Photo: Shayan Asgharnia, Emily Sandifer and Hunter's website.
HUNTER is a Pop/Soul/R&B singer and television/commercial actress raised in Montana, residing in Los Angeles. In September 2022, she dropped her debut album called ‘Hello: My Name is HUNTER’. Elizabeth is actively collaborating with Scary Pockets and Ben Barnes. Read more about Hunter in our interview.
Hello, Hunter! Let's get to know you better! What would you like people from all around the world to know about you?
— I love connecting with people around the world, so hello! That’s one of the biggest reasons why I love music so much, it allows us to connect with people from all over the place. If you don’t know me, I’m a singer and I just dropped my debut album last fall. It’s called ‘Hello: My Name is HUNTER’, and you can stream it anywhere. I live in Los Angeles, I was raised in Montana, and I’ve been singing and making music since I was a little kid. Follow me @thehunterelizabeth for more info.
When did you decide to become a singer and why?
— My mom says I was singing in my crib before I learned to talk when I was a baby. Haha, so I didn’t really make a conscious choice to be a singer at a young age, it just kind of happened on its own. I will say I realized how much I enjoyed it when I was about 9 years old, after performing for the first time in a Christmas musical at school. From then on, I was hooked. My mother also has a beautiful voice and encouraged my curiosity about it. I guess I just loved the way I felt when I would sing for others. The joy of it. And that stuck.
Your debut album was released not that long ago (fall 2022). Can you tell us what brought you to this? Was it a long-time dream or a next logical step in your music career?
— Long story short, it was a long time dream for sure. I moved to LA to study music as a teenager, and the goal was always to come out with my own music and be my own artist. As I’ve been developing my sound, writing my own songs, writing and recording for others, being a guest artist, recording for tv, performing with other artists, the list goes on, over the years … I’ve also been writing and molding my own material. The pandemic slowed the roll out a bit, but I finally found the perfect team and timing to release my first album. It took many, many tries beforehand but eventually everything lined up and the time felt right.
In your September interview for «Naluda Magazine» you've described your song «Closer» as giving «the feeling of driving down the road with the windows down on an easy summer afternoon». And what associations did you have while writing «Borrowed time» and «Be mine»?
— Borrowed Time is like reading a love letter you wrote to someone you love but know you can’t be with. As for Be Mine, I love Whitney Houston’s “I Wanna Dance With Somebody” song because of the feeling it gives you - uplifted, joyous, energized, happy, flirty, FUN. Be Mine is my fun, flirty, ‘let’s go dance and be happy’ song.
You've done some amazing covers in collaborations with Scary Pockets. Could you tell us more about how it all started? How did you guys find each other?
— So 5-6 years ago-ish, a musician friend of mine, Joshua Radin, asked me if I knew who the Scary Pockets were. I said YES of course! (I was a fan of the band long before I started singing with them.) Josh asks me if I’d sing a duet with him and The Pockets, and again I said YES. And it was love at first sight!! I adore the Scary Pockets crew so so much. It is a dream to get the opportunity to sing with them. I’ll sing with them as long as they’ll ask me to!
Do you have any future plans on any other collabs? The ones you can tell us about, of course.
— I can’t say much as everything is still being scheduled and coordinated, BUT, I can say I have already started writing my sophomore album…there will be LOTS of insane special guests, writers and producers involved…My song ‘Messin With My Heart’ off of my album was placed in a major comedy film that is set to premiere this March…and I just booked a role in a really big TV show. That’s about all I can give you. But in the next few weeks I’ll be able to speak more about what I’ve got going on so follow on insta!
You're a singer, a songwriter, a model and an actress. You've done some commercials and TV shows, tried many things... What's the perfect role for you? Are you more into the drama, romcoms, action movies? Is there a character you've always wanted to portray on the screen?
— I am DYING to play two roles: Some sort of singing/acting role like Whitney Houston in The Bodyguard, and some sort of badass superhero role.
What cinema genre do you prefer the most? Do you have any comfort movie or TV series?
— I love movies about music. Biopics. No surprise there haha. Dreamgirls is a favorite, so is Almost Famous. I’ve watched that a million times. And The Bodyguard. Ooh that Kevin Costner gets me every time!
Imagine that: you're left on a desert island for a year with no internet. What music album would you choose to brighten up your stay there?
— I can only pick one!? No. Not fair.
We've noticed that you have a tattoo. Could you tell us about how many of those do you have? And what do they mean?
— Oh my gosh you noticed!? It’s so small! Nice eye! Haha. I just have that one little tattoo, a small black letter ‘M’ on my outer left wrist. It stands for my sister’s name. We got matching tats for her birthday, per her request. She has an ‘H’.
Do you have any hobbies? What do you like doing in your free time?
— I just moved out to the beach so I’m enjoying my time outside being on the sand as often as I can. I also had a solid group of girlfriends that I love spending time with. And I have a group of guy friends that I hike with. I love dogs, so I am over at friend’s houses playing with their dogs or babysitting them for fun when I’m in town. I also love to play pool. When I played with Lukas Nelson, if we ever had time before a show and there was a pool hall nearby, we’d go play pool for a couple hours. I used to be good, now not so much but I’m picking it back up.
Do you have any certain rules of life that you adhere to?
— Nina Simone has a quote, I can’t remember it word for word but it’s something like “I want to be the best example of what a good human looks like.” That’s how I try to live my life as best I can. I try to be as good as I can, and thoughtful, and empathetic, and loving. I’m a little golden retriever, I just want to run around and make everyone happy and give everyone love and kisses.
Cat person or dog person?
— Dog.
Sunrises or sunsets?
— Sunsets.
Your favorite accompaniment instrument?
— Guitar.
Your favorite season?
— Summer.
How do you like your coffee?
— With extra espresso shots.
Pizza with pineapples — yes or no?
— No.
Favorite book?
— Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind by Shunryu Suzuki.
Favorite quote?
— ‘Nothing is good nor bad, but thinking makes it so’.
