Haim (/ˈhaɪɪm/HY-im;[2] meaning "life"in Hebrew;[a] stylized in all caps asHAIM[4]) is an Americanrock band, based in Los Angeles, composed of three sisters,Este (bass guitar and vocals),Danielle (lead vocals, guitar, and drums), andAlana Haim (guitars, keyboards, and vocals). In addition to their primary instruments, each is proficient in several others.
The sisters grew up in a musical family, and began playing instruments from an early age in thecover band Rockinhaim, fronted by their parents,Moti and Donna. The two elder sisters, Este and Danielle, performed briefly with the pop group Valli Girls in 2005, releasing a few songs on soundtrack and compilation albums under that name. In 2007, they formed Haim with younger sister Alana, but did not seriously consider it a professional career for some years. After Danielle became a successful touring guitarist, first withJenny Lewis and later withJulian Casablancas, Haim reformed as a full-time operation in 2012.
The group's first release,Forever (an EP released as a limited-time download), combined with positive reception at theSouth by Southwest festival, led to a deal withPolydor Records, and a management deal withJay-Z'sRoc Nation group in mid-2012. The band began recording material for their first album,Days Are Gone (2013), in sessions between touring dates, including appearances at theGlastonbury Festival. The album charted in the top ten in several countries, including the number-one spot in the UK, and the group had won several "best of" awards by the end of 2013. The group was nominated forBest New Artist at the57th Annual Grammy Awards. Their second album,Something to Tell You, was released in July 2017. Their third album, titledWomen in Music Pt. III, was released in June 2020. The group received nominations at the63rd Annual Grammy Awards forAlbum of the Year (forWomen in Music Pt. III) andBest Rock Performance (for "The Steps"). The group's fourth studio albumI Quit was released on June 20, 2025 to favorable reviews.
The three sisters, Este Arielle (born March 14, 1986), Danielle Sari (born February 16, 1989) and Alana Mychal (born December 15, 1991) were all born and raised in theSan Fernando Valley, California, U.S., to Jewish parents.[5] Their Israeli-born fatherMordechai "Moti" Haim and their American mother Donna were both musical; though he had been a professional soccer player in Israel, Moti also played drums, while Donna won a contest onThe Gong Show in the 1970s singing aBonnie Raitt song.[6][7][8] Their father's maternal Jewish family is originally fromBulgaria.[9] While Danielle showed an aptitude for the guitar at a young age, Moti made the decision that Este would be more suited to the bass, buying her a second-handFender for $50.[10] The siblings were encouraged to listen to their parents' 1970sclassic rock andAmericana records and, during their childhood, the family formed a band called Rockinhaim to play cover versions at local charity fairs, with Moti on drums and Donna on guitar.[7][11][12] In 2000, the group performed their first rock concert at Los Angeles'Canter's Deli.[13] They played typical wedding band material, includingthe Beatles' "Get Back",Billy Joel's "You May Be Right" andVan Morrison's "Brown Eyed Girl",[14] but did only free community and benefit gigs at churches, schools and hospitals.[6]
In 2004, Danielle and Este were invited to join the Valli Girls, an all-female pop rock group signed toColumbia Records.[15] They recorded a few one-off songs, and later appeared on the soundtrack to the 2005 filmThe Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants.[10] The group made an appearance at the2005 Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards, and their song "Valli Nation" was included in the companion soundtrack. Danielle and Este left the group shortly afterwards.[15][16] As they grew older, the sisters became more interested in incorporating pop andcontemporary R&B into their music, and in 2007 they decided to form their own band.[10] For their first gig, the trio played at a Jewish deli in Hollywood and were paid inmatzah ball soup.[17] Early gigs were sparsely populated; Danielle recalled, "We were [at the] bottom of the bill at 50-capacity venues and no one would show up".[18] For the next five years, Haim played local venues but did not consider music as a professional career, because all three sisters were busy with other projects. Este was studying atUCLA and graduated in 2010 with a degree inethnomusicology,[11][14][19][20] specializing in Bulgarian and Brazilian music.[14] Alana attendedLos Angeles County High School for the Arts and graduated in 2010.[21][22]
After graduating from high school, Danielle was spotted by musicianJenny Lewis at a jam session inLaurel Canyon, which led to Danielle joining Lewis's touring band.[10]The Strokes' lead vocalistJulian Casablancas came to see one of Lewis's shows on tour, and he in turn asked Danielle to play guitar and percussion on his solo tour.[12] Danielle rehearsed with Casablancas' band every day for two months, which she later described as "an eye-opening experience."[14] Following working with Casablancas from late 2009 to mid 2010, she auditioned for a place inScarlet Fever, the all-female backing band forCeeLo Green. Danielle performed only once with the group, onThe Tonight Show with Jay Leno.[23] While Danielle enjoyed touring, she decided she would prefer to perform her own music alongside her sisters,[14] turning down a lucrative tour deal with Green.[18] Casablancas advised Danielle to write stronger material and focus on recording, as it would improve their online presence.[10]
After playing shows supportingEdward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros,the Henry Clay People andKesha, Haim released theEPForever, which included three songs, in February 2012 as a time-limited free download on their website. Dash Hutton officially joined as drummer at the EP's release party at the Los Angeles Bootleg Theatre.[6] He is the son ofThree Dog Night'sDanny Hutton[24] and knew Este socially after she had seen his old band,Wires on Fire.[6][19] The EP received attention from the music industry following a successful series of shows at theSouth by Southwest festival in March.[25] Danielle recalled the first show was "maybe a disaster", but the remainder of the shows attracted more attention.[14] The band subsequently signed a deal withPolydor Records in the UK in June.[26]
In July, independent record label National Anthem re-released theForever EP on 10" vinyl, containing the original three songs along with a fourth track, a remix of "Forever" byDan Lissvik.[27] Following dates supportingMumford & Sons on their Gentlemen of the Road tour in the US in August,[28][29] Haim toured the UK for the first time in November 2012[30] and then supportedFlorence and the Machine on their UK and Ireland tour in December.[31][32]
British music magazineNME made the title track of theForever EP its No. 4 track of 2012.[33] On January 4, 2013, theBBC announced that Haim had topped their annualSound of 2013 music industry poll to find the most promising new musical acts for the coming year.[34] The group also signed a management contract with the conglomerateRoc Nation, returned to South by SouthWest in March 2013[35] and earned their own "At Your Request" video feature onIdolator.[36] In early 2013, they were featured on American recording artistKid Cudi's third studio albumIndicud, on the song titled "Red Eye".[37] Danielle Haim appeared on the first track, "You're No Good", fromMajor Lazer's second album,Free the Universe, alongsideSantigold,Vybz Kartel and Yasmin.[38]
The group spent a year recording their first album,Days Are Gone, in sessions between live shows.[10] The group experimented withdrum machines and the music programGarageBand, addinghip hop andR&B influences to their existing sound.[10] Polydor recommended producersAriel Rechtshaid andJames Ford to help with the album, and they suggested further use of synthesizers, bringing the album closer to a straightforward pop style.[39] Several of the drum tracks were recorded withgated reverb, made famous byPhil Collins.[40] In June 2013, the group performed atGlastonbury Festival, and in addition to their own set, the band appeared withPrimal Scream performing backing vocals on "It's Alright, It's OK", "Rocks" and "Come Together."[3] The band later returned for a repeat performance at Glastonbury in 2014.[41] During their set in 2013, Este, who was diagnosed withType 1 diabetes in 2000, nearly had adiabetic seizure after taking insulin and forgetting to eat after. After going backstage, she returned, albeit sitting for the rest of their set.[42][43][44]
The single "The Wire" was released on July 29 and the album followed on September 30.[45] The album reached number one in the UK and has since sold 200,000 copies there.[46][47] To promote the album, the group performed "The Wire" on theBBC'sThe Andrew Marr Show, with Este dedicating the song to the then-British Prime MinisterDavid Cameron, also a guest on the show.[48] The move was criticised as being ill-judged by musicianJohnny Marr ofthe Smiths, who stated that "It's really simple: they made themselves look like idiots. It's ridiculous. No-one put a gun to their head. TheConservatives tried to do the same thing with the Smiths, to re-appropriate us in a false way, to be cool by association.” Haim did not respond.[49][50]
Haim subsequently toured Europe throughout the remainder of 2013, recruiting touring keyboardist Tommy King,[51] as well as performing as the musical guest onSaturday Night Live on November 23 with hostJosh Hutcherson. The group performed "The Wire" and "Don't Save Me", and Este considered this performance particularly poignant as a high school drama teacher had once told her, "You're never going to be onSaturday Night Live."[52] The main US tour followed in April 2014 and continued into May.[53] In 2014, the sisters recorded backing vocals with thesupergroupthe New Basement Tapes for their albumLost on the River, performing on the tracks "Kansas City" and "The Whistle Is Blowing".[54][55][56]
The group have become friends with singer-songwriterTaylor Swift, and together they have visitedCatalina andMaui, Hawaii.[64] In the summer of 2015, Haim opened for Taylor Swift at select dates onThe 1989 World Tour.[65][66] The group were nominated for Best New Artist at the57th Annual Grammy Awards.[67] Danielle was injured in an accident just before the awards, but shortly afterwardstweeted that she was recovering.[68]
In March 2016, Haim released a teaser announcing new music and a new tour for that summer.[69][70] In an interview withNME on January 18, 2017, Haim announced their second album would be released that summer.[71] In April, a teaser video shot by Paul Thomas Anderson was released of a new song, "Right Now" from their second album,Something to Tell You, released on July 7. Itslead single, "Want You Back", was released on May 3.[72] The band followed up the release with various promotional appearances, including a return appearance onSaturday Night Live, where they performed "Want You Back" and "Little of Your Love".[73] Hutton left the band in 2017 to focus on his own projects.[74] In early 2018, Haim announced theSister Sister Sister Tour for the United States,[75] Europe[76] and the United Kingdom.[77]
On November 11, 2018, the group performed at Vetsaid 2018, within a lineup alongsideRingo Starr,James Taylor andDon Henley of theEagles.[78] On March 6, 2019, the band announced they were headlining the 14th annualPitchfork Music Festival in Chicago alongside headlinersRobyn andthe Isley Brothers.[79] On April 4, 2019, Danielle announced via the band's social media pages that the band had been recording new music and were preparing for a summer 2019 release.[80][81] Danielle contributed extensively toFather of the Bride, the fourth studio album byVampire Weekend, as well as providing drums on several songs onImmunity byClairo. In July 2019, they released the song "Summer Girl", which was inspired by producer and Danielle's partner Ariel Rechtshaid's fight with cancer. They stated shortly afterwards that more music would be released in the coming months with the single "Now I'm in It" being released on October 30.[82] Haim also released another new single, "Hallelujah", on November 18.[83]
On February 27, 2020, the Haim sisters appeared inThundercat's music video for "Dragonball Durag".[84][85] On March 2, 2020, the band shared a release date of April 24 for their third album,Women in Music Pt. III, with promotional single "The Steps" to be released March 2.[86][87] On March 23, the band announced their intentions to delay the release of the album until June 26, due to thecoronavirus outbreak.[88] On May 22, they released another single "Don't Wanna", produced byRostam, Rechtshaid, and Danielle.[89]Women in Music Pt. III received acclaim from critics[90] and the band announced theOne More Haim Tour for the UK on July 31.[91][92] In August 2020, it was reported that Alana had been cast in the comedy drama filmLicorice Pizza, which started filming that month, with Este and Danielle also appearing in small supporting roles.[93] In December 2020, it was announced the group would be featured on the track "No Body, No Crime" fromTaylor Swift's ninth studio albumEvermore; the song became the second single of the album on January 11, 2021.[94][95] On February 18, 2021, Haim released a remix of their song "Gasoline", featuring Swift, along with an expanded version ofWomen in Music Pt. III.[96] The expanded version also included a remix of "3 AM" featuringThundercat.[97]
Haim in London, England, in July 2022
Haim was nominated in two categories at the63rd Annual Grammy Awards in 2021, including for Album of the Year (Women in Music Pt. III), making them the first all-female rock band to hold the distinction, along with a Best Rock Performance nomination for "The Steps".[98] The band signed with Netflix to produce the soundtrack for an upcoming animated feature film,The Witch Boy.[99] The band appeared in the music video of Swift's song "Bejeweled", released on October 25, 2022.[100]
On January 16, 2023, in a video posted toTikTok, Haim announced that they were back in the studio working on their fourth album.[101][102] The band was an opening act on multiple shows of the US leg of Swift'sThe Eras Tour in 2023, later performing their song "No Body, No Crime" with Swift during the headline slot alongside their opening set (marking its live debut).[103][104] On July 21, 2023, the band released their single "Home", featuring on the soundtrack for theBarbie movie.[105]
On March 5, 2025, Haim announced the release of their new single "Relationships".[106] On March 12, the track was released along with its music video, which was directed byCamille Summers-Valli and features American actorDrew Starkey.[107] On April 4, the band released the second single from their fourth studio album, "Everybody’s Trying To Figure Me Out", co-written with Rostam Batmanglij andJustin Vernon.[108] On April 24 and May 30, two more singles were released: "Down to Be Wrong" and "Take Me Back".[109][110] The former came out with a music video starring American actorLogan Lerman.[111] The group's fourth album,I Quit, was released on June 20, 2025.[112] The same day, the music video for its fifth single, "All Over Me", featuringWill Poulter,Archie Madekwe, andNabhaan Rizwan, was released.[113] Haim also released a deluxe version of the album on October 17, 2025, which included three new songs, "Tie You Down" featuringBon Iver, "The Story of Us, and "Even the Bad Times."
The group has rejected the "girl band" label, preferring to be respected as musicians on their individual merits. Alana stated, "When people call us a girl band, I take it as an insult – being a girl in a band shouldn't be a thing."[47] All three sisters are proficient on more than one instrument: Este plays both guitar and bass, Danielle plays guitar and drums, and Alana plays guitar, keyboards and percussion.[19] For live performances, Este plays bass, Danielle plays lead guitar and sings lead vocals, and Alana plays rhythm guitar along with keyboards and percussion. All three sisters contributethree part vocal harmony.[8][19] As the lead singer, Danielle'scontralto vocals have been described as "rich" and "earthy".[124][125][126][127] Elaina Crockett ofThe Daily Orange has described all three members as altos, observing that they rarely sing beyond this range.[128]
The band's live sound differs from that in the studio. Writing forNME, Hazel Sheffield said thatDays Are Gone "may confuse those won over by their raw, rocking live shows."[39] Recordings demonstrate the group's vocal pop style, while the group plays typical rock material such as Fleetwood Mac's "Oh Well" in concert.[18] The group's background in wedding bands from their days as Rockinhaim has led them to cover many different songs live and for radio sessions, includingMiley Cyrus' "Wrecking Ball",Sheryl Crow's "Strong Enough" and the Strokes' "I'll Try Anything Once" (an early version of "You Only Live Once").[129][130] Este acts as the group'sMC onstage, announcing most of the songs.[18] Many of her on-stage antics, such as her blunt and coarse banter with the audience, frequentilleism and her facial expressions (known as the "bass face") while playing, are staples of the band's live shows and, to a lesser extent, the band's public image.[11]
Haim is also recognized for their music videos, which frequently follow the band members inlong takes as they casually stride through various Los Angeles locations.[131][132] Dance criticGia Kourles has described this style of movement as a form ofpostmodern dance, and has observed that Este had childhood aspirations of being a professional dancer.[133] Additionally,Margaret Talbot has noted the irony of this motif, given that Los Angeles is known for being "the city where, cliché has it, nobody walks".[134] Alana has said of the trend, "We always find it so funny that our fans are like, 'They’re so great at walking.' It’s such aneasy thing to do." The band members have cited their fondness for learningchoreography, as well as their parents' decision to instill a love of dance when they were children, as factors behind the prevalence of movement in their videos.[133]
Critical reaction to Haim has mostly been positive.[135]PopMatters' Matt James wrote "It'd be hard to truly dislike Haim. They're an eminently likeable, albeit slightly kooky, trio whose story already bears the frisson of legend."[136] Writing forThe Guardian, Alexis Petridis praised the band's songwriting abilities, saying it "has a certain kind of glossily depthless pop perfection down pat".[40] The band's sound has been described as "nu-folk-meets-nineties-R&B"[7] and "music that sounds like it was written on a lakeside retreat attended byStevie Nicks,John Waite andEn Vogue".[11]
In her survey of pop music in 2013,Observer criticKitty Empire praised the band for "using the vector of harmonies to splice R&B with 1970s soft rock. They laid waste, too, to a herd of ghastly old hobby horses about guitar bands being unmarketable and record sales only being tied to women's state of undress."[137] In 2013,The Independent was more ambivalent about the band, saying there was "an insubstantiality at their core" of their music, as they "plug unashamedly" into the heritage of acts such asFleetwood Mac andthe Bangles, ultimately finding Haim as "Okay, but not much more".[138]
After the release ofWomen in Music Pt. III, critical reception continued to improve.Pitchfork praised the "evolution" of the band, calling its songwriting "more nuanced, more self-aware, and frequently darker than ever before" and explaining that the album demonstrated Haim being "eminently proficient musicians, entertainers, and 'women in music,' but full of flaws and contradictions, becoming something much greater." The magazine awarded the album an 8.6 rating.[139]The Independent called the album "fearless" and "effervescent" and gave it five stars, noting that the band had left behind their trademark "sunny, classic-rock-indebted sound" for "a dark road."[140]
^abcdMcCormick, Neil (September 30, 2013)."Haim interview".The Daily Telegraph.Archived from the original on October 20, 2014. RetrievedOctober 20, 2014.
^Jeffries, David."Free The Universe". AllMusic.Archived from the original on October 27, 2014. RetrievedOctober 14, 2014.
^abcSheffield, Hazel (September 30, 2013)."Haim – 'Days Are Gone'".NME.Archived from the original on March 5, 2016. RetrievedOctober 21, 2014.
^abPetridis, Alexis (September 26, 2013)."Haim: Days Are Gone – review".The Guardian.Archived from the original on September 28, 2014. RetrievedOctober 21, 2014.
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