed to be full of women’s voices — onstage and off — Steinfeld says she feels privileged to be heard.

“Having released ‘Love Myself’ as my first single, it was not only a message I wanted to give my fans, it was also a message I needed to hear myself,” she says. “Having it as a reminder for the message that we so easily forget: ‘You are you, and you are so confident in that.’ Speaking to Meghan and her message for her fans, that’s definitely something we have in common. But it’s not something I or [even her] have figured out. We constantly need to be reminded, too.”

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