Hayley Sales

By middle school, Sales was accepted into the private performing arts school, The Northwest Academy,[3] where she studied both classical and jazz music, writing, The Meisner Technique, dance and film-making. At the age of 12, she landed the role of Juliet in Concordia University's production of Romeo and Juliet, having lied about her age. In September 2001, she was flown to Washington D.C to perform at the Pentagon for the WWII Ace Pilots Convention. By the time she graduated, two years early at sixteen with honours, Sales had been in over 100 dramatic and musical plays.[2][3][4]

Following graduation, her family moved again, this time to an organic blueberry farm on Vancouver Island, British Columbia.[3] Sales began to learn how to use the recording studio from the ground up. Over the summer of 2003, Sales took part in an acting intensive, organized by Canadian casting director Maureen Webb. This workshop led her to sign with her longtime acting manager, Vickie Petronio. Other students included but are not limited to Cory Monteith and Dustin Milligan. Within a half of year of being on the island, Sales landed a lead role in a teen horror film, Sleepover Nightmare, leading to a move to Los Angeles to pursue acting shortly after turning seventeen.[3] The move ended abruptly when a bout of acid reflux, brought on by an eating disorder, caused her to lose her voice.[3] "For over a year, I could barely talk. It was the hardest year of my life. Everything that I had identified with was gone. I was speechless. Literally," she recalls.[2][3][4]

During that year, Sales had dedicated her time to songwriting and mastering the recording studio. When her voice finally returned, she immediately put together a band and recorded her first full-length demo album, "First Flight." Upon its completion, Sales began promoting local shows in and around Vancouver Island and Vancouver, British Columbia, drawing two hundred plus people. She then recorded her second full-length demo "Drifter," which drew the attention of the media. In the fall of 2005, Sales performed at a showcase in Vancouver, during which Steve Herman (Live Nation) heard her sing. By December, she was signed by Randy Lennox, to Universal Music Canada.[4]

She began recording her first major label recording, Spring 2006, "Sunseed." Her father, Richard Sales, co-produced the album, which they recorded on her parents' blueberry farm. Sunseed was released in 2007 with singles ‘What You Want’ and ‘Keep Drivin’ landing in the Canadian Top 40 and on the charts in Japan. In 2008, she won Best Mainstream Artist at The Canadian Radio Music Awards. From 2007 to 2009, Sales toured internationally with the likes of Jason Mraz, Gavin DeGraw, INXS, The Spice Girls, Feist, Justin Nozuka, The Cat Empire, gaining momentum in Australia, Japan, Canada and Europe.[2] When she wasn't touring, Sales lived in Perth, Australia surfing and writing music.

In 2010, Sales began recording her sophomore album, featuring guest appearances by G Love and Donavon Frankenreiter, "When the Bird Became A Book," which was released in 2012. The music video for ‘Just Pretend, directed by Josh Forbes (Sarah Bareilles, The Fray) generating over five million views in three weeks following its release.[5] O'Neill Surf Company sponsored Sales as a musical ambassador.[3]

In 2012, while waiting to begin recording her third album, Sales moved back to Los Angeles to pursue acting, after several years of focusing solely on music. She signed with Paradigm Agency and began studying acting extensively. In 2013, Sales moved up to Vancouver, British Columbia for a recurring role on the TV show, Cedar Cove.[5] Her contract with Universal Music ended during this time and she began raising money through Pledge Music to record her next record. Nearing the completion of her record, Mike Rittberg, former GM at Verve Music Group USA, with whom Sales had been in touch for several years, signed her to his label. In October 2015, Sales signed the contract and began completing the record. It is tentatively scheduled for release Spring 2017. The highly anticipated album is co-produced by Richard Sales, horns/strings arranged by Carl Marsh (Stax Volt), recorded at Oceanway Studios in Nashville TN, mixed by Michael Brauer at Electric Lady Studios NYC, and mastered by Joe LaPorta. The masters were delivered in May 2016.[5]