In July 2015, Steinfeld and singer Shawn Mendes released an acoustic version of Mendes' single, "Stitches". The following month, Steinfeld released her certified platinum debut single, "Love Myself", with Republic Records. The song garnered media attention for its empowering message as well as suggestive lyrics that led media outlets to dub the song an "ode to masturbation".
Steinfeld's debut EP, HAIZ (a nickname used by her fans), was released in November 2015. HAIZ was produced by Mattman & Robin and features co-writers Julia Michaels and Justin Tranter. The EP was released to generally positive reviews. In February 2016, Steinfeld released a remixed version of "Rock Bottom", as the second single featuring American funk pop band DNCE. Steinfeld's next single, "Starving", was released in July 2016 to critical acclaim. The song is a collaboration with Grey featuring Zedd and became her biggest hit to date going platinum in Italy, New Zealand, Sweden, the United Kingdom, and the United States, while also going double platinum in Australia and triple platinum in Canada.
In September 2016, Steinfeld played the lead role in The Edge of Seventeen, a coming-of-age comedy co-starring Blake Jenner, Woody Harrelson, and Kyra Sedgwick, and written and directed by Kelly Fremon Craig. The film was released on November 18, 2016, to positive reviews; Steinfeld's performance was praised and earned her a Golden Globe Award nomination.
In early 2017, Steinfeld was featured on two songs: "Show You Love" and "Digital Love". In March, Steinfeld was featured on American rapper Machine Gun Kelly's single "At My Best" taken from his third studio album Bloom. A month later, Steinfeld released her next single "Most Girls". The song received positive reviews and peaked at number 58 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in the United States. Steinfeld performed the song live for the first time at the 2017 Radio Disney Music Awards on April 29. A music video was released and received praise for its message of embracing individuality but also drew some criticism for its lack of diversity. Steinfeld also reprised her role as Emily Junk in Pitch Perfect 3. In September 2017, Steinfeld released the single "Let Me Go", a collaboration with Swedish record producer Alesso featuring Florida Georgia Line and Andrew Watt, which reached number 14 on the Mainstream Top 40 chart. That same month she featured on the remix of "Plot Twist" by Marc E. Bassy.
On January 12, 2018, Steinfeld released "Capital Letters" for the soundtrack to the film Fifty Shades Freed. The song was received with positive reviews and peaked at number 12 on the Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles chart. In March 2018, Steinfeld revealed that she is "wrapping up" work on her debut studio album. She performed at Indonesian Choice Awards in Jakarta, Indonesia the next month. Steinfeld then featured the song "Colour" with MNEK on June 1. In September, she was featured on Logic's album, YSIV, on the song "Ordinary Day" and on Chic's album, It's About Time on the song "Dance with Me".
In late 2018, Steinfeld starred in the Transformers spin-off film Bumblebee and provided the voice of Gwen Stacy/Spider-Woman in the Academy Award-winning animated film Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse. In November, her song "Back to Life" was released as a single from the Bumblebee soundtrack. This marked the first time Steinfeld released a song for a film she starred in, save her work in Pitch Perfect. That same month, hosted and performed at the 2018 MTV Europe Music Awards in Bilbao, Spain.
Steinfeld received a Peabody Award for her work in Dickinson. In January 2019, Steinfeld was featured on the remix of "Woke Up Late" by Drax Project. In August 2019, Steinfeld was featured in the music video for Benny Blanco and Juice Wrld's single "Graduation". She also appeared in a cameo as one of the recruited Angels in the 2019 film Charlie's Angels and also made an appearance on Between Two Ferns: The Movie.
In December 2018, Steinfeld was cast to star as Emily Dickinson in the Apple TV+ period comedy series Dickinson. The show aired on November 1, 2019. To promote the show, Steinfeld released "Afterlife" which featured on the show's first season finale. The show went on for three seasons. In 2020, Steinfeld won a Peabody Award, making Dickinson the first show from Apple TV+ to win the prestigious honor.
Steinfeld released two singles in 2020, "Wrong Direction" and "I Love You's". The tracks acted as the first and second singles, respectively, from her EP Half Written Story, which was released on May 8, 2020. The EP received mixed reviews with critics praising Steinfeld's vocals, confidence, and vulnerability but panning the music. On May 28, 2020, Steinfeld released a single with Taiwanese singer, Chen Linong, titled "Masterpiece".
In December 2020, Steinfeld was cast as Kate Bishop / Hawkeye in the Disney+ Marvel Cinematic Universe series Hawkeye. The show premiered on November 24, 2021, and consisted of six episodes. Her role received positive reviews from critics. Steinfeld is set to reprise the role in future films, noting that she has signed a multi-project deal. Steinfeld also voiced Violet "Vi" in the adult animated show Arcane which was released on November 20, 2021. The show is set in the League of Legends universe.
In April 2022, Steinfeld teased a song titled "Coast". Marking two years since she last released music, "Coast" was released on July 28, 2022, and was a "euphoric, guitar-and-percussion-driven single", featuring American rapper Anderson Paak. A music video premiered on Facebook on November 9, 2022. An acoustic version was released on December 7, 2022. In March 2023, Steinfeld released "SunKissing" which Rolling Stone described as a "vibey, electric guitar-backed pop earworm".
Steinfeld has cited Madonna and Rihanna as her biggest musical influences. Other artists Steinfeld has cited as influences include Britney Spears, Tori Kelly, Selena Gomez, Bruno Mars, and Justin Timberlake. Steinfeld noted their "strength, courage, and their ability to go out and express themselves". She has also said that she grew up listening to Boyz II Men and Luther Vandross due to her mother's love for them.
In 2011, Steinfeld was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her performance in the 2010 film True Grit, making her one of the youngest actresses to be nominated in the category. She also received nominations for a BAFTA Award for Best Actress, a SAG Award, and a Critics' Choice Movie Award for Best Supporting Actress for the same film. In 2016, she was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Best Actress for The Edge of Seventeen.
Steinfeld has also won awards for her music, including a 2017 Billboard Music Award for Top Covered Artist for her song "Most Girls". Her 2015 single "Love Myself" debuted on the Billboard Pop Songs chart at number 27 (later peaking at 15), marking the highest debut for a solo female artist on the chart in 17 years, since Natalie Imbruglia's "Torn" in 1998. The song went on to be certified two times platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). In 2020, "Most Girls" and Steinfeld's collaboration, with Grey and Zedd titled "Starving", were certified two and four times platinum, respectively, by the RIAA.
Outside of her projects in the acting and music industry, Steinfeld has embarked on other ventures. She has been involved in marketing initiatives throughout her career and endorsed numerous brands including Prada, Balmain, and Louis Vuitton. In 2017, Steinfeld began to represent Reef Footwear and MISSION Activewear. In 2018, her line of eyewear called Privé Revaux was launched. In 2022, Steinfeld released "Coast" which coincided with the promotion of her newest role as a brand ambassador for CORE Hydration, promoting the company's "Find Your Core" campaign.
In summer 2023, Steinfeld reprised her role as Gwen Stacy/Spider-Woman in the sequel to 2017's Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse titled Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse. The film gained much acclaim and is currently considered one of the best in the comic book movie genre. Steinfeld's performance was heavily praised. In 2024, Steinfeld is set to reprise her voice role as Gwen Stacy/Spider-Gwen in Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse. A second season of Arcane was also announced.
Starving
Hailee Steinfeld Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Shit, that scares me, I should just walk away
But I can't move my feet
The more that I know you, the more I want to
Something inside me's changed
I was so much younger yesterday, oh
I didn't know that I was starving till I tasted you
By the way, by the way, you do things to my body
I didn't know that I was starving till I tasted you
(I didn't know that I-I didn't know that I-till I tasted you)
(I didn't know that I-I didn't know that I-till I tasted you)
By the way, by the way, you do things to my body
I didn't know that I was starving till I tasted you
You know just how to make my heart beat faster
Emotional earthquake, bring on disaster
You hit me head-on, got me weak in my knees
Yeah, something inside me's changed
I was so much younger yesterday, ye-eah
So much younger yesterday, oh, yeah
I didn't know that I was starving till I tasted you
Don't need no butterflies when you give me the whole damn zoo
By the way, by the way, you do things to my body
I didn't know that I was starving till I tasted you
(I didn't know that I-I didn't know that I-till I tasted you)
(I didn't know that I-I didn't know that I-till I tasted you)
By the way, by the way, you do things to my body
I didn't know that I was starving till I tasted you
You, yeah, till I tasted you
(I didn't know that I-I didn't know that I-till I tasted you)
By the way, by the way, you do things to my body
I didn't know that I was starving till I tasted you, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh
Na-na-na-na
Na-na-na-na
The more that I know you, the more I want to
Something inside me's changed
I was so much younger yesterday
Hailee Steinfeld's song Starving talks about the sudden realization of her hunger for a love so passionate and strong that all others life experiences seem insipid compared to it. Starting the first verse with "You know just what to say/Shit, that scares me, I should just walk away/But I can't move my feet", Hailee depicts the tremulous feeling of a self-awareness of the intensity of the situation, yet she feels powerless to do anything about it. In the lines "I was so much younger yesterday, oh/I didn't know that I was starving till I tasted you", Hailee metaphorically compares her pre-love life to the state of being hungry and unfulfilled, that is to say, something was always missing, and she couldn't figure out what it was until she tasted the feeling of love.
As the song proceeds, the chorus "I didn't know that I was starving till I tasted you/Don't need no butterflies when you give me the whole damn zoo/By the way, by the way, you do things to my body/I didn't know that I was starving till I tasted you" reflects her awe at the feeling of experiencing true love which, in her view, is worth more than just momentary infatuation, shown by the line 'Don't need no butterflies when you give me the whole damn zoo'. The bridge emphasizes the physical and emotional effects of this love-like earthquake: "You know just how to make my heart beat faster/Emotional earthquake, bring on disaster/ You hit me head-on, got me weak in my knees." With these lyrics, Hailee describes the overwhelming nature of the love she feels, which makes her so vulnerable, yet she chooses to embrace it because she has never felt this complete.
Line by Line Meaning
You know just what to say
You are able to say exactly what I want to hear to keep me interested.
Shit, that scares me, I should just walk away
The depth of our connection is so strong that I am afraid to continue down this path.
But I can't move my feet
Despite my fear, my connection to you is so strong that I am unable to walk away.
The more that I know you, the more I want to
As I get to know you better, my desire for you grows stronger.
Something inside me's changed
Being with you has fundamentally altered who I am as a person.
I was so much younger yesterday, oh
Before I met you, I was a different person and my innocence and naivety protected me.
I didn't know that I was starving till I tasted you
Before I met you, I didn't realize how empty my life was.
Don't need no butterflies when you give me the whole damn zoo
Your presence fills me with so much emotion that I don't need just one feeling to describe it.
By the way, by the way, you do things to my body
I don't just love you for your personality, I also desire you physically.
You know just how to make my heart beat faster
You have the ability to excite me and make me feel alive.
Emotional earthquake, bring on disaster
My feelings for you are so intense that it's like an earthquake shaking me to my core.
You hit me head-on, got me weak in my knees
Being with you is like getting hit by a truck, it knocks me off balance and makes me weak.
You, yeah, till I tasted you
You are the missing piece of my life that I didn't know existed before I met you.
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Universal Music Publishing Group, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Anastasia Whiteacre, Christopher Petrosino, Robert Mccurdy, Michael Trewartha, Kyle Trewartha
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
benjawan Likitratjaroen
You know just what to say
[Version with Zedd:] Shit that scares me
[Version with Grey:] Things that scare me
I should just walk away
But I can't move my feet
The more that I know you, the more I want to
Something inside me's changed
I was so much younger yesterday, oh
I didn't know that I was starving 'til I tasted you
Don't need no butterflies when you give me the whole damn zoo
By the way, right away you do things to my body
I didn't know that I was starving 'til I tasted you
I didn't know that I... I didn't know that I... 'til I tasted you
I didn't know that I... I didn't know that I... 'til I tasted you
By the way, right away you do things to my body
I didn't know that I was starving 'til I tasted you
You know just how to make
My heart beat faster
Emotional earthquake,
Bring on disaster
You hit me head on, got me weak in my knees
Yeah, something inside me's changed
I was so much younger yesterday, aye
So much younger yesterday, oh, yeah
I didn't know that I was starving 'til I tasted you
Don't need no butterflies when you give me the whole damn zoo
By the way, right away you do things to my body
I didn't know that I was starving 'til I tasted you
I didn't know that I... I didn't know that I... 'til I tasted you
I didn't know that I... I didn't know that I... 'til I tasted you
By the way, right away you do things to my body
I didn't know that I was starving 'til I tasted you
You, yeah, 'til I tasted you
I didn't know that I... I didn't know that I... 'til I tasted you
By the way,right away you do things to my body
I didn't know that I was starving 'til I tasted you
The more that I know you, the more I want to
Something inside me's changed
I was so much younger yesterday
Lucía
Love this song love the acustic versions. Perfect Hailee
Guilherme 08
Essa música é boa em todas as versões ❤️❤️❤️
Dan Lee
who thinks this is better than the original? :3
Priscille Tranquille
Me! I prefer the acoustic version to the original
Christina Vernon
Le Dong me
Andrew Bokole
i'm a sucker for the chill acoustic stuff
Ankoor Kulkarni
Acoustic version is so much better than the original one,might have hated the song if I would have heard the original one first
Janna Lewis
Le Dong i do
lucii
I love this song. Good job Hailee. Your voice is beautiful. 🔥💗
Kenneth Lao
"I didn't I didn't I did... no need no need no..." I loved how Hailee sang that drop so perfectly by adding her own spin to it!!