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The newness of artists is always debated, and like the feeling of time, it is much relative to experience and perspective. Hayley Warner is an artist who has spent much of her career providing her work to the benefit of others, telling her stories knowing they will be sung by another voice, but she is accustomed to struggle. As a young girl, she was diagnosed with a rare disease that took away her ability to walk and was told she’d never do so again. Using a drum kit to learn how to bring life back to her legs, she pivoted from her dreams of being an athlete to music. Her musical skills mobilized more than her limbs, taking her to a place where her talents are easy to revere.

"You Were Once" is a poignant ballad that accrues momentum till it clasps into a proper pop chorus, all nuanced by a love story that should make one a misanthrope but ultimately buoys your love of the past with fondness. "I made this song a little over a year ago in my bedroom in the height of the pandemic. I had absolutely no expectations, just an immense desperation to tell my stories. This is the first of those stories that I'm ready to share... 'You Were Once' details the feeling of a bittersweet goodbye: whether it be romantic or friendship, the idea that you once had something beautiful, no matter how hard letting go feels. I think so often we forget how amazing our time with someone was because of how sad it feels to lose after the fact - writing this song felt like what I needed at the time to remind myself to look up a little more," shares Warner.

Whatever Warner once was, the current her is having a moment and we are keen to see where she ends up.   

Listen to "You Were Once."