Hailey Picardi Makes Her Name Known On "scars to prove it"
Written by Faith Logue
Graphic by Rebekah Witt
With a voice as sweet as honey and as fierce as a dragon, 19-year-old Hailey Picardi is the next artist to watch. Her new EP, scars to prove it, is introspective, open, and vulnerable, helping her fans feel understood and not alone. Set against the backdrop of relationships, heartache, and the emotions of being a young girl navigating a new world, scars to prove it is a sad pop daydream, akin to Olivia Rodrigo and beabadoobee.
The opening track, “chaotic,” an outlier on her mostly slow-paced EP, discusses dealing with emotional scars and seeking out those who bring her pain, singing ‘If it isn’t chaotic do I even want it?’, as well as other lines like ‘If it doesn’t stab me/Do I even want it?’ and “If love isn’t bleeding/will I even believe it?’ With haunting backing vocals, a steady percussion, and acoustic guitars, Hailey Picardi’s opener “chaotic” details what many girls go through on their quest for love. Toxicity can become a necessary trait in a partner if that is all you know, but she doesn’t want that anymore and is ready to move on.
She is either “black or white” when it comes to dating, as detailed on her next track. She doesn’t get the “hype” of having a boyfriend, but also yearns for it; when she is in love, it “takes over her life.” With dreamy vocals and soft percussion, she is open about difficulties with boundary setting and the twists of emotions she feels when dating. This track is relatable, especially to those who find themselves on either end of the avoidant or anxious attachment styles (or both in her case). It reminds me of a track you would find on Olivia Rodrigo’s GUTS record, with a more dreamy sonic landscape that pulls you in with each word.
Her second single release, “double edged sword,” has 11.6 million streams on Spotify - a crazy number for someone so early in her career. It is clear why, though. It is stripped-back, acoustic-guitar driven with irresistible vocals and songwriting. The chorus is introspective and very well done as she sings, “You are a double-edged sword/You're the poison, the cure/You're the enemy and the ally in this war.” She knows she is better off, but doesn’t know “who she is without them anymore.” Love is confusing, awkward, and in this case, dangerous, but as she has detailed on this EP, she has a full heart and continues to keep loving again and again.
When the next track started, I thought “The Waiting Game” by Harry Styles accidentally shuffled in, as both use complex and emotionally driven guitar chords to begin their sad and nostalgic tracks. Her latest single from the EP, “hide and seek” discusses not being able to escape her ex, singing, ‘I could buy a boat, sail off into the sea/Build a home in a foreign country/But you've memorized the places that I'll be.’ In this soft and upbeat track, Picardi feels like she is playing a game of hide and seek with them, and no matter how far she runs, they’d “always find a way to get to me.”
“tongue tied,” the next song from scars to prove it, is a hauntingly beautiful track with added string and piano arrangements and sees Picardi showcasing her many vocal octaves, finding a happy place in her falsetto range. The spoken word means nothing in this song as she details how “silence is a symphony,” and she is so in tune with her partner that she can read their mind perfectly. “tongue tied” encapsulates the feelings of having a new crush, the happiness of just being in the moment with them, and the underlying sadness.
Her first single release ever, “car crash,” details her quest to try and warn her ex's new girl about the “car crash” that is about to ensue if they date them. Using the car as a metaphor for how dangerous this person is, she sings, “And when you need some air and you roll down the window/He'll start treating your boundaries like the signs along the road (signs)/And then you'll wonder if it's time to hit the brakes/But he'll say you've come too far to flip the car around this late.” Like many girls who have sent that “hey girly” text, she knows even if she warns the new girl, it will fall on deaf ears and they will just have to experience it for themself. As the guitars and vocals keep driving the track along, she ends with one stern warning and wish: “I hope you'll make it out alive.”
On the last track of the EP, “teach you to love me,” Picardi explains that, like many, she wants a love where she doesn’t have to ask for the things she needs, and realizes she can’t teach someone to love her the right way. In this acoustic track, she lays it all on the table, singing “Can't teach you to love me/It's too far above me/It's out of my control,” and “It feels so insincere/Being taken on the dates that I planned.” This track beautifully ties the whole EP together: all the loss, love, and most importantly, growth that she has navigated so far through this music, and starts a new era for the up-and-coming pop artist.