USC junior finds and perfects his sound

After almost a year of intense practice and constantly playing music, Haiden Henderson, known simply as Haiden, released his first single, “Want to Want You,” on March 11. He started the song at the beginning of the pandemic, but it has taken on a whole new identity since then, as Haiden, a junior majoring in music industry, has grown personally and musically. 

When Haiden was accepted into USC he deferred his admission for a year for financial reasons, and instead attended community college in Santa Barbara. In his first year after moving from Ojai, CA, Haiden slept in the back of his car, bouncing from place to place for the sake of his personal and career development. Money was tight and sleeping in his car for a year allowed him to save up for a USC tuition, while also refocusing his priorities.

“I think I wanted to do it consciously because I felt myself wanting to take two showers a day and getting kind of caught up in the little details of social media stuff,” Haiden said. “And that was when I started picking up the guitar.”

Long before he dedicated himself to music, Haiden had been a model for several years before that, starting in his junior year of high school. This wasn’t the right fit for him though, which was part of the reason for his reinvention when he came to Los Angeles. 

When Haiden came to USC as a sophomore in 2019, his major was aerospace engineering.

Jonah Mazer, a freshman majoring in production and accomplished producer (Mazer Productions, Living Records and Skye Blue Productions), however, knew Haiden had the potential for something greater. Mazer met Haiden when he was still new to L.A. They worked together to put on mini concerts through Living Records, at the Flow House which Haiden emcee’d.

“[Haiden] is so kind and humble and like he’s just one of the nicest people ever,” Mazer said. “I mean he’s he’s such a dope rocker kind of kid, someone you totally expect to be in like a ’70s rock rocker film.”

The rocker persona wasn’t always at the forefront; playing the guitar, which had been a casual interest in Haiden’s childhood, became a necessary distraction from his major, which wasn’t something that fulfilled him. In his past, he did things because he thought they would sound impressive to other people, which is why he decided at first to pursue STEM. But after spending time in college, he was convinced by his new music friends and connections that he made at USC that he should pursue music.

“And after like, a year at USC, I made a lot of music friends, and was writing songs regularly,” Haiden said.
“And they kind of convinced me ‘Hey, jump off the bridge, man. It’s pretty nice down here.’”

After he was convinced that music was a viable career option, Haiden became obsessed. He doesn’t do anything in moderation — his whole life has been spent devoting all his time to one subject or another. When he was a kid, it was magic tricks. Later, it was engineering. 

Haiden’s mom, Misti Henderson, agreed, saying “he rarely does something that he doesn’t do entirely … He just can be so disciplined, and disciplined enough to spend 10, 12, 14 hours at something in a day.”  But music was completely different for him, according to Misti.

“I noticed that it felt different because it wasn’t something that I could just get really good at in a couple months and then give up,  I am constantly learning more about it, and learning more about myself as I go deeper into it,” Haiden said. 

This concentration and passion had its consequences though. When Haiden was a toddler, he had a trigger finger, which limits mobility of the hand, and had to have surgery. Interestingly enough, this is very rare in children, and is usually only seen in the elderly, Misti said. It wasn’t an issue again until he started playing guitar for hours a day.

One morning, he woke up and couldn’t open his hand, and the doctor told him he had to stop playing the guitar. Nevertheless, Misti recalls Haiden’s drive to continue playing music,.

“He was totally determined,” Misti said. “He’s like, I’ll do physical therapy, and I’ll ice and all, whatever I need to do.” 

Haiden didn’t stop playing guitar, but this struggle with his hands led him in a different direction:  writing songs. 

Haiden’s passion extended to specific artists when he was learning how to songwrite.

He was heavily influenced by the writing of Daniel Caesar, Sam Fender and John Mayer. Artists who made crooner music in the 1940s and ’50s, such as Bing Crosby and Louis Armstrong, were inspirations for singing. FINNEAS and Justin Timberlake have been influences as of late, though the past year has been all about finding his own sound, independent of his music inspirations. He just had to find the right people to help him first. 

Barry Fowler, a 2020 USC graduate, was the producer to help Haiden find that unique sound. They met when Barry was working on a demo for a mutual friend, and Haiden played guitar for the track. They got along great, and decided to start working together.

“We tried to see the bright side of things … if we have to be stuck inside anyway.” Fowler said. “Both of us wish we had more time to work on music. So we were like, well, now we do.” 

As a result of the pandemic, they decided to quarantine together and work on music constantly. The two were working from 8 a.m. to midnight most days a week for months, so Haiden decided to sleep on the studio floor, allowing him to truly immerse himself in the music — working all day, every day. 

Haiden describes Barry as one of his closest friends in L.A., and someone who has shaped his music tremendously.

“Barry helps me a lot,” Haiden said. “He doesn’t want to do 100 vocal takes. When I try to force him to, he’d rather do 10 if and if I don’t get it by 10 I’m probably not going to get it in 30. So let’s just chill, do it another day, when I’m not thinking about it as much.”

Haiden didn’t mind quarantining with Barry, describing himself as “well suited” for the pandemic lifestyle, as a sort of recluse. The pandemic gave him the unique opportunity to work on music constantly. At the beginning of his songwriting career, he would write one song a day, though he admits that most of these were not great. Now, his pace is more one song a week, and these songs mean a lot more to him. 

“In every one of them, I feel something in them, and it makes me feel a lot better about them,” Haiden said. “So it’s given me more confidence to slow down and understand that if I’m not feeling it that day, it’s fine. Creativity is not a science as much as I try to make it. And I just, it’s made me a little more patient.” 

Haiden describes his music making process as similar to “Frankenstein.” After spending so much time on songs he doesn’t use initially, he enjoys repurposing bits and pieces that he spent a lot of time on, to make whole new songs. “Want to Want You,” specifically, went through a major rewrite. 

“In the beginning, I felt like I had to outsmart the listener as opposed to just relate to them,” Haiden said. “And as a result, most of my music sounded like I was trying to hack something as opposed to just reaching out and talking to people … At first, I was looking outwards for a song topic, but it ended up just being more introspective, which made it feel authentic to me.” 

Haiden’s new single was released March 11. Before releasing any music, however, he doesn’t let anyone listen to his songs until they are  absolutely perfect, because he sees his music as an extension of himself. Haiden describes “Want to Want You” as his most personal project to date, but the young artist has more singles coming out soon, as well as an album down the pipeline. Haiden is optimistic, but cautious about his future. 

“I hope that if I do reach some form of success, it’s because I’m doing what I feel is most important to me,” Haiden said. “I would think that if you can get by doing what feels most comfortable for you and feels most like yourself, then you’re going to be much happier than if you’re faking it and being successful in something else.”