Lzzy Hale | "How I Wrote That Song" Presented by BMI, Beasley & HD Radio

Lzzy Hale has been writing and performing for over half of her life with her band Halestorm. Over the past two decades she’s released gold and platinum selling albums with plenty of chart-toppers at rock radio, all while shattering the status quo with her powerhouse vocals and bold lyrics.
In this installment of How I Wrote That Song, WMMR’s Sara asks Lzzy about her biggest hits, going back to when Halestorm came out swinging in 2009 with the single “I Get Off”. Despite the saucy title, the first draft of the song was actually about how the band won over a few hardened record executives in the audience at a live showcase. When Lzzy developed the lyrics further with a writing collective called The Girls, she explains: “I was telling them this story [about the show] and one of them - and this is why i love writing with women, because our sense of humor is the same - was like, “Oh, so you got off on them enjoying what you do”... and we took over this piano, in the lobby of this hotel, and were singing “I get off on you, getting off on me,” just totally annoying everybody around us.”
She adds with a laugh, “It originally didn’t start from sex, but it definitely grew its own legs!”
Sara and Lzzy also discuss the Grammy-nominated song “Uncomfortable,” and a new track called “Terrible Things”. Along the way, they touch on her unexpected radio hit with Daughtry this year, swapping gender perspectives in song lyrics, and how activism plays a role in her writing process.
Note: This interview was originally recorded in March 2023.
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[@SilenceIsADirtyWord]

It took me over an hour and a half to watch this because I'm attention deficit to the max with my anxiety, but I'm glad I fought myself to watch. Halestorm is my favorite band, which is a new development, and you asked questions I'd never have thought to ask even if I got the chance and could find my voice. Thank you!

[@vitorkaique5782]

Izzy Hale is rock's greatest female vocalist, and one of the greatest living vocalists in music today.
She has depth, volume, expansion, beyond technique she is the true synonym of rock n roll, organic...talented...true. Goddess of rock

[@ChrrZ]

great one, thank you very much!

[@LukeRiedler]

Five Finger Death Punch - Welcome To The Circus (Official Lyric Video)

[@Xesxs]

I'm available for an interview

[@SokolRock]

"How I Wrote That Song" - with third-party songwriters.
This is my biggest problem with Halestorm: Lzzy is definitely a great singer, but I believe that real rock bands should write their songs themselves. And this is much more important than live performances with backing tracks, which Lzzy doesn't tolerate in rock music.

[@MotleyLand]

So you're claiming that Lzzy (or Halestorm in general) doesn't write her own songs? All bands do covers and most bands write will with outside writing partners....Halestorm is an excellent band, and a powerful live band....each to his/her own, but why go on a public forum just to slag a band?

[@SokolRock]

@@MotleyLand I didn't talk about covers, I think it's obvious.
I don't know what kind of music you listen to, but all the bands that I listen to (and these are usually famous metal and rock bands from all over the world) write songs for themselves, without involving third-party "hit makers". Usually songwriters are hired in pop music when producers find a pretty girl with a beautiful voice, but who can't write music or lyrics. Rock bands usually consist of a fairly talented group of people who don't need songwriters from the outside.
"...each to his/her own, but why go on a public forum just to slag a band?"
Lzzy herself doesn't hesitate to criticize anything that she doesn't like - for example, the use of backing tracks by other bands, as I mentioned. So I don't see a problem with her and her band also being the subject of reasonable criticism.

[@MotleyLand]

@@SokolRock if the criticism is warranted, sure. It's not. Get over yourself........

[@SokolRock]

@@MotleyLand Let's face it: You just hate to admit that your favorite band isn't as talented as their other more creatively independent colleagues. That's why you try to normalize the fact that other people write songs for this rock band, although there is nothing normal about it.
Halestorm formed in 1997 and released their official debut album only 12 years later. Why did it take so long? Because their own music was mediocre, their first EP for a major label, written by the band itself, went unnoticed. But Lzzy had a strong potential as a singer and the label decided to invite the best songwriters to artificially turn a mediocre band into rock stars. In fact, Halestorm is a project developed using the methods of the pop industry, but pretending to be an authentic rock band like Metallica or Foo Fighters.

[@tiarabrown9291]

You aren't entirely right. I don't know why they do it, but some of their albums they have written with very little cowriting (like Vicious--most of the album is written by Lzzy, their guitarist, and their drummer) and others are more heavily co-written. I actually like some of their non-co-written songs better, so I don't think it's fair to say all of the stuff the wrote without a third party is horrible and everything they wrote with a cowriter is successful.

[@superblondeDotOrg]

09:25 Appoggiatura. jfc how does a BMI podcast not know this term. Illiteracy is not funny.