‘Haiz’ demonstrates Hailee Steinfeld’s ‘true grit’

STEINFELD. Good head on her pretty shoulders.

SOME critics may have expected much more from Hailee Steinfeld’s extended play (EP) recording, “Haiz,” but let’s give the lovely Fil-Am a break—after all, the Oscar-nominated actress (cited for her spunky portrayal in the Coen brothers’ 2010 western, “True Grit”), is only 19 years old!

For now, let’s leave her older musical peers to take on the more pertinent themes and issues of the music world, and allow her to act—and sing—her age.

That’s exactly what she does in her album’s sleek, four-song lineup. Distributed locally by Universal Music, the collection proves that Steinfeld can hold her own alongside established songstresses like bosom buddy Taylor Swift and Selena Gomez who, like her, are “card-carrying” members of Tinseltown’s so-called Girl Squad. It also includes Cara Delevingne, Kendall Jenner, Ellie Goulding, Paramore’s Hayley Williams, “Empire’s” Serayah, Lorde and model Gigi Hadid.

With hooks that are as hard to ignore as Hailee’s top 40s-ready vocals, the collection’s platinum-selling carrier track, “Love Yourself,” is notable for its empowering expression of “self-love.”

It tells the story of a girl dealing with self-esteem issues after a bad breakup: “Pictures in my mind on replay/ I’m gonna touch the pain away.”
As Steinfeld stressed in a recent interview, we don’t need other people to make us feel important: “We’re always fed this false sense of what we’re supposed to be, in order to love ourselves!”

In “You’re Such A,” the teen star doesn’t let a “difficult little devil” “crawl right back into my bed” and brushes off the two-timing rascal’s tempting pleas for another crack at romance.

Two-part harmony

“Rock Bottom” owes its musical allure and likability to the two-part harmony sparked by Hailee’s collaboration with Joe Jonas, now singing for the pop-rock quartet, DNCE.

But, unlike many people her age, Hailee isn’t really a rebel without a cause—she just wants to be left alone and discover the intricacies of life and love her way, as she discloses in the antiparty anthem, “Hell Nos and Headphones.”

The catchy song demonstrates Steinfeld’s true grit as she sings about a girl who refuses to cave in to peer pressure. So, she opts to leave the party after she says no to what “Jack and Jameson have in mind,” or declines to partake in the “activities in the powder room.”

With a good head on her pretty shoulders, Hailee muses: “They all look me up and down like I’m the new kid/ But, I saw the sun rise on this town before you did/ 27 blocks ago, I didn’t even say goodbye/ People blowin’ up my phone/ They’re sending videos of them naked/ I know you’re having fun/ (And) I don’t judge what’s on your tongue/ But, I’ll stick with hell nos and headphones!”