#595 - Hunter Hayes on Child Stardom, Leaving Nashville, His Love of Coldplay & New Music
Bobby Bones Presents: The BobbyCast
Nashville Podcast Network
4.8 • 4.6K Ratings
🗓️ 14 April 2026
⏱️ 50 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Hunter Hayes sits down with Bobby to talk about what it was really like growing up in music, from performing at just 4 years old to becoming one of country music’s young stars. He opens up about the pressure of child stardom, why he eventually stepped away from Nashville, and what led him back to making music on his own terms. Hunter also shares what it felt like living a double life at times, balancing the expectations that came with early success while still trying to figure out who he was away from the spotlight. He talks about the freedom that came with leaving, the perspective he gained during that chapter, and how it shaped the way he creates now. Plus, Hunter gets into his love of Coldplay, the inspiration behind his new album, and why this next season of music feels different than anything he’s done before.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | This is an I-Heart podcast. |
| 0:02.6 | Guaranteed human. |
| 0:10.6 | I realized how much community was something that I hadn't worked towards. |
| 0:15.5 | So I took it as an opportunity to be intentional about making new friends and giving them space and giving myself |
| 0:22.9 | space to be human. |
| 0:26.1 | He's a five-time Grammy nominee, multi-instrumentalist, which we talk about platinum selling |
| 0:30.8 | artist. |
| 0:32.1 | He does it all musically. |
| 0:33.9 | It's Hunter Hayes. |
| 0:35.4 | He's been doing this since he was a small kid in Louisiana. He played for the president at 7. He toured with Taylor Swift and Carrie Underwood. He had his first number one in 2012 with Wanted, which we talk about, which was a jam. His album Evergreen is out now. And you can see him on his evergreen tour get tickets at hunter haze.com here he is |
| 0:55.5 | hunter hayes hunter hey hunter good to see you man it's good to see you man it's been a while it's |
| 1:00.1 | i was trying to remember the last time i'm glad you asked thank you for asking i was just talking to the |
| 1:04.3 | guys about the last time that i saw you so i was playing and you may not remember this but it talks |
| 1:08.8 | to your generosity but i was playing a show at the bluebird for a charity, and you played, and it was me, you, John Party, and Larkin'po. And so we played a in the round at the Bluebird. Yeah. And I was like, because I was trying to figure out the last time that I'd seen you. And also social media is weird because, like, I see you on social media or pictures or... And so you feel like you've kind of seen everybody? |
| 1:31.3 | Yeah. I totally agree. I totally agree. Especially in Nashville, right? Because, like, you know, |
| 1:37.2 | I'll run into Dirk's Bentley at the coffee shop next door. And I feel like I've seen him every day |
| 1:42.8 | for the past six months. But it's just because he's on social media. Yeah, what's awkward is whenever you feel like you've seen someone a lot, and they're like, oh my God, I can't believe it. It's great to see you again. And I didn't meet with the same energy because I've seen you 30 times in my mind. And I'm like, what's up, Hunter? and you're like, oh, yeah, that's all we're all awkward. Yeah. Yeah. Well, good to see you. Good to see you, man. |
| 2:04.2 | Let's start with like, oh, yeah, that's always all awkward. |
| 2:01.7 | Yeah. |
| 2:02.1 | Yeah. |
| 2:02.3 | Well, good to see you. |
| 2:03.1 | Good to see you, man. |
... |
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