Article by John Morin | Owl Staff
With Marilyn Monroe good looks and powerhouse vocals, one would think that Hallie Day would have been a shoo-in for the Top 13 of American Idol, Season 11. This was not the case, however, and she soon left after making the Top 25. What really captivated America’s heart was this Baltimore-based singer’s backstory of triumph in the face of struggle, which she was willing to share during an interview with Owl Magazine.
Born in West Hollywood, California, Hallie was constantly surrounded by music. Her father was a pastor of a small church, and her mother was an opera singer. At age five she had her first solo in church. As she grew older, she explored other types of music, especially R&B and Hip-Hop. Some of her favorite artists included Lauryn Hill, Eryka Badu and Frank Sinatra.
In her teens, Hallie decided to escape a rough home life in Baltimore by moving to New York and joining the girl group Plum Krazee.
“I thought, ‘This is my escape; this is going to be it. I’m going to be famous and chase after my dreams,’” Hallie says. “I didn’t know who I was; I was incredibly insecure.”
After the group failed, Hallie became disillusioned and isolated from her friends back home who were living “normal” teenage lives. As a high school dropout without any real relationship with her parents, she took an overdose of pills.
“My mind-set was never ‘I want to end my life,’ but rather ‘I just want to check out for a while’ and ‘I don’t really know how to live and how to be a normal person,’” Hallie shares. “As soon as I took the pills, I knew I had gone too far, and that God had a plan for my life; it wasn’t supposed to end there on the bathroom floor.”
She was able to call for help before it was too late and was taken to the hospital by a friend. “I got out of the hospital, and I guess you could say I had a spiritual revelation.” Hallie continues, “And I just realized that my life wasn’t worth taking.”
Moving forward, she received her GED and went to Maryland Bible College & Seminary. At the age of 20, she returned to New York to attempt a career in singing again and fell into old habits.
“I was in Bible College for a few years and I was really straight-edge,” Hallie says. “And then I went to New York City, and I just went wild. I got really heavily back into drugs and alcohol and fell on my face again.”
Two years later, Hallie returned to Baltimore to get her life in order. She married Ryan Day, whom she had met while in Bible College, and it was he who encouraged her to try out for Baltimore Idol, which she went on to win. As the winner, she was then sent to the American Idol auditions where she wowed the judges with her rendition of Gloria Gaynor’s “I Will Survive.”
“Moving forward, she received her GED and went to Maryland Bible College & Seminary. At the age of 20, she returned to New York to attempt a career in singing again and fell into old habits.”
Following her exit from American Idol, Hallie has been figuring out her own style. Although she has written songs about the dark moments in her life, she also wants her work to be uplifting.
“I’ve learned that if I’m real and genuine and just being myself, that’s something people can relate to,” Hallie says. “And other people [hear that and] think, ‘I’m not the only one who’s crazy and messed up.”