Haiden Henderson Has Released His New EP 'tension'

Rising artist Haiden Henderson released his new EP, tension, on August 1, 2025, via Republic Records and LAVA Records. The EP consists of an eight-song tracklist.

How important is it for you to connect with your audience on a personal level?

Haiden: I’ve been making music for three years, and for the first two years, I thought I could get away with the Frank Ocean effect. I was like I’m just going to post my stuff and people are going to find it and it's going to be great and I don't have to interact with people at all. In the last year, I started playing live and realized I was robbing myself of an experience if I wasn't connecting with the fans. Like why make music if it’s not to feel connected to in some way? So I started heavily investing in my relationship with my fans. I did Discord, responding to comments and DMs, having inside jokes with them and letting them in on my weird quirks. Everything I've done since doing that has had infinitely more meaning. If I take a while to release a song, I don't feel like I'm punishing myself for not being productive; I feel like I'm letting them down. I make this music just to see their faces. Seeing them react to it is the best feeling.

What role does visuals play in telling the story of your music?

Haiden: I think sort of intentionally and not intentionally, I look a little more edgier than my music is. At the end of the day, it's just pop music. I wear leather, have holes in my clothes and wear eye liner. I love the aesthetic of those things, but it doesn't change how the music sounds. I naturally look pale and sickly, dressing emo and being obsessed with vampires and all that is naturally who I am. I’m very happy that now my fans are starting to look like me. We did a pop-up in Paris a few weeks ago, and I was the first one there. I was like, nobody came, and then out of an alleyway, the cast of the Vampire Diaries came, and it was like 150 teenage girls all wearing edgy shit walking in slow motion over to me. At shows, it’s one thing, and I can see my people, but to see a mass of people in public next to tourists and families. I was like Wow, that's what I look like, that's crazy, we look insane. It was a fun realization, and I feel very seen by it.

How has your songwriting and production evolved in this EP from the others?

Haiden: It's evolved a lot. For my first two EPs, I wrote all the songs alone in my bedroom on a guitar. Then I would bring them to the studio, and me and one of my friends would produce them together. It was a long and torturous process. I would sit at the edge of my bed and be like write something, write something I would really poke and prod at myself till I had something to say. On this latest project, I was a lot more patient with myself. I wrote a lot of the pieces of the song before I had something to say about it. I can't release a song unless it's a bit true. For this project, I would write a piece or a phrase and put it away for a while. Then the things that were happening in my life that this project was based off of would happen, and I would feel it and build the story backwards from there. Now, when I write, I still write all the lyrics on my own, but I write while I'm on a walk or driving. It'll be more random sporadic times, and not much of an interrogative process.

What's an absolute must before going on stage?

Haiden: A moment to myself. To get into my body because so much of tour is what I call jellyfishing. Which is where I go, where I'm taken. I'm kind of a rag doll on tour and get yanked around, and it's fun. I have girlfriend brain where I'm like la la la la la and I love it. So much of my life is me making things happen. So tour is fun because I get to float around. A moment to myself before I go on stage is important because I attempt to recollect myself. I want to be full there when I'm on stage and not a jellyfish.

What are your must haves and non-negotiables that you're bringing with you on tour?

Haiden: I have to pack in a few days, so this is good to think about. Every tour that I've done, I learn how important the things I forgot are. The lame shit that needs to go on tour with me is vitamins I take a lot, especially on tour. I have a whole vitamin kit. A leather jacket is essential, a pair of comfortable sneakers converse and comfortable clothing.

What has been your favorite show to open for?

Haiden: I tend to base the shows off the city we were in. I now unfairly judge cities based on how fun the crowds were. Even though I know nothing about the city or anything. I really loved Paris. It was such a dream of mine. It's so romantic to me. I’ve watched Ratatouille more than any movie. It was very exciting to play there and have so many fans there. The shows I enjoyed playing were the ones I realized had a lot of fans there. The ones in this last tour in Europe it was my first time there. The fans were singing my songs just as loud as the headliners. I went back and told my label like hey that was insane. I think we need to tour Europe. They were like I'm sure it was fun, nobody believed me. Then, when we put up the Europe tickets and they sold out so quickly, everyone was like oh fuck okay, cool. It’s Paris, Prague, Warsaw, Poland, New York, Denver, Salt Lake City. As for who I opened for, I really liked opening for my friends Landon Barker and Miko.