Though Hayley has always appreciated pop music, she felt that — as a queer woman — those pop songs were never really written for her. "I grew up listening to lots of great music but I never connected with it," she confessed to The Independent in February 2019. "I'd sing along to these songs but they weren't made for me. I could leave out the pronouns in my music but what would be the point? By being specific, it helps people like me to feel like they're not alone. Sometimes you have to be bold and keep repeating yourself to normalize things."