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 trended first on YouTube in Sweden, Canada, Ireland, Finland, Denmark, Australia, and Italy. The song and video premiered on Twist Magazine June 24, 2016.
Heller has noted that she frequently wrote songs in her bedroom throughout high school as a relief from her anxiety. While still in high school, Lisa placed in national songwriting competitions. Due to the support from local radio stations and newspapers s he quickly gained a small local following of fans in and around her Connecticut hometown. Heller started college at Colgate University in August 2014, studying psychology. While at school, Heller frequently was asked to return home to open for touring bands such as American Authors and Rachel Platten at 96.5 TIC Acoustic Cafe's.
Hope, creation of the Hope Wall, Continuation of success
Heller recorded her debut single "Hope" summer 2016 with producer Jim McGorman at Sunset Sound Factory in Hollywood, California. 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. This led to the creation of the "Hope Wall" where people all over the world have submitted their stories of courage and bravery. The release of her single, "Hope" was on June 24, 2016, with a video premiere on Twist Magazine the same day. The song has achieved global success, topping the coveted YouTube Trending charts in over 5 countries and independently reaching over 1.5 million views. Heller released follow-up singles "Midnight" and "Light the Fire" which caught the attention of online outlets such as HuffPost, SongFacts and Born Music. "Light the Fire" was part of the #ICANHELP campaign designed to "educate and empower students to use social media positively." In late 2018, her single "Hope" was featured in the Lifetime MovieThe Perfect Mother.
2019: Ghost, Hope
In 2019 Heller moved to Los Angeles. Within weeks of arriving, she was approached by a Nashville based music manager and label. This record label helped her put out a slue of releases in the electro-pop genre, including a music video for her song "Ghost".. Heller then decided to go a new direction musically, as she stated on her Instagram.
2020: The Lisa Heller Project
Heller announced that her debut EP would be coming out in 2020. Her first single off of the EP was released January 3, 2020, and the music video premiered on Popmatters on January 21, 2020.
Personal life
When Heller was in high school years old, she was diagnosed with vocal cord dysfunction. She noticed it when she "... was in the middle of running a race and my throat started closing up." She continued to say "I wasn't sure what was happening, but I couldn't get the air in." She collapsed near the finish line. Her doctors advised her to hum or sing during her races to relax her vocal chords.
