Hayley Jensen (born 7 January 1983) is an Australian singer and songwriter who became known after placing fourth on the second series (2004) of Australian Idol.
In 2018 Jensen released the album Turning Up the Dial which became her first to enter the ARIA top 100. Jensen's fourth Breakin' Hearts (2021) and Country Soul (2025) continued that success.
Early life
Hayley Jensen was born in Albury, New South Wales, but has lived in Canberra for most of her life. Before entering the Australian Idol competition, she studied Jazz vocals at the ANU whilst completing year 11–12, and then went on to study Economics and Management at the University of Canberra.[1]
In 2004, Jensen auditioned for Australian Idol. She did not progress from her hometown of Canberra, but travelled to Sydney to try again and was successful.She was selected for a spot in the Final 12 and continued in the competition for a number of weeks, eventually placing 4th.[1]
After Australian Idol, Jensen formed her own record label (White Dove Music), released a solo album, Note to Self and released a number of singles. She performed for Coalition Forces in Iraq,[2] for the Prime Minister on a number of occasions, and at entertainment centres around Australia.
In March 2010, Jensen co-founded alternative pop/rock band Seasons with drummer Peter Wright and guitarist Sam Young. The band released their debut EP A Moment of Clarity on 15 April 2011. In late 2012, Seasons changed their name to Silver Cities, and released their first single, "Lights" was co-credited to Jensen. They toured as a supporting act for Evermore on their Hero National Tour. In November 2013, Hayley and her band received an award for their single "Lights" at the 2013 Australian Independent Music Awards.[3]
In 2014, Jensen auditioned for the third season of the Australian version of The Voice.[4][5] She performed the song "Freefallin" in her audition chose to join Kylie Minogue's team.[6] She was eliminated in the Battle Rounds.
In 2015, Jensen joined Casey Donovan, Doug Williams and Darren Mapes, in a concert celebrating the songs and life of Burt Bacharach.[7] In December 2015, Jensen was announced as a finalist in the 2016 Star Maker award.[8]
2016-present: Return to country music
In January 2016 Jensen released the country single "The One". She subsequently released the single "I'll Always Love You" and "Young Years" which was followed by the album Past Tense & Present Peace.
In 2017, Jensen signed with Social Family Records and in November 2017, released the single "Summertime Soundtrack".[9]
In May 2018, her third studio album Turning Up the Dial was released. Jensen toured the album across the south east coast of Australia[10] before heading to Manchester to perform as a headline international act at Buckle & Boots Country Music Festival[11] and to Canada in 2019 to perform at Calgary Stampede.[12]
Early 2020 Jensen released a version of Sarah McLachlan's "Angel", the song which got her to the top 12 in Australian Idol, this time as a duet with Australian Country Artist Beccy Cole.[13]
With most of her shows and touring cancelled in 2020 due to COVID-19, Jensen wrote and produced music with Canadian producer Troy Kokol at Reluctant Cowboy Records.[14] The first new single "Breakin' Hearts" was released in August 2020 as a radio single both in Australia and Canada and made it to number 2 in the Music Networks' Country Hot 50 chart.[15]
In October 2021, Jensen reread her fourth studio album, Breakin' Hearts.[16]
Throughout 2024 and 2025, Jensen released singles "Stomping Ground",[17] "Outskirts",[18] "Dirt Rich"[19] and "Giddy Up Cowboy".[20] At the 2025 Independent Country Music Awards, Jensen won Best Song and Best Video.[21]
In August 2025, Jensen released her fifth studio album Country Soul which peaked at number 14 on the ARIA Charts.
Music for a New Generation Awards by Planet Country with Big Stu & MJ
The Music for a New Generation Awards was a country music aware program as part of Planet Country with Big Stu & MJ radio show. They ran from 2015 to 2018..
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