Lisa Heller
"Lisa Heller"
Lisa Heller Press photo
Background information
OriginSimsbury, Connecticut, U.S.
Genres
  • Pop
  • singer-songwriter
Occupation(s)
  • Singer-songwriter
  • pianist
  • guitarist
  • record producer
Years active2016–present
Labels
WebsiteOfficial website

Lisa Heller is an American singer and songwriter from Simsbury, Connecticut. She achieved global recognition after the release of her song "Hope" along with its video, which after premiering on Twist Magazine[1] trended first on YouTube in Sweden, Canada, Ireland, Finland, Denmark, Australia, and Italy.[2] Her EP “is anyone listening?” has independently achieved millions of streams and views after its release in 2021.

Early life

Heller was born in Simsbury, Connecticut, the first daughter of Wendy (Loeb) Heller and David Heller. She has a younger sister (Nicole) and brother (William) who grew up in Simsbury with her. Heller's father is from Westport, Connecticut, and her mother is from West Hartford, Connecticut. She graduated from Simsbury High School.

Career

Early career

Heller has noted that she frequently wrote songs in her bedroom throughout high school as a relief from her anxiety.[3] While still in high school, Lisa placed in national songwriting competitions. Due to the support from local radio stations and newspapers, she quickly gained a small, local following of fans in and around her hometown in Connecticut.[3] During this time, Heller would frequently be asked to return home to open for touring bands such as American Authors and Rachel Platten at 96.5 TIC Acoustic Cafe's.[3]

Hope, creation of the Hope Wall, Continuation of success

Heller recorded her debut single "Hope" with producer Jim McGorman at Sunset Sound Factory in Hollywood, California.[4] After returning home, in the weeks leading up to her single, Lisa reached out to a few individuals going through particularly hard times in and around Connecticut.[4] This led to the creation of the "Hope Wall" to which people all over the world have submitted their stories of courage and bravery.[4] The release of her single, "Hope" garnered a video premiere on Twist Magazine.[1] The song has achieved global success, topping the coveted YouTube Trending charts in over 5 countries and independently reaching over 1.5 million views.[5] "Hope" was subsequently featured in the Lifetime Movie The Perfect Mother.[6]

Heller then released follow-up single "Midnight,” which caught the attention of online outlets such as HuffPost, SongFacts and Born Music.[7][2][8]

"Light the Fire" was part of the #ICANHELP campaign designed to "educate and empower students to use social media positively."[9]

Ghost, Hope, The Lisa Heller Project

Heller moved to Los Angeles. Within weeks of arriving, she was approached by a Nashville based music manager and label.[10] This record label helped her put out a slew of releases in the electro-pop genre, including a music video for her song "Ghost".[11][12][13] Heller then decided to go a new direction musically, as she stated on her Instagram.[14]

Heller announced that her debut EP would be coming out in 2020. Her first single off of the EP was released on January 3, 2020, and the music video premiered on Popmatters on January 21, 2020.[15]

2021: "Is Anyone Listening?"

Heller released the first single off of the EP, "Red Flags" (stylized all lowercase) on April 9, 2021, after a clip of the song gained traction on tiktok.[16] She was interviewed in American Songwriter and Atwood Magazine's podcast "Tunes and Tumblers". It is the first single off of her second EP, "is anyone listening?" (stylized all lowercase).[17]

Personal life

When Heller was in high school, she was diagnosed with vocal cord dysfunction.[2] She noticed when she "was in the middle of running a race and [her] throat started closing up... [she] wasn't sure what was happening, but... couldn't get the air in."[18] She ended up collapsing near the finish line, and her doctors advised her to hum or sing during her races to relax her vocal chords.[18]

Discography

Extended plays

Title Details
"Is Anyone Listening"
"The Lisa Heller Project"

Singles

Title Year Peaks Album
"Hope" — Non-album singles
"Midnight" — Non-album singles
"Quicksand" — Non-album singles
"Ghost" 2019 171 (iTunes Japan Electronic Chart)[19] Non-album singles
"Figure It Out" 2020 — "The Lisa Heller Project"
"Pulling Away" 2020 — "The Lisa Heller Project"
"Closure" 2020 — "The Lisa Heller Project"
"Deep End" 2020 — "The Lisa Heller Project"
"Wings" 2020 — Non-album singles
"I Feel Like I'm Going Crazy" 2020 — Non-album singles
"red flags" 2021 — "is anyone listening?"

Filmography

Music videos

Title Year Director
Hope Kurt J. Zendzian
Ghost 2019 Doltyn Snedden
Figure It Out 2020 Jamal Wade
Pulling Away 2020 Jamal Wade

Awards and nominations

Awards Category Outcome
American Songwriting Awards Performance Top 5 Finalist
American Songwriting Awards Teen Won
International Songwriting Competition Pop Semi-finalist

References

  1. 1 2 Hope Kowalski, Kristine (June 24, 2016). "Exclusive: Catch the Premiere of Lisa Heller's Music Video for 'Hope'". Twist. Archived from the original on June 27, 2016. Retrieved July 13, 2017.
  2. 1 2 3 "Songwriter Interviews: Lisa Heller". Songfacts. Retrieved February 20, 2018.
  3. 1 2 3 "Simsbury Teen Places Among Top 5 in American Songwriting Awards Competition". Hartford Courant. November 26, 2014. Retrieved February 20, 2019.
  4. 1 2 3 "ON THE RISE: Lisa Heller On Her Creative Journey, New Music and Much More!". Icon vs. Icon. June 28, 2016. Retrieved February 24, 2019.
  5. ↑ "ON THE RISE: Lisa Heller On Her Creative Journey, New Music and Much More!". Icon vs. Icon. June 28, 2016. Retrieved July 8, 2017.
  6. ↑ "Lisa Heller on Instagram: "Ahh thank you so much to @lifetimetv for featuring my song "Hope" right before the end credits in the Perfect Mother!! First big sync 😭 you could say I'm pretty pumped! Thank you to everyone who's supported me on this journey! Y'all can't even preparee for 2019! Link in bio to "Hope" 💕"".
  7. ↑ "Lisa Heller- Midnight and Beyond". Huffington Post. July 10, 2017. Retrieved February 20, 2018.
  8. ↑ "Spotlight: Lisa Heller". Born Music. Retrieved February 20, 2018.
  9. ↑ "Music". Lisa Heller. Retrieved January 14, 2018.
  10. ↑ "EP Review, "The Lisa Heller Project" – Beautifully Breaking the Rules". January 4, 2020.
  11. ↑ Lisa Heller- Ghost (Official Music Video), archived from the original on December 15, 2021, retrieved December 20, 2019
  12. ↑ Lisa Heller – Ghost (Lyrics Video), retrieved December 20, 2019
  13. ↑ BWW News Desk. "Lisa Heller Releases New Single GHOST". BroadwayWorld.com. Retrieved December 20, 2019.
  14. ↑ "Lisa Heller on Instagram: "I finally feel free. Pt 1. "𝗙𝗶𝗴𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝗜𝘁 𝗢𝘂𝘁" available everywhere midnight 🖤"".
  15. ↑ "Lisa Heller Goes on a Journey to Find Herself in "Figure It Out" (Premiere), PopMatters". January 21, 2020.
  16. ↑ "Lisa Heller Flies "red flags" to Own Her Flaws". April 12, 2021.
  17. ↑ "Lisa Heller Premieres New Song "red flags"".
  18. 1 2 "Lisa Heller Inspires with "Hope"". Colgate University News. March 2, 2017. Retrieved July 8, 2017.
  19. ↑ "Chartmetric".
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