Hana Gabrielle Pestle (born July 11, 1989), known

mononymously A mononym is a name composed of only one word. An individual who is known and addressed by a mononym is a mononymous person. In some cases, a mononym selected by an individual may have originally been from a polynym, a word which refers to one o ...

as Hana ( ; stylized in all caps), is an American musician, singer-songwriter and record producer. She is currently based in Los Angeles. Hana began working on music in 2006, with the help of producers and writers

Ben Moody Benjamin Robert Moody II (born January 22, 1981) is an American guitarist, songwriter and record producer. He is best known as co-founder, former guitarist and co-songwriter of rock band Evanescence from its inception in 1995 to his departure in ...

and Michael "Fish" Herring. Her early work was largely acoustic-based, utilizing the guitar, which Hana plays. During this period, she recorded under her full name Hana Pestle. As Hana Pestle, she released three extended plays—''Hana Pestle'' (2008), ''Live in the Studio'' (2009), and ''For the Sky'' (2011)—and one full-length album titled '' This Way'' (2009). In 2013, upon befriending producer

BloodPop Michael Tucker (born August 15, 1990), known professionally as BloodPop (stylized as BloodPop®), is an American musician, record producer, and songwriter. He has previously used the monikers Blood Diamonds, Blood, and Michael Diamond. He is kn ...

, Hana chose to take a break from recording to focus on learning music production. Dissatisfied with the music she was making, she decided to rebrand herself and change the direction of her music. In 2015, she re-emerged on the music scene with the single "Clay"; now recording under the mononym Hana. Her debut body of work as Hana, the self-titled ''

Hana Hana or HANA may refer to: Places Europe * Haná, an ethnic region in Moravia, Czech Republic * Traianoupoli, Greece, called Hana during the Ottoman period * Hana, Norway, a borough in the city of Sandnes, Norway West Asia * Hana, Iran, a ci ...

'' EP (2016), saw her explore a more

electronic Electronic may refer to: *Electronics, the science of how to control electric energy in semiconductor * ''Electronics'' (magazine), a defunct American trade journal *Electronic storage, the storage of data using an electronic device *Electronic co ...

style. In November 2019, Hana released her second studio album, ''Hanadriel''. The album was made in four weeks, and the creation process was live streamed by Hana via

Twitch Twitch may refer to: Biology * Muscle contraction ** Convulsion, rapid and repeated muscle contraction and relaxation ** Fasciculation, a small, local, involuntary muscle contraction ** Myoclonic twitch, a jerk usually caused by sudden muscle co ...

. In addition to her solo work, Hana is also known for her frequent work with musician

Grimes Claire Elise Boucher (; born March 17, 1988), known professionally as Grimes, is a Canadian musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer. Her early work has been described as extending from "lo-fi R&B" to futuristic dance-pop, and has i ...

. She has performed as a live backing vocalist and band member for Grimes, and the pair have collaborated on songs and music videos.

Early life

Hana Pestle was born July 11, 1989, in

Atlanta, Georgia Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,7 ...

. She moved to

Salt Lake City, Utah Salt Lake City (often shortened to Salt Lake and abbreviated as SLC) is the Capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Utah, most populous city of Utah, United States. It is the county seat, seat of Salt Lake County, Utah, Sal ...

when she was six years old, and to

Billings, Montana Billings is the largest city in the U.S. state of Montana, with a population of 117,116 as of the 2020 census. Located in the south-central portion of the state, it is the seat of Yellowstone County and the principal city of the Billings Met ...

, when she was eight. Hana received her first guitar, which her parents bought from a garage sale, as a Christmas present when she was in fifth grade. Her parents also got her a piano around the same time. During her youth she took guitar and vocal lessons, and performed in choirs. Hana began performing live at the age of fourteen. She would play at local cafés and book stores in Billings, and at the local farmers' market each weekend.

Career

2005–11: Career beginnings, ''Hana Pestle'', ''This Way'' and ''For the Sky''

In 2005, a video of Hana performing in Montana reached producers and writers Michael "Fish" Herring and

, who subsequently decided they wanted to work with her. Upon discovering Hana, Moody reportedly said of her, "It only took Hana singing one song and I was sold. I have never in my life been more in awe of such a breathtaking natural talent". Hana traveled with her family to

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...

to meet with Moody and Herring in 2005, upon which they recorded some demos. She began working with the pair on her debut album in April 2006, while she was a senior in high school. Hana contributed

backing vocals A backing vocalist is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists. A backing vocalist may also sing alone as a lead-in to the main vocalist's entry or to sing a counter-melody. Backing vocalists are ...

to the song "This Time" by

Céline Dion Céline Marie Claudette Dion ( ; born 30 March 1968) is a Canadian singer. Noted for her powerful and technically skilled vocals, Dion is the best-selling Canadian recording artist, and the best-selling French-language artist of all time. Her ...

, from Dion's 2007 album ''

Taking Chances ''Taking Chances'' is the tenth English-language and twenty-third studio album by Canadian singer Celine Dion, released by Columbia Records on 7 November 2007. Dion returned to the music scene after almost five years of performing '' A New Day.. ...

''. Hana shopped for a record label during 2007, sending her music to labels in Los Angeles and New York. In May 2008, Hana revealed that she had been signed to Ben Moody's new record label, FNR Records. She was the first artist signed to the label, which was created specially to release her debut album. Later that month, she released her first recording effort, an extended play titled ''Hana Pestle''. At the time, Hana was recording under her full name. The self-titled EP is composed of three original songs—"These Two Hands", "Just a Phase", and "Together Forever"—and a cover of

Leonard Cohen Leonard Norman Cohen (September 21, 1934November 7, 2016) was a Canadian singer-songwriter, poet and novelist. His work explored religion, politics, isolation, depression, sexuality, loss, death, and romantic relationships. He was inducted in ...

's "

Hallelujah ''Hallelujah'' ( ; he, ''haləlū-Yāh'', meaning "praise Yah") is an interjection used as an expression of gratitude to God. The term is used 24 times in the Hebrew Bible (in the book of Psalms), twice in deuterocanonical books, and four tim ...

". A music video was released for "These Two Hands". In 2008, Hana featured on a new version of Ben Moody's song "

Everything Burns "Everything Burns" is a song by American guitarist Ben Moody and American singer Anastacia for the soundtrack to the film ''Fantastic Four'' (2005) based on the Marvel comics of the same name. Released on June 20, 2005, "Everything Burns" became ...

". She also contributed backing vocals to all tracks on Moody's debut album '' All for This'', which was released in 2009. In December 2008, Hana shared a song titled "Need", and began campaigning to have it included in the film '' The Twilight Saga: New Moon''. The ultimately unsuccessful campaign was referred to as "Need for New Moon". "Need" was officially released as Hana's debut single in June 2009. The song's accompanying music video was directed by

Norwood Cheek Norwood J. Cheek, Jr., aka Norwood Cheek, is an American director, producer, and editor of film and television. He is known for his music videos and his work with Super 8 film. Background Cheek is from Eden, North Carolina and graduated from ...

. Also in June 2009, Hana released an extended play titled ''Live in the Studio''. It features live versions of seven tracks, including "These Two Hands" and "Just a Phase" from the ''Hana Pestle'' EP, a cover of Radiohead's " Creep", and four new songs from Hana's then-upcoming album. Hana's debut album, '' This Way'', was released in September 2009 through FNR Records. It was produced by Ben Moody and Michael Herring, and incorporates string orchestras; the strings were arranged by composer David Campbell. In 2011, Hana entered and won a contest held by American rock band

Incubus An incubus is a demon in male form in folklore that seeks to have sexual intercourse with sleeping women; the corresponding spirit in female form is called a succubus. In medieval Europe, union with an incubus was supposed by some to result in t ...

. The contest involved recording a version of the band's song "Promises, Promises"—which had yet to be released—based only on the sheet music. Upon winning, Hana got to perform the song live alongside Incubus members

Mike Einziger Michael Aaron Einziger (born June 21, 1976) is an American musician, songwriter and producer. He is best known for being co-founder and guitarist of the rock band Incubus, and has also co-written, produced and collaborated with a wide array of a ...

and

Chris Kilmore Chris Kilmore (born January 21, 1973) is an American musician and DJ. He is the turntablist and keyboardist of the rock band Incubus An incubus is a demon in male form in folklore that seeks to have sexual intercourse with sleeping women; t ...

in July 2011. Hana released her third extended play, ''For the Sky'', in September 2011. The EP is composed of five original songs. From 2008–2012, Hana shared various covers via

YouTube YouTube is a global online video sharing and social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by Google, and is the second mo ...

and

SoundCloud SoundCloud is an online audio distribution platform and music sharing website that enables its users to upload, promote, and share audio. Founded in 2007 by Alexander Ljung and Eric Wahlforss, SoundCloud is one of the largest music streaming s ...

. Some of the songs she covered include " First Day of My Life" by Bright Eyes, "

Hotel California "Hotel California" is the title track from the Eagles' album of the same name and was released as a single in February 1977. Writing credits for the song are shared by Don Felder (music), Don Henley, and Glenn Frey (lyrics). Joe Walsh came ...

" by the

Eagles Eagle is the common name for many large birds of prey of the family Accipitridae. Eagles belong to several groups of genera, some of which are closely related. Most of the 68 species of eagle are from Eurasia and Africa. Outside this area, jus ...

, "

Back to Black ''Back to Black'' is the second and final studio album by English singer and songwriter Amy Winehouse, released on 27 October 2006 by Island Records. Winehouse predominantly based the album on her tumultuous relationship with then-ex-boyfrien ...

" by

Amy Winehouse Amy Jade Winehouse (14 September 1983 – 23 July 2011) was an English singer and songwriter. She was known for her deep, expressive contralto vocals and her eclectic mix of musical genres, including soul, rhythm and blues and jazz. A membe ...

, "

We Found Love "We Found Love" is a song by Barbadian singer Rihanna from her sixth studio album, ''Talk That Talk'' (2011). Scottish DJ Calvin Harris wrote, produced, and features on the song, which also appears on his third album '' 18 Months'' (2012). "We F ...

" by Rihanna, "

Always Be My Baby "Always Be My Baby" is a song recorded by American singer-songwriter, and record producer Mariah Carey for her fifth studio album, ''Daydream'' (1995). It was released by Columbia Records on March 9, 1996, as the third single in the United Sta ...

" by Mariah Carey, " If You Return" by

Maximum Balloon ''Maximum Balloon'' is the debut solo studio album by American musician and record producer David Andrew Sitek of TV on the Radio, under the moniker Maximum Balloon. It was released on September 21, 2010, by DGC Records and Interscope Records. T ...

, " Eyes Wide Open" by

Gotye Wouter André "Wally" De Backer (born 21 May 1980), better known by his stage name Gotye ( ), is a Belgian-Australian multi-instrumentalist and singer-songwriter. The name "Gotye" is a pronunciation respelling of "Gauthier", the French cognat ...

, " Landslide" by Fleetwood Mac, "

River A river is a natural flowing watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, sea, lake or another river. In some cases, a river flows into the ground and becomes dry at the end of its course without reaching another body of w ...

" by Joni Mitchell, and "

Wintersong ''Wintersong'' is the sixth album and first Christmas album by Canadian singer-songwriter Sarah McLachlan, released in October 2006. It was produced by longtime collaborator Pierre Marchand and includes contributions from Jim Creeggan of Baren ...

" by

Sarah McLachlan Sarah Ann McLachlan OC OBC (born January 28, 1968) is a Canadian singer-songwriter. As of 2015, she had sold over 40 million albums worldwide. McLachlan's best-selling album to date is '' Surfacing'', for which she won two Grammy Awards (ou ...

2013–2018: Change in direction & ''Hana''

In 2013, Hana met music producer

and talked to him about her career. Subsequently, she decided to take a break to learn music production and change the direction of her music. She has since stated that she was dissatisfied with her earlier work. She attributes this to a lack of creative control, saying of her former producers, "they just took my songs and produced them in the way they thought made sense; I never had a heart to heart connection with the production of the songs". Hana chose to take down her

social media Social media are interactive media technologies that facilitate the creation and sharing of information, ideas, interests, and other forms of expression through virtual communities and networks. While challenges to the definition of ''social medi ...

accounts and website, as well as removing most of her earlier music from the internet, in order to rebrand herself from a clean slate. After taking a break, Hana re-emerged in 2015, now recording under just her first name. Now producing her own music, Hana changed her style to a more

synth A synthesizer (also spelled synthesiser) is an electronic musical instrument that generates audio signals. Synthesizers typically create sounds by generating waveforms through methods including subtractive synthesis, additive synthesis and ...

-oriented pop sound. In May 2015, she released "Clay"—her first song as Hana—on

. The song received praise from fellow female singer-songwriters

and Lorde. Around this time, Hana accompanied Grimes as part of the opening act for

Lana Del Rey Elizabeth Woolridge Grant (born June 21, 1985), known professionally as Lana Del Rey, is an American singer-songwriter. Her music is noted for its cinematic quality and exploration of tragic romance, glamour, and melancholia, with frequent r ...

's Endless Summer Tour. On the final two dates of the tour, Hana played "Clay" during Grimes' set. A video of the performance was filmed by Grimes and James Brooks and shared through YouTube to promote the song. In July 2015, ''

Nylon Nylon is a generic designation for a family of synthetic polymers composed of polyamides ( repeating units linked by amide links).The polyamides may be aliphatic or semi-aromatic. Nylon is a silk-like thermoplastic, generally made from pe ...

'' premiered Hana's second song since her rebrand, "Avalanche". Hana toured with musician

throughout 2016. She opened for Grimes on the European dates of her AC!D Reign Tour, which took place from February through March. Later that year, the pair embarked on Grimes' March of the Pugs Tour, during which Hana performed alongside Grimes as a

backing vocalist A backing vocalist is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists. A backing vocalist may also sing alone as a lead-in to the main vocalist's entry or to sing a counter-melody. Backing vocalists are us ...

and band member. In March 2016, ''

The Fader ''The Fader'' (stylized as ''FADER'') is a magazine based in New York City that was launched in 1999 by Rob Stone and Jon Cohen. The magazine covers music, style and culture. It was the first print publication to be released on iTunes. It is o ...

'' premiered Hana's third new single, "Underwater", alongside a video shot on tour. She released her first body of work since rebranding, the self-titled EP ''

HANA Hana or HANA may refer to: Places Europe * Haná, an ethnic region in Moravia, Czech Republic * Traianoupoli, Greece, called Hana during the Ottoman period * Hana, Norway, a borough in the city of Sandnes, Norway West Asia * Hana, Iran, a ci ...

'', on March 25, 2016. In October 2016, Hana and Grimes released a video series titled ''The AC!D Reign Chronicles''. It is composed of seven music videos filmed over two weeks in Europe. The songs included are Hana's "Underwater", "Chimera", and "Avalanche" from her ''Hana'' EP, and four tracks from Grimes' album ''

Art Angels ''Art Angels'' is the fourth studio album by Canadian musician Grimes, pseudonym of Claire Elise Boucher. It was digitally released on November 6, 2015, through 4AD, and in physical formats on December 11. Boucher began planning the record in 201 ...

''. The individual music videos were published to Hana and Grimes' respective YouTube channels, and a "Director's Cut" containing all seven videos in their "intended order" was uploaded to Grimes' channel. In 2017, Hana and Grimes collaborated on a cover of

Tegan and Sara Tegan and Sara () are a Canadian indie pop duo formed in 1998 in Calgary, Alberta. The band is led by identical twin sisters Tegan Rain Quin and Sara Keirsten Quin (born September 19, 1980). Both musicians are songwriters and multi-instrumenta ...

's song "Dark Come Soon". They contributed the track to the compilation '' Tegan and Sara Present the Con X: Covers'', which consists of cover versions of the tracks from Tegan and Sara's album '' The Con''. Grimes and Hana are credited as "Trashique". In July 2018, Hana shared a cover of "

Here Comes the Rain Again "Here Comes the Rain Again" is a 1983 song by British duo Eurythmics and the opening track from their third studio album ''Touch''. It was written by group members Annie Lennox and David A. Stewart and produced by Stewart. The song was released ...

" by Eurythmics via SoundCloud. She had previously performed the song during live shows, and wanted to release her version so that it could "exist outside a venue". In November 2018, Hana featured on Grimes' single "

We Appreciate Power "We Appreciate Power" is a song by Canadian musician Grimes, featuring American musician Hana (American musician), Hana. It was released on November 29, 2018, billed as the lead single from her fifth studio album ''Miss Anthropocene'', however it i ...

". She also produced a "

nightcore A nightcore edit is a version of a track that increases the pitch and speeds up its source material by approximately 35%. This gives an effect almost identical to playing a 33⅓-RPM vinyl record at 45 RPM. This 35% increase in RPM causes the ...

" remix of the song.

2019–2020: ''Hanadriel''

On August 14, 2019, Hana released a new single titled "Black Hole". It was her first release as lead artist since her self-titled EP in 2016. According to Hana, it is an older song that she had wanted to release for a long time. On September 20, 2019, Hana announced that she would be live streaming the making of her upcoming second album via

. The live streams took place over the course of the following four weeks. The album, ''Hanadriel'', was released on November 6, 2019. Between October 2019 and April 2020, Hana released several tracks with other artists. In October 2019, she and

Anamanaguchi Anamanaguchi is an American chiptune-based pop and rock band from New York City. The band has four members: lead songwriters and guitarists Peter Berkman and Ary Warnaar, bassist James DeVito, and drummer Luke Silas. Anamanaguchi combines dig ...

released the collaboration " On My Own", and she featured on the track " Nothing Like You" by

Gryffin Dan Griffith (born September 29, 1987), known by his stage name Gryffin (often stylized in all caps), is an American musician, DJ, songwriter, and record producer. He gained recognition for remixing some well-known songs such as Tove Lo's " Ta ...

and Droeloe. In December 2019, she appeared alongside producer Durante on the track "Days Pass", which was released as part of the compilation ''Anjunadeep 11''. She featured on the single "Ghosts" by

Tchami Martin Joseph Léonard Bresso (; born 12 May 1985), better known by his stage name Tchami (), is a French record producer and DJ from Paris. A founding member of the Pardon My French collective, he is best known for his solo work and regarded a ...

in February 2020. Hana and Durante collaborated again in 2020 on the tracks "13 Voices" and "Starglow", which appeared on the compilation ''The Anjunadeep Edition 300'', released in April. The following May, Hana and Durante's three collaborative tracks were released together on an extended play titled ''13 Voices EP''. The EP also features extended versions of each track. On October 30, 2020, Hana released a new single titled "So & So".

Personal life

Hana has dated American musician and producer

since May 2013. They met in a recording session.

Discography

Studio albums

Extended plays

Singles

As lead artist

As featured artist

Guest appearances

Remixes

Special releases

Music videos

As lead artist

As featured artist

Guest appearances

Other contributions

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hana 1989 births Living people American women rock singers Musicians from Atlanta People from Billings, Montana 21st-century American singers 21st-century American women singers