What a year for Hailey Knox. What started off as performing covers of popular songs, like Elle King's "Ex's and Oh's," on YouTube and YouNow, and gaining a following on both platforms, has now led to the 17-year-old releasing her own EP of original music called A Little Awkward, as well as landing spots on tour with Charlie Puth, Us The Duo, and AJR.
Now, as part of her continued success, Hailey has been nominated for an iHeartRadio Music Award in the Social Star Award category for her popular YouNow channel. Hailey has gained a lot of fans, nearly 175,000 to be exact, and is up against other social stars like Todrick Hall, Jack and Jack, Alex Aiono, Emma McGann, Baby Ariel, and more. Voting for the Social Star Award category is still open and will continue through the evening of the awards on March 5th. Fans can find out the winner by watching the awards show live on Sunday on TBS, TNT and truTV at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT.
We recently caught up with Hailey in Los Angeles ahead of the iHeartRadio Music Awards, and during an exclusive interview, she talked about what this year has been like for her, how it feels to be nominated for the Social Star Award, what she's looking forward to, and more.
You've had such an exciting year! And you're nominated for the Social Star Award at this year's iHeartRadio Music Awards. How does it feel to be nominated?
"It's so cool. I'm alongside my fellow YouNow friends like Emma McGann and Todrick Hall. It's so cool. I never would've imagined being nominated. It's insane."
You're nominated in this category for YouNow, so what has it been like being a part of that social platform?
"YouNow is awesome. I love live streaming in general because, you're talking to people as if they're right there, and then with YouNow, you can guest people -- so you can bring on a fan or a friend and literally, it's like a live FaceTime call with your buddy. Live is awesome. People request songs and I get to sing it for them."
Since we're so close to awards, are you nervous at all?
"No. If anything, I'm just super excited to be attending, and then hopefully see some people that I look up to. I'm just so excited to be going, and hopefully I'll get to hang out with my friend, Emma McGann who's on YouNow, because she's nominated with me. I'm just really excited to be going."
Tell us what the last year as been like for you. You released an EP, and went on tour with Charlie Puth!
"It's been really cool. The Charlie tour was my first tour ever, too. So, I got to experience what it was really like -- life on the road. I listen to Charlie Puth on the radio, and then getting to actually meet him and open for him on tour, it was really cool."
Being so active on social media and YouNow, and having released your own original music, and performing live, you have gained a lot of new fans. Do you have a favorite fan story?
"One time, it was kind of funny, I was broadcasting live and somebody sent pizza to our house. It's a little odd they found out where I live, but it was cool at the same time. We didn't take it, but we were like, 'Wow, that's kind of weird.' It's more of a weird story."
What do you love the most about your fans?
"They post as soon I put something out there, they're commenting, liking, and they're just super cool. And they accept my weirdness. So that's cool."