Bringing the 80’s Back with Hayley Orrantia

If you love your sitcoms and still live in the 80’s, then you better be loving Hayley Orrantia and the rest of her cast of The Goldbergs as much as we do. Still a newcomer to the acting life, Hayley has stolen the hearts of all of her viewers, male and female, young and old. Not only does Hayley capture you with her presence on screen but if you haven’t heard her already, you need to check out her music, including her newest song that we can’t stop listening to. This song,  let me tell you will make you love her voice, her poise and will make you hungry… that damn Chick-Fil-A.

Like we said, Hayley Orrantia is still new to the acting world but she couldn’t look more at home on screen or on stage than she does right now. As Erica on The Goldbergs, Hayley used her singing voice to perform in some of their musical episodes and even joined the Tasty Boys, which is a spin on the Beastie Boys in some screen time. Now that Hayley’s character Erica is off to college, we can’t wait to see what storylines may occur this season.

Whether she is working on just hanging out, you can usually Hayley on set with her family away from her blood-related relatives. The life away from family can be tough, but Hayley has found a family in her cast and crew on The Goldbergs and it shows while she is on screen with them and even guest stars talk about how close-knit they are. When you say it yourself that you are close, it’s one thing, but when you have veteran actors who’ve been on sets for years commenting on it, you know you are close.

And if you check out Hayley’s YouTube channel you will see some more of her fantastic work and you will want to pay attention to her singing career, we see it taking off soon. She does her own music but also has some covers on her channel and they all sound amazing. Check it out and let her know what you think of it, we are sure she would love to hear from all of you. —

Hayley Orrantia is returning to The Goldbergs as Erica on September 27th on ABC, check it out and have some good laughs.

Wingman: “The Goldbergs” is back for the 5th season. What can the viewers expect from their favorite 80’s family? More stonewashed jean jackets?

Hayley Orrantia: (Laughs) Definitely a lot more 80’s attire and a bedroom that fits all of that. Erica is going to college this year, so there are going to be a lot more new storylines and characters and I can’t wait for everybody to meet them.

Wingman: “The Goldbergs” is such a family sitcom that you don’t always see anymore. With the comic book genre being front and center in a lot of the tv and film world. What makes “The Goldbergs” such a lovable show that doesn’t get lost in the shuffle.

Hayley Orrantia: I feel like “The Goldbergs” is so unique because  it’s the 1980’s and that’s such a specific era that still resonates with people because there are so many different characters and relationships and storylines within the show, that no matter what walk of life you come from, you can watch the show and somehow you will relate to some relationship in the show. Whether it’s the mother-daughter scenario or brother-sister, people can always relate to the fact that some families may not be so happy-go-lucky and get along all the time.

Wingman: Talk about your cast a little bit. The comedic genius on screen is unavoidable for all of the viewers, what is it like on set.

Hayley Orrantia: I have to say that it is AWESOME! There are some times that I get such funny looks from the crew members because the days that I have off from work, I will show up and just hang out. I really do love everyone that’s on cast and crew like they are my family. I was born and raised in Texas and I moved out to California pretty much right after I found out I booked the show. For me, getting to know these people and being as warm and nice as they are and as funny as they are, they have basically become my family. Every opportunity I get, I want to be around them even if that means I am at work, not working. We all get along so well and it’s so cliche` because everybody says it but it’s true. I hear from all of these veteran actors that come and guest star on the show about how unusual it is that we are all so close.

Wingman: I listened to all of your music that you had on your youtube and your voice is amazing. I love the line in “Give Me Back Sunday” where you say “The only day we can’t have Chick-Fil-a” Now are you an avid Chick-Fil-a eater? How did you think of that specific line of your song?

Hayley Orrantia: First of all, thank you so much that you loved the song, that just means so much to me. Yes, I am an avid Chick-fil-a fan, I go all the time and can name every location in the Los Angeles area. It is a serious addiction! In Texas everyone would go before school or before dance rehearsal and I would go get my chicken  minis and my sweet tea and I would go to class. In the south it is a guilty pleasure that everyone has and we all love it. So when we were writing “Give Me Back Sunday”, in everything I write I try and keep it as personal as possible. I was talking to the two co-writers I was working with and I told them I was feeling homesick and I want to portray that feeling but that it’s so personalized to me. The line about singing Amazing Grace was the song I sang at my grandmother’s funeral because her name was Grace. There are all these little things that occur in the song that a lot of people don’t know about, that are meaningful to me. And with Chick-Fil-A being one of the examples and while we were writing we came across that line and I thought it was funny but really wanted to put it into the song. Because seriously, who puts Chick-Fil-A into a song?! We all agreed that this is truth and honest and when people from the south here this, they will completely agree with the fact that why is it the only time I want Chick-Fil-A is on a Sunday? I am really happy we settled on it because it really made the song stand out more and now it’s become the Chick-Fil-A song (Chuckles).

Wingman: You have done live performances on some of the biggest shows that revolve around music. Compare that for us a little bit as opposed to being on camera on The Goldbergs or any other scripted show.

Hayley Orrantia: It is a completely different thing! With “The Goldbergs” when it comes down to the process of production and preparation of it it is definitely different. With the show, all of the actual scripts are in the hands of the writers, so they are constantly working on material and building their character in their own way. Once we get the material, within the same week we are performing the material and making it happen, but it’s someone else’s work. They put in the time and the writers create the actual story lines. With “The X Factor” we would find out what we are going to perform within the same week, however all of the preparation was up to us. Visually and musically it was our decision on how it would look and sound. There is just so much more panic or chaos on a show like “The X Factor”, because anything can go wrong. There are no do-overs and you either nailed it or you didn’t.

Wingman: Being an actress and singer your voice is your life. You just had surgery on your vocal chords a few months back. How has the recovery affected your careers over the past few months?

Hayley Orrantia: I have to be honest, that I started my YouTube channel because I was frustrated that there weren’t a lot of blogs about the struggle of getting over the surgery. You hear about these well known singers like Adele or Meghan Trainor who had to have a surgery on their vocal chords and they sort of going into hiding instead of talking about the process that they are going through to get better. In my case, I am sitting in the middle of the struggle thinking, “ Am I the only one having this issue or not able to get better?” So it has been hard and it’s still hard and I hope to make another YouTube video about it. Even right now, there is a tension in my vocal chord that is tired and my voice gets tired very quickly. It’s very frustrating when someone like myself is very social and that their job involves their voice. It’s really interesting because the journey through this surgery doesn’t just affect entertainers. I went to Vanderbilt Medical Center, where in the voice clinic they helped me deal with my problems. I looked around the waiting room and there are grandmothers, mothers with five children and children who are all having vocal issues and we are all in the same boat. Everyone’s journey is different but there are steps and ways to get better, and I am in the process of it. It is getting better and I will be over it very soon.