Courtney Hadwin has never been one for playing it safe. At just 13, she exploded onto the global stage with a jaw-dropping audition on America’s Got Talent, instantly drawing comparisons to some of rock and soul’s most electrifying performers. But nearly a decade later, the singer-songwriter is no longer the shy teenager audiences first met. Now 21, she’s stepping into a new era; one defined by hard-won confidence, sharper storytelling, and a sound that feels unapologetically her own. With her powerful new single, You Only Love Me When I Lie, and a collaboration with legendary musician Steven Van Zandt, Hadwin is embracing vulnerability, growth, and the freedom that comes from finally owning her voice. We caught up with her to talk about evolution, honesty in songwriting, and why imperfection is where the magic happens.
You first stunned the world with your America’s Got Talent audition. Looking back, how do you feel your identity as an artist has changed since that moment?
I was still a baby when I did that show. It was a chapter of my life, and I’m now onto the next chapter. I feel like I’ve evolved into myself over time, and it has taken a second to find myself and own the true me. I feel it took a long time to be fully comfortable with being true to me in my music. I’ve lived a little now, I’m 21, and everything has matured from sound to stories.
“You Only Love Me When I Lie” is such a striking title. What’s the emotional core of this song for you?
It was written mostly on the emotional exhaustion of pretending to be someone I’m not just to satisfy other people, which I felt I had to do for a very long time. A lot of people only saw me as that little shy 13-year-old and didn’t really want me to grow up, but everyone grows, it’s normal.
How did the collaboration with Steven Van Zandt come about, and what did he bring into your creative world?
Steven and I have been friends for a while now and have kept in touch. He has always supported my music and helped in any way he could. We were already wondering if we could do something together in the future, but he really took a shine to “You Only Love Me When I Lie,” and he really brought a different light to it!
What was the first thing you remember hearing or feeling when this track started to take shape?
The depth! I love a song that you hear, and u can feel the lyrics, the raw emotion in every lyric. It was the first song I wrote like this, really laying out my thoughts and feelings onto a plate and just singing them aloud.
You’ve developed a very distinctive vocal and performance style. How intentional is that, versus something that just naturally emerged?
I’ve always tried to be as much of myself as possible. I sing for me, and I perform because I love doing it. I’ve always tried to just let it naturally happen. I personally am not a big fan of the whole perfect note-by-note, no risk, and choreographed. I love imperfections, and I don’t think music has to be perfect.
The song carries a strong emotional tension. How do you approach writing lyrics that feel both raw and controlled at the same time?
Kevin helps a lot with this. When writing the album, I was personally growing and going through a few life changes. Being able to just complain and yap to someone who totally gets it really helps. Then creating those feelings and thoughts into lyrics that the listener and I can connect to.
What was the most challenging part of bringing this single to life in the studio?
When I write a song and record it, there’s always some time in between that, so maybe I’m trying to put myself back into the feels I was feeling when I first wrote the song.
How has your approach to songwriting evolved since your debut album in 2025?
I’m writing so much right now. I loved my first album; it was just music, it was me. It was me saying, “I’m here, I’m back, I’m Courtney, and this is what I’ve been doing,” but this next album is gonna be bigger and better. We have only just started writing again, and you can already hear the difference. Life experiences that I hadn’t gone through, which I can now write about, I feel I have personally and emotionally evolved since the debut, and it will definitely show through the music.
When you think about your early AGT performances compared to now, what feels most different in how you express yourself on stage?
I don’t think I have changed the way I express anything. I’ve always tried not to force anything and just do what the music tells me to do. Like I said, I don’t like music being boxed up and choreographed. I like the music to control me. To be able to feel and sing a verse, maybe I have to jump up and down, or if I’m really into a song, maybe I will riff a line that wasn’t supposed to be sung that way. I love that anything can change at the last minute; it’s not fully planned.
There’s a theatrical intensity in your voice. Do you think of your songs in cinematic terms while writing them?
No, not really, all the songs I write kind of just create themselves, especially melodies. Melodies have always been quite easy for me, and the song has just guided me to the melody and told me how to sing it.
What does collaboration mean to you now, especially working with artists from different generations and musical backgrounds?
There are a few people in the industry I’d love to sit in a room with and just vibe off, and we have had talks with a few people. I think it just has to be the right time and right song. But I love exploring different genres, I love hearing new sounds.
How do you know when a vocal take is “the one”? Is it technical precision, emotional truth, or something else?
For me, I’m very much a perfectionist. I love to have so many takes. I’ll sing and sing a line until I feel I couldn’t do it any better, so I would say it’s more of a feeling for me.
What kind of stories or themes are you most drawn to exploring at this stage of your career?
I’m just a normal 21-year-old girl. I’m living life for the first time and just want to carry on doing that, living new experiences and being able to express that through my songwriting
How do you protect your creative instincts while still growing and evolving in the industry?
I think just being true to myself, if I know I’m being me and I’m not trying to be something I’m not, I’m okay.
What do you hope listeners feel the first time they hear “You Only Love Me When I Lie”? And what do you hope they notice on the fifth listen that they missed on the first?
I hope they hear the vulnerability in the song, how honest and raw the emotion is, and I hope that doesn’t kill after the fifth listen.
