Proud Awkward Geek

He’s definitely not wasting any time with all this messing about in the studio though. “It gets me to the ten per cent you will hear and that’s all that matters.”

Hayes’ ten per cent is pretty impressive. Billboard proclaims him to be none other than the “leader of country music’s youth revolution”. His self-titled debut album sold over a million copies and topped the US country music charts in 2011. Hayes has five Grammy nominations to his name and just missed out on the 2015 Best Country Solo Performance gong for feel-good anthem Invisible. Not to worry, Hayes still got plenty of Grammy action as the host of this year’s Grammy pre-telecast ceremony. Opening with a smoking guitar solo before heading to the dais, Hayes explains the rock-out was purely a measure to calm his nerves. “My team suggested I do it since they know that when I’m holding a guitar, I’m more comfortable.”

Nerves? When he’s been in the spotlight forever? “It’s the Grammys!” he reminds. “Everyone in that room has been looking forward to that moment their whole life.”

“Quite simply, I’m a total music-obsessed-awkward-geek."

Grammys aside, Invisible reveals a more vulnerable side of Hunter Hayes. An extraordinary message of heartfelt support for those feeling hopeless, at first Hayes wasn’t quite sure it would work. “Sometimes as a singer-songwriter, you walk into something deep, personal and meaningful to yourself and you wonder if it’s too much.”

Taking it to a trusted co-writer, the decision was promptly made. “We had that total light-bulb moment, when we thought, we’ve gotta do it. I decided not to shut myself up, to chase things I’d normally be too scared to chase.”

Despite a lifetime of success in the music business, Hayes admits, “I’m still learning. Every songwriter has been a professor in my eyes. I still look to them for approval.”

One thing’s for sure, Hayes is thrilled about starting his first Australian tour at Byron Bay’s Bluesfest. “The line-up is fantastic and, in any case, I’d beg and plead to see a line-up like that. The Zac Brown Band, Train and Gary Clark Jnr – I’m so excited to see him live... I’m personally really excited about the trip and can’t wait to play the first of hopefully many, many shows in Australia.”