DIY Diva
The Age
29/06/07

Australian Idol works in mysterious ways. Hayley Jensen, an economics student from Canberra who came fourth in the 2004 series, is about to release Note To Self, her self-funded, self-produced and self-released debut album. And Idol provided the platform for her to do so.

"I loved being a part of the show and the biggest benefit and positive to come out of it has been the fan base," the chanteuse tells Sticky. Finding this fan base, she says, has given her the confidence to go it alone. "I think there's a bit of disparity there between what the industry will support and what the public will support. And that's why it's been good doing this independently. I made my own label (White Dove Music) and did it myself," she says.

Last year Jensen released her Alive EP independently from her lounge room, posting out the CDs and negotiating consignment details with retail outlets.

"And it still ended up coming in at number 20 on the ARIA charts and number two on the indie charts," she says. Stronger, a pop-ballad, is the first single from her forthcoming album, co-written by Hayley over a six-month period. Did she try to shop it around?

"We took it around a little bit," she says. "But the general response was, 'Lots of idols out there, keep going, don't give up, love the songs but not signing anything at the moment'. And I understood that from their perspective. But I thought stuff it, I'm not holding on to it any longer, I want to get it out there."

While she was able to raise some funds from trading on her Idol profile, she has accumulated some "massive debts". Still, she says, "that's part of what you do when you love something and you believe in it".

It was that profile again that took her on a trip to Iraq alongside Angry Anderson and Beccy Cole over Christmas and New Year 2005/6 to perform for the coalition troops, a humbling experience.

Hayley makes her Melbourne debut next week with an acoustic show at the Northcote Social Club next Thursday. Stronger is out now through MGM; and Note To Self is out September 7.

Way to go hayley.


She has had to do it all herself.