Day: July 26, 2016

Hailee Steinfeld got her start in movies—she was nominated for an Oscar for her work in the 2010’s True Grit—but the Pitch Perfect actress began dividing her time with music last fall when she released her infectious debut EP, HAIZ.

Now, the 19-year-old is on the road opening for Meghan Trainor on her Untouchable Tour and just dropped a brand new collab, “Starving,” with new producing duo Grey, featuring Zedd. Between recent shows, Steinfeld caught up with EW about what fans can expect from her live show, adjusting to tour life, and why she loves watching Megatrons let loose.

This is your first tour, how are you liking being on the road?
It’s fun! I mean, it’s all so new to me—from driving through the night and waking up in another city to learning how to pack your bag or suitcase from the bus.

Did you draw inspiration from any other tours when you began to plan your show?
I saw Justin [Bieber] on the Purpose tour recently and I thought it was amazing. I remember having so many moments when I was like, “Oh my god, don’t forget this! Don’t forget this!” And I saw Britney [Spears] in Vegas—the production was unreal.

Do you have dancers with you on stage?
Taking dancers on the road seemed like the right idea for being able to go out there and hype people up for what you can expect from Meghan, so I have my four girls with me. They freestyle and do their own thing, but we have a ton of moments when we dance together. I love nothing more than when I see artists interact with whoever is with them on stage—their band or dancers or whatever. Continue reading “How Justin Bieber and Britney Spears inspired Hailee Steinfeld’s tour”

Being an opening act can be tough. People are often still arriving to the venue and aren’t always familiar with the music, but while performing at The Greek Theatre as the opening act for Meghan Trainor Friday night, Hailee Seinfeld didn’t seem to have any trouble holding the crowd’s attention…with the help of a little glitz.

Steinfeld’s seven-song set started with a couple of her back-up dancers walking on stage throwing glitter around. When she took the stage, she seemed completely comfortable, stopping between songs to tell cute but personable stories and even blowing a dust of glitter herself during one of the small interludes of choreographed dancing.

Hailee Steinfeld has often been given the dubious title of “actress-turned-singer” in the press in reference to her breakout performance in the film True Grit. Onstage at The Greek, the singer explained that she started singing and acting at the same time, and it just so happened that acting took off first and consumed her time for awhile. It wasn’t until Steinfeld landed a part in Pitch Perfect 2 that she was able to segue into her other passion of singing.

This was the story told right before Hailee sang her song “Flashlight” from the a’capella-based dramedy. Though a cute song, it was probably my least favorite of the night. It wasn’t bad by any means, but being a song from a movie, it seemed the least personal and not something I would download to my iPod anytime soon. Still, I can see why she included it as it does represent a milestone in her career. Continue reading “Show Review: Hailee Steinfeld @ The Greek Theatre”