Alt-pop singer Halston Dare is a Cuban, Houston born, American, with music in her blood. She grew up listening to musical artists such as Whitney Houston, Donna Summer, and Bryan Adams just to name a few. And Ms. Dare’s skills and talents extend beyond music. She also has a knack for fashion, make-up, and sports. Halston is a real person who wears many hats, who does it all, and who loves her family, her Australian Shepherd Coda, chicken tenders, and chocolate strawberries!
Hi Halston! Thanks so much for this! Do you recall one particular moment where you heard your own voice singing and you were like, “Wow, I can sing!”
Hi! LOL. I don’t think there was a particular moment where I knew I could sing. It was just something that was always a part of my life for as long as I can remember. I was always singing and for career day in first grade, I showed up to school as a pop star.
Ha! When you know you just know! You grew up listening to and being inspired by many of the great musical artists of our time. What do you want your listeners to feel when they listen to your music?
I want them to feel what I had to feel and I want them to know that you’re never alone.
Love it. What’s the best feedback you have received from one of your fans?
What my fans know about me is that I love love. I have written a lot of love songs, break up songs, and songs about hardships and relationships. I received a comment from a girl who told me that one of my songs really helped her get through one of her breakups and she was very grateful for it. I’ve had friends tell me that certain songs of mine have released wounds that were never healed, tears were shed from their eyes, and that it made them feel good. That’s why I write and do what I do. I love what I do. I love writing and I love sharing my stories because I know that somebody out there is going to relate to how I feel.
Music and lyrics have healed wounds in me more times than I can count. There was no particular moment where you realized you could sing. But there must have been one where you knew you could write songs. What’s the first song you ever wrote?
The first song that I wrote was So What with Jude Dylan. It was a really cool experience. I had only written several poems before that writing session. I think I was twelve years old and we stayed up all night jamming out together. It was really sick, and I’ll never forget that special time. I really was crafting the musician that I am today.
An all-night jamming session at twelve? Wow! How is your writing collaboration process now?
My songwriting process is pretty simple. My producer gets a track going and I write the lyrics and melody at the same time. It’s not very hard for me to do actually.
Your latest single Teach Em was the sequel and the follow-up to your hit song Replace You. When you recorded Replace You did you know then there would be a sequel or when you released it you realized there was more you wanted to say?
I actually had no plan for Teach Em being the sequel to Replace You. Replace You was about an argument that I had with my boyfriend at the time and I chose to forgive him, and give him a second chance. I wrote Teach Em the day after I wrote: Replace You. I think it’s really cool that I released both of them back to back, giving Teach Em the title of the sequel.
What’s next?
Hopefully, when COVID-19 blows over I will be able to go on tour, which is my number one goal, and hopefully have a hit song that reaches 1 million streams!
We second that! When you envision your future in let’s say five to ten years what other goals do you see?
I see myself at 500,000 followers, being on a year-long tour, and having my songs playing on the radio. I would like to own my own house and have bought my dream car! As I said I love telling stories and connecting with my fans so that will always be important to me too. Everyone can check me out at Halstondare.com and I would love to have them connect with me on all social media platforms!!
Thanks so much, Halston!
I AM KP Smith