Q&A: Hunter Daily Dives Into Her Intimate Girl Crush Confessions With New Single “Girl Friend”
HUNTER DAILY MIGHT BE YOUR NEW BEST FRIEND — who you also happen to have a girl crush on. The LA-based singer-songwriter has been writing music since she was in high school, but officially began her path in music during the pandemic over three years ago.
Her new single, “Girl Friend,” has just been released (produced by The Futuristics and Mississippi Brock), following her debut EP, Die in LA, which was arranged by executive producer Jenna Edwards (BTS’s “Butter” and “Dynamite,” Benee’s “Supalonely,” and Noah Cyrus’s “July”). “Girl Friend” follows the emotional complications of womanhood, sexuality, and friendship. It portrays dreamy and stripped-back tones, boasts candid lyrics, and explores the complexities of having a best friend who you may or may not be gaining feelings for.
Daily has been featured on Spotify’s Next Gen Singer-Songwriters cover and has been featured in the platform’s New Music Friday and sad hour. She’s also been featured on Apple Music’s Heartache and Feeling Blue playlists, among a host of others. The singer-songwriter has even performed in iconic LA venues such as the Troubadour, Hotel Cafe, and Winston House.
Luna sat down with Daily to learn more about her emotional connection to “Girl Friend,” her passion for songwriting and newfound love for performing, and the origin story of her craft. Read the interview below to learn more.
LUNA: Tell me more about your journey towards music. What were some major themes that led you to your passion, and how has your past had an influence on your career?
DAILY: I grew up in a pretty musical household. My mom sings, my sister sings. and I always loved singing. But I didn’t necessarily know that it was going to be my career path — I just knew that it made me happy, and I did it for fun.
In high school, I was in a crazy relationship for six years and I just needed an outlet. I started songwriting to get my thoughts on paper and to express my feelings. The more I did it, the more I fell in love with the songwriting process. It led me to wanting to sing my own songs, even though I hadn’t done a lot of performing besides in school plays. But I wanted to do solo shows and sing the songs I spent a lot of time crafting. That’s where it all started, and I ended up applying to NYU’s Clive Davis program. I was there for a year, left, and I’ve been songwriting and creating music ever since.
LUNA: I would love to get some more background info on Die in LA and how that EP came to life.
DAILY: Long story short, I was actually in a band with my sister at the beginning of the pandemic. We started writing this entire project, and right before we were about to release music, she decided that music wasn’t for her. It was super scary because I had to figure out who I was again as an individual. At that point, I had a lot of ideas for music and ended up going to New Jersey to work with Jenna Andrews, a songwriter and producer.
For about a week, we had a mini camp for my first solo trip to see if I could do this by myself. A team of us ended up writing the song “Die in LA” there, all while Jenna was in the other room working on BTS’s song “Butter.” It was so cool to be part of that process. Once I had “Die in LA” written, I felt like I had direction for the EP. From there, I just let that song be the north star for the rest of the songs and spilled my heart out into as much music as I could.
LUNA: That’s such an awesome experience, being with Jenna while she was writing “Butter.”
DAILY: It’s so cool looking back at that experience from the voice notes and videos I have. Jenna had a crazy schedule too, obviously because BTS is in a different time zone so she was staying up all night and then working with them in the morning.
LUNA: Tell me more about your new single, “Girl Friend.”
DAILY: I wrote “Girl Friend” with The Futuristics, a producing duo, and Mississippi Brock, and it was our first session together. I didn’t know exactly what the song was going to be, but I came in with the concept of having a girl crush and not knowing if you want to be friends with them or be with them. We just took it from there, and I remember writing it with a little bit of hesitancy. I hadn’t ever publicly talked about my sexuality before, so I was a little nervous. But the more I held onto the song, the more I felt like it celebrated me and a part of myself that I feel like a lot of other girls can relate to, so I eventually felt excited to put it out.
LUNA: What did the process of bringing “Girl Friend” to life look like?
DAILY: The day we wrote the song flowed well — they had a track ready for me but we decided to scrap it and start from scratch with an acoustic guitar. Usually the first time you hear the bounce back you want to tweak a bunch of things, but I loved it right from the get-go. The only extra thing we added was the ending, and the lyrics go, “She walks into a room like I wish I could / How does she do it? / Do I want to be her or be with her? / It’s confusing.” I felt like it summed up the whole song, so I made sure it was in there. It took a little bit of [work] adding that part in there, but it worked out.
LUNA: What was the biggest roadblock in this process?
DAILY: The only roadblock was that I didn’t have full support on the song at first, but my label thought it was a banger. So when I realized I had them on my side, we were certain that the song was going to come out. I played it for my friends and family and they all loved it, which really helped confirm that this was the right direction I was going down.
LUNA: If you could tell your listeners anything about “Girl Friend,” what would it be?
DAILY: I hope that when people listen to “Girl Friend” they’re just inspired to be themselves and have fun. Sometimes life is super serious, and it doesn’t always need to be, when you can just have fun and listen to a good song.
LUNA: Who are some artist inspirations of yours?
DAILY: I’ve been super inspired from a production and lyrical standpoint from Kacey Musgraves. I know she sounds totally different, but I pull different aspects and sounds about her music that I like and try to incorporate it in my own music; I think she’s so talented. I’ve also always loved Stevie Nicks and Joni Mitchell. My current favorite inspiration is Sabrina Carpenter. I think she’s super talented and is doing pop so well. I think for “Girl Friend” in particular, a production reference we used was from Gwen Stefani.
LUNA: Any dream collabs you’re wishing for or artists you’d be down to work with?
DAILY: That’s so hard — there’s so many good artists. Kacey Musgraves, again, is someone I’d love to collaborate with. I think Harry Styles or Taylor Swift would be amazing, but besides that I’m going to leave it up to the universe. There’s so many talented musicians right now and I’m excited to see who I collaborate with in the future.
LUNA: What has been your favorite moment so far since your music career began?
DAILY: I loved my EP release party at the Winston House. I thought I performed well, and I was surrounded by amazing people that night, plus I was comfortable in my body performing. It felt like the first time I was really having fun and interacting with the audience, and I felt so safe with them, which made it such a special night.
In general, though, when you write a song and the magic of the day shoots into your brain and you create a masterpiece, you wonder, “Where did that even come from?” Those moments make songwriting the best for me because it feels like magic.
LUNA: Any future plans that you can share with us?
DAILY: I definitely have some more great songs coming, and [I] might be going on tour with someone, but I can’t say who yet. It’s in the works.
