The Rise of Happy That It Happened
Taylor Hall’s long-awaited project Happy That It Happened is a tried and true love story that was forbidden from the start. Although it ended in heartbreak, the singer-songwriter refuses to leave on a sour note. Choosing gratitude over bitterness, Taylor’s 6-track story is a beautiful lesson that can be felt around the world.
Track Review of Happy That It Happened
“Taking Notes” opens the project with 24K’s curious guitar strings where a wide-eyed Taylor Hall is intrigued with a potential new love interest. Her clear vocals are the opposite of her budding emotions right now. Fully aware of the common motives others have when sparking her interest, she’s hesitant that this one may be too good to be true. Never one to back away from an exciting adventure, the hopeful singer-songwriter considers taking the leap.
Taylor tip-toes into the ever so catchy “Homie” with a proposition. She sets boundaries and asks to build a foundation first with friendship. Our sunny lover girl attempts to protect her heart and just wants to kick it to see where things go. Unknowingly, she foreshadows their fate singing, “You’re the one for now, but you’re not the one.”
Hall didn’t expect the relationship to accelerate how it did. With rose-colored glasses on, the singer goes to great lengths to satisfy this person in “Chasing Love”. Although she had her doubts, the headstrong singer has to see for herself where this is going. Forever living in the moment, Taylor is down for the ride — even if it may end badly.
On “Lonely Again”, Taylor sits atop of her love rollercoaster before it takes a steep dip. Questionable actions and self-reflection has snapped the singer out of her love daze and she knows their honeymoon stage is over. Reality creeps over the strings, predicting that their days are numbered. She doesn’t know if the blame should be placed on this con artist of a person or herself for falling for it. Her vocals ooze with a mournful pain for her wasted time and energy.
Taylor peacefully holds two fingers to the person that wasn’t meant for her on the 5th track “Shattered”. This soft rager lets her emotions flow as she adjusts to her newfound self. Taylor gives “you could’ve just left me alone” energy as she tries to piece together where she went wrong. She lets the situation go with a final shout to close the song out.
Gaining her power back on the outro “Tried”, Taylor sings over 24K’s cool claps on her hopeless romantic antics. With her head finally out of the clouds, she questions when this tiresome cycle will end. The shortest song on the project is the most relatable in my opinion. No matter how long a situation lasts, this is the hardest point that everyone has reached at least once in their lifetime.
Having that self-realization and choosing yourself isn’t always as easy as it seems. The majority of the time, it ends up being the most painful phase but it’s always for the better. Even though she saw it coming, it doesn’t make it hurt any less. Done begging for effort and reciprocation, she has no choice but to put this situation behind her.
Final Thoughts on the EP
Sometimes it’s important to find out what you don’t like just as much as what you do like. The rising rockstar kept it short and sweet with 6 tracks since there’s no point in beating herself up about it. It happens to the best of us. Taylor’s strength in her forgiveness and gratitude towards the situation helped her unlock new self-love and a better understanding of herself.
Handling the experience with grace, she produced an EP that mirrors everyone who listens to it. That’s the thing that sets Taylor Hall apart from other artists. She refuses to skip any part of her story, resulting in people feeling less alone. This isn’t a breakup project, or even a diss. She doesn’t want revenge. Instead, she craves peace, choosing love and light.
So shout out to the person that broke Taylor’s heart, we would’ve never gotten this amazing project without you. Your ill intent with this incredible human resulted in thousands being able to grow and relate with one another. There are no hard feelings. In fact, I think we’re all happy that it happened.
“Happy That It Happened” is available on all streaming platforms.
