December 9, 2024 • 11 mins
Cassie Henderson first reached Kiwi ears at age 14, when she made it all the way to the X-Factor quarterfinal.
Fast forward 11 years and it’s been a big year for the Kiwi singer, returning to the music scene in a big way.
Henderson quit her job last year in favour of pursuing music full time.
She’s released a couple of EPs, and her latest, ‘The Yellow Chapter’, marks the midpoint of Henderson’s ‘The Chronicles of a Heart Broken’ trilogy.
The lead single ‘Seconds to Midnight’ has dominated the airwaves, holding the #1 position for nine consecutive weeks.
Henderson told Heather du Plessis-Allan that while she was able to juggle both her career in marketing and her music, the progress she made after quitting her job was extreme in comparison.
“I think I can do both, and I enjoy both,” she said.
“But I think I reached a point where I was like, I don’t want the rest of my life to be a marketing manager or a marketing assistant.”
“I need to chase this story.”
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
So kir We.
Speaker 2 (00:00):
Audiences were first introduced to our next guest when she
was fourteen years old, Cassie Henderson. She went on X
Factor made it all the way to the quarter final.
Fast forward eleven years later, it's been a big year
for Cassie. She's taken some time off from music, been
back in a big way, though credits her ex boyfriend
for it, which is very adele like. She brought out
a couple of EPs this year. Her latest one just
(00:21):
out is called The Yellow Chapter. Cassie, good morning, Hello,
how you doing well? Thank you, thanks for coming in.
So you've quit your job?
Speaker 3 (00:27):
Have you? I have quit my job. I've quit my
job last year and I've been doing music full time
ever since.
Speaker 2 (00:34):
Did you have to quit your job to do it?
Your marketing job, your well paid marketing job, to do music?
Speaker 4 (00:38):
Oh?
Speaker 3 (00:39):
I mean I have juggled both for a very very
long time. Like while I was at university, I was
doing music, and while I was working, I was doing music.
And I found that the progress I made as soon
as I quit my job was an extreme amount compared
to while I was trying to juggle.
Speaker 2 (00:54):
Because are you one of those people who you have
to focus on something totally or you don't focus enough.
Speaker 3 (01:00):
Well, I think I can do both and I enjoy both.
Like I enjoyed working in marketing, but I think I
reached a point where I was like, I don't want
the rest of my life to be a marketing manager
or a marketing assistant. I want to be a musician.
And when I kind of came to that conclusion, I
was like, there's no point in me being here right now.
I need to chase this story.
Speaker 2 (01:20):
Or what about the money point?
Speaker 3 (01:22):
Well, I mean the money comes if you work hard
enough for the other side.
Speaker 2 (01:25):
So yeah, so it can be quite lucrative. And also
you seem to have like a real pressure on you
time wise that you're putting on yourself.
Speaker 4 (01:33):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (01:33):
Well, I think just the nature of especially being a
female in this industry is that you're always going to
have a bit of a ticking time bomb on you.
But the industry is kind of changing a little bit
around that, Like we're not just expectant of child stars constantly,
like we're accepting like older women coming into this industry.
Speaker 2 (01:52):
So do you think do you think that the limit
was that we only want hot young babes when it's women,
But when it's old dudes can handle a bit of
a Barry Man alone or something.
Speaker 3 (02:01):
Yeah, I honestly do. I think we're a lot more
accepting of like older, older male artists coming in, but
older women we're kind of like, wait, you can't still
be talking about your boyfriends, Like that's strange.
Speaker 2 (02:14):
I'm wrecking my brain now to think of old lady
artists aren't really well.
Speaker 3 (02:18):
Adele is an incredible example of a woman who has
just continued to like speak a truth in all of
her music, and I think that's something that really inspires me.
But like you have people artists like Pink and they're
not old but not at.
Speaker 2 (02:31):
All, and like, what are these women in their forties? Yeah,
exact contrasts like Bruce Springsteen.
Speaker 3 (02:36):
Men a lot, who's doing the big tours still? Yeah,
so Stewart, Yeah, headlined Glastonbury exactly, and they're all incredible artists.
I think it's just we were just a lot more
fond of like maybe even in Britney Spears's time, when
like these young artists were coming up and dancing on
the stage and that was kind of almost felt like
all we were kind of good for was that young
(02:58):
period of our lives, but I've I feel like I
just write about my life and the things that have
happened to me, and so hopefully that continues to be
relevant to my life.
Speaker 2 (03:06):
I did wonder though, if that's because maybe women sort
of get over it, Like we're much more rational than guys,
do you know what I mean? So you guys like
I want to be young forever, whereas women get to
a point where we're like, actually, i've made enough money,
I should do the gardens now.
Speaker 5 (03:18):
Some gardening.
Speaker 3 (03:19):
Yeah, I don't know. I think I will constantly just
never be able to get over anything in my entire life,
which is kind of what I've seen from my past breakups.
I could just continue to write about them, so maybe
that'll maybe that'll keep me in the industry for long.
Speaker 2 (03:35):
So I heard your song not realizing it was your
song on the radio, and I thought it was taite.
Speaker 3 (03:41):
I love that. That's my favorite compliment.
Speaker 2 (03:43):
Did you mean for that to happen?
Speaker 3 (03:45):
Which one was that with the most recent one? Seeking
sim Nay, I mean for me. Actually that song wasn't
really I didn't really have much of a Taylor's with
reference point on that one. But she's been my idol
and like she doesn't know it, but my mentor throughout
my entire career, so sare her writing style is definitely
heavily ingrained into how I write.
Speaker 2 (04:06):
Yeah, so maybe subconsciously you were doing it. Yeah, did
you mean to go hard on the eighty synth in that?
Because totally I love an eighty synth and I was
loving that it was in there so heavily.
Speaker 3 (04:16):
It's so good, and I think I love that it's
coming back around into pop music, like you're hearing them
so much more these days. And I think for us,
we were We just really wanted to speak the truth
of the song, which was this like happy, upbeat feeling
of a New Year's Eve party while also like being
sat next to a miserable, sad person who's just been
(04:36):
stood up, which is kind of the vibe you get
musically in the song as well, Like those eighties sents
kind of give you that upbeat, but also.
Speaker 2 (04:43):
And what are you? Who are you and the song?
Are you the miserable person or you're the upbeat person.
Speaker 3 (04:47):
I'm the miserable person.
Speaker 2 (04:47):
Oh, you're the one's moved down because of the breakoup?
Is that what it was?
Speaker 5 (04:52):
Well?
Speaker 3 (04:52):
I think I think at those parties, the miserable people
are usually the most fun because they're just trying to
pretend like they're not sad.
Speaker 2 (04:59):
You know, from one extreme to the other. Guessie, what
did this guy do to you? You've written an entire
album about it?
Speaker 3 (05:05):
Oh, honestly, it's I don't write specifically about like one
thing or one person. I get inspired by different things
that have happened to me over my life, and this
situation was inspired by a story where I was kind
of stood up on New Year's Eve. Yeah, and I
mean they might say I wasn't stood up in my head,
I was, but feeds into the delusion. But yeah, it's
(05:28):
it's based off a real event that happened to me,
and I thought that would make a really great song.
Speaker 2 (05:32):
So yeah, I love that you described writing songs as
folding washing, which is what I mean. It sounds romantic
to the rest of us who don't write songs, but actually,
for you, it's just a day job, isn't it.
Speaker 3 (05:43):
Yeah, well, it's a day job. And it's also it
is just like something that you have to do every day.
I think like it has to be done every day
otherwise you don't develop the skill and when you boil
it down to that, it's really it's not that romantic sometimes.
Speaker 2 (05:59):
Now, I was reading something that you've given an interview about.
I can't remember what it was, but you said that
you were going to go, you want to take this overseas?
So what are you waiting for?
Speaker 3 (06:06):
Oh? Well, I definitely, I definitely am. I think at
the moment, I have want to finish my current project,
which is the Chronicles of a Heartbroken Trilogy EPs, put
out my first tool already, I've got one more to go,
and then I think I've got a really solid musical
ground to start expanding overseas.
Speaker 2 (06:22):
Because do you have to take when you go overseas,
like a portfolio of work and sell yourself with it.
Speaker 3 (06:27):
Yeah, like you have to take a portfolio. You have
to be able to show that you can perform live,
you can do it basically anything that anybody asks of
you when you go over there. And that's what I've
been doing while i've been here is really building up
my skill set and making sure that when I go,
I am one hundred percent ready to do that.
Speaker 2 (06:44):
Yeah, Because you've got to be able to head a stage, yeah,
not feel nervous know what you're doing, know how to
pose for your photographs, right, It's a.
Speaker 3 (06:52):
Skill that I've been working on currently. I was terrible,
terrible model.
Speaker 2 (06:55):
So what's going for it? How nice? Because we all
need it.
Speaker 3 (06:58):
I don't think I really have one. I think you
just have to find somebody who can make you comfortable.
Speaker 2 (07:03):
But do you drop your chin? Don't you?
Speaker 1 (07:05):
Yeah?
Speaker 3 (07:05):
I hear you drop the chin and you look above
the camera. Maybe, but that makes me look a little
crazy sometimes. Honestly, I'm still working on it. But yeah, no,
I've just been I've been really working hard to come
over as a solid package that knows what they want
and knows what they want to do. And that's it's
a difficult thing to work out who you are as
an artist.
Speaker 2 (07:25):
So yeah, is he going to sing as a song?
What's the song?
Speaker 5 (07:28):
This song is.
Speaker 3 (07:28):
Called seconds to Midnight and what's my song? Yeah?
Speaker 2 (07:32):
All right, yeah, off you go?
Speaker 5 (07:39):
Why do I feel like I'm the one with issues
with that? Coming on? Too?
Speaker 6 (07:43):
Strong?
Speaker 4 (07:44):
Guy?
Speaker 5 (07:45):
Wrong? When I kissed you, I kill you and Babytha,
you know, dancing in the dark isn't hard, it's mysterious.
Your handle them my hard in your arms. It was serious.
I wanted you. You said you want me to, but
(08:10):
it out eleven fifty nine and stood under the sky
and saw by your side while I was calm, God.
Speaker 1 (08:22):
Oh, this was meant to be the best night. You
chose to stand me up.
Speaker 4 (08:30):
But that's fine, old man. I can't get it why
you did?
Speaker 2 (08:35):
Run for dear life?
Speaker 4 (08:37):
Seconds to midnight? Just seconds to midnight?
Speaker 5 (08:47):
But wait, just a minute, she's a friend. Are you kidding?
Know it's happening again, will it? And now I'm spinning
like a didser. I always danced with you, so now
I'm someone in the street. The city's gonna know. You
(09:07):
couldn't be the screen. Now I'll never let it go.
Speaker 4 (09:11):
And now you choose some girl you'll never know.
Speaker 5 (09:19):
But at eleven fifty nine, stood under the sky and
saw by your.
Speaker 4 (09:25):
Side, Why was calm? And die?
Speaker 1 (09:31):
No, this was meant to be your first night. You
chose to stand me up. But that's fine. A man
can't get it right. They've run for dear life.
Speaker 4 (09:47):
Sacads to midnight, tall dark and hand me like a firework.
Speaker 6 (09:54):
He chance to me because I'll never call my man babe,
mcast run.
Speaker 4 (10:02):
For dear life sadds to midnight to sadamenta.
Speaker 5 (10:13):
But when the sun rises and the drinks weear off,
do you think about it? Do you carry on the
lies you in the break.
Speaker 2 (10:26):
Got to think of me?
Speaker 5 (10:29):
How you got it wrong? God is wrong? You got
it wrong. You'll think of me when you.
Speaker 4 (10:38):
Hear this side.
Speaker 3 (10:44):
Oh, this is meant to be a first time.
Speaker 4 (10:50):
You chose to send me up. And that's fine a
time baby Mom's Ryan's run for dear life and say
pegs to dog you hand me live files.
Speaker 6 (11:08):
Guys, cost for denstant.
Speaker 4 (11:20):
To save me, to sack me?
Speaker 3 (11:29):
How good?
Speaker 1 (11:31):
So good?
Speaker 2 (11:31):
And do you see what I mean? I mean you
don't need me to tell you this, but tit. Oh,
thank you vibes, thank you.
Speaker 3 (11:37):
She is my inspirationion icon mother.
Speaker 2 (11:41):
Cassie, thank you so much for coming and go well
with everything you've got planned for yourself. Thank you, Cassie. Yeah,
and if you want to get a hold of it,
the EP is called the Yellow Chapter. For more from
the Mic Asking Breakfast, listen live to news talks. It'd
be from six am weekdays, or follow the podcast on iHeartRadio.
So kir We.
Speaker 2 (00:00):
Audiences were first introduced to our next guest when she
was fourteen years old, Cassie Henderson. She went on X
Factor made it all the way to the quarter final.
Fast forward eleven years later, it's been a big year
for Cassie. She's taken some time off from music, been
back in a big way, though credits her ex boyfriend
for it, which is very adele like. She brought out
a couple of EPs this year. Her latest one just
(00:21):
out is called The Yellow Chapter. Cassie, good morning, Hello,
how you doing well? Thank you, thanks for coming in.
So you've quit your job?
Speaker 3 (00:27):
Have you? I have quit my job. I've quit my
job last year and I've been doing music full time
ever since.
Speaker 2 (00:34):
Did you have to quit your job to do it?
Your marketing job, your well paid marketing job, to do music?
Speaker 4 (00:38):
Oh?
Speaker 3 (00:39):
I mean I have juggled both for a very very
long time. Like while I was at university, I was
doing music, and while I was working, I was doing music.
And I found that the progress I made as soon
as I quit my job was an extreme amount compared
to while I was trying to juggle.
Speaker 2 (00:54):
Because are you one of those people who you have
to focus on something totally or you don't focus enough.
Speaker 3 (01:00):
Well, I think I can do both and I enjoy both.
Like I enjoyed working in marketing, but I think I
reached a point where I was like, I don't want
the rest of my life to be a marketing manager
or a marketing assistant. I want to be a musician.
And when I kind of came to that conclusion, I
was like, there's no point in me being here right now.
I need to chase this story.
Speaker 2 (01:20):
Or what about the money point?
Speaker 3 (01:22):
Well, I mean the money comes if you work hard
enough for the other side.
Speaker 2 (01:25):
So yeah, so it can be quite lucrative. And also
you seem to have like a real pressure on you
time wise that you're putting on yourself.
Speaker 4 (01:33):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (01:33):
Well, I think just the nature of especially being a
female in this industry is that you're always going to
have a bit of a ticking time bomb on you.
But the industry is kind of changing a little bit
around that, Like we're not just expectant of child stars constantly,
like we're accepting like older women coming into this industry.
Speaker 2 (01:52):
So do you think do you think that the limit
was that we only want hot young babes when it's women,
But when it's old dudes can handle a bit of
a Barry Man alone or something.
Speaker 3 (02:01):
Yeah, I honestly do. I think we're a lot more
accepting of like older, older male artists coming in, but
older women we're kind of like, wait, you can't still
be talking about your boyfriends, Like that's strange.
Speaker 2 (02:14):
I'm wrecking my brain now to think of old lady
artists aren't really well.
Speaker 3 (02:18):
Adele is an incredible example of a woman who has
just continued to like speak a truth in all of
her music, and I think that's something that really inspires me.
But like you have people artists like Pink and they're
not old but not at.
Speaker 2 (02:31):
All, and like, what are these women in their forties? Yeah,
exact contrasts like Bruce Springsteen.
Speaker 3 (02:36):
Men a lot, who's doing the big tours still? Yeah,
so Stewart, Yeah, headlined Glastonbury exactly, and they're all incredible artists.
I think it's just we were just a lot more
fond of like maybe even in Britney Spears's time, when
like these young artists were coming up and dancing on
the stage and that was kind of almost felt like
all we were kind of good for was that young
(02:58):
period of our lives, but I've I feel like I
just write about my life and the things that have
happened to me, and so hopefully that continues to be
relevant to my life.
Speaker 2 (03:06):
I did wonder though, if that's because maybe women sort
of get over it, Like we're much more rational than guys,
do you know what I mean? So you guys like
I want to be young forever, whereas women get to
a point where we're like, actually, i've made enough money,
I should do the gardens now.
Speaker 5 (03:18):
Some gardening.
Speaker 3 (03:19):
Yeah, I don't know. I think I will constantly just
never be able to get over anything in my entire life,
which is kind of what I've seen from my past breakups.
I could just continue to write about them, so maybe
that'll maybe that'll keep me in the industry for long.
Speaker 2 (03:35):
So I heard your song not realizing it was your
song on the radio, and I thought it was taite.
Speaker 3 (03:41):
I love that. That's my favorite compliment.
Speaker 2 (03:43):
Did you mean for that to happen?
Speaker 3 (03:45):
Which one was that with the most recent one? Seeking
sim Nay, I mean for me. Actually that song wasn't
really I didn't really have much of a Taylor's with
reference point on that one. But she's been my idol
and like she doesn't know it, but my mentor throughout
my entire career, so sare her writing style is definitely
heavily ingrained into how I write.
Speaker 2 (04:06):
Yeah, so maybe subconsciously you were doing it. Yeah, did
you mean to go hard on the eighty synth in that?
Because totally I love an eighty synth and I was
loving that it was in there so heavily.
Speaker 3 (04:16):
It's so good, and I think I love that it's
coming back around into pop music, like you're hearing them
so much more these days. And I think for us,
we were We just really wanted to speak the truth
of the song, which was this like happy, upbeat feeling
of a New Year's Eve party while also like being
sat next to a miserable, sad person who's just been
(04:36):
stood up, which is kind of the vibe you get
musically in the song as well, Like those eighties sents
kind of give you that upbeat, but also.
Speaker 2 (04:43):
And what are you? Who are you and the song?
Are you the miserable person or you're the upbeat person.
Speaker 3 (04:47):
I'm the miserable person.
Speaker 2 (04:47):
Oh, you're the one's moved down because of the breakoup?
Is that what it was?
Speaker 5 (04:52):
Well?
Speaker 3 (04:52):
I think I think at those parties, the miserable people
are usually the most fun because they're just trying to
pretend like they're not sad.
Speaker 2 (04:59):
You know, from one extreme to the other. Guessie, what
did this guy do to you? You've written an entire
album about it?
Speaker 3 (05:05):
Oh, honestly, it's I don't write specifically about like one
thing or one person. I get inspired by different things
that have happened to me over my life, and this
situation was inspired by a story where I was kind
of stood up on New Year's Eve. Yeah, and I
mean they might say I wasn't stood up in my head,
I was, but feeds into the delusion. But yeah, it's
(05:28):
it's based off a real event that happened to me,
and I thought that would make a really great song.
Speaker 2 (05:32):
So yeah, I love that you described writing songs as
folding washing, which is what I mean. It sounds romantic
to the rest of us who don't write songs, but actually,
for you, it's just a day job, isn't it.
Speaker 3 (05:43):
Yeah, well, it's a day job. And it's also it
is just like something that you have to do every day.
I think like it has to be done every day
otherwise you don't develop the skill and when you boil
it down to that, it's really it's not that romantic sometimes.
Speaker 2 (05:59):
Now, I was reading something that you've given an interview about.
I can't remember what it was, but you said that
you were going to go, you want to take this overseas?
So what are you waiting for?
Speaker 3 (06:06):
Oh? Well, I definitely, I definitely am. I think at
the moment, I have want to finish my current project,
which is the Chronicles of a Heartbroken Trilogy EPs, put
out my first tool already, I've got one more to go,
and then I think I've got a really solid musical
ground to start expanding overseas.
Speaker 2 (06:22):
Because do you have to take when you go overseas,
like a portfolio of work and sell yourself with it.
Speaker 3 (06:27):
Yeah, like you have to take a portfolio. You have
to be able to show that you can perform live,
you can do it basically anything that anybody asks of
you when you go over there. And that's what I've
been doing while i've been here is really building up
my skill set and making sure that when I go,
I am one hundred percent ready to do that.
Speaker 2 (06:44):
Yeah, Because you've got to be able to head a stage, yeah,
not feel nervous know what you're doing, know how to
pose for your photographs, right, It's a.
Speaker 3 (06:52):
Skill that I've been working on currently. I was terrible,
terrible model.
Speaker 2 (06:55):
So what's going for it? How nice? Because we all
need it.
Speaker 3 (06:58):
I don't think I really have one. I think you
just have to find somebody who can make you comfortable.
Speaker 2 (07:03):
But do you drop your chin? Don't you?
Speaker 1 (07:05):
Yeah?
Speaker 3 (07:05):
I hear you drop the chin and you look above
the camera. Maybe, but that makes me look a little
crazy sometimes. Honestly, I'm still working on it. But yeah, no,
I've just been I've been really working hard to come
over as a solid package that knows what they want
and knows what they want to do. And that's it's
a difficult thing to work out who you are as
an artist.
Speaker 2 (07:25):
So yeah, is he going to sing as a song?
What's the song?
Speaker 5 (07:28):
This song is.
Speaker 3 (07:28):
Called seconds to Midnight and what's my song? Yeah?
Speaker 2 (07:32):
All right, yeah, off you go?
Speaker 5 (07:39):
Why do I feel like I'm the one with issues
with that? Coming on? Too?
Speaker 6 (07:43):
Strong?
Speaker 4 (07:44):
Guy?
Speaker 5 (07:45):
Wrong? When I kissed you, I kill you and Babytha,
you know, dancing in the dark isn't hard, it's mysterious.
Your handle them my hard in your arms. It was serious.
I wanted you. You said you want me to, but
(08:10):
it out eleven fifty nine and stood under the sky
and saw by your side while I was calm, God.
Speaker 1 (08:22):
Oh, this was meant to be the best night. You
chose to stand me up.
Speaker 4 (08:30):
But that's fine, old man. I can't get it why
you did?
Speaker 2 (08:35):
Run for dear life?
Speaker 4 (08:37):
Seconds to midnight? Just seconds to midnight?
Speaker 5 (08:47):
But wait, just a minute, she's a friend. Are you kidding?
Know it's happening again, will it? And now I'm spinning
like a didser. I always danced with you, so now
I'm someone in the street. The city's gonna know. You
(09:07):
couldn't be the screen. Now I'll never let it go.
Speaker 4 (09:11):
And now you choose some girl you'll never know.
Speaker 5 (09:19):
But at eleven fifty nine, stood under the sky and
saw by your.
Speaker 4 (09:25):
Side, Why was calm? And die?
Speaker 1 (09:31):
No, this was meant to be your first night. You
chose to stand me up. But that's fine. A man
can't get it right. They've run for dear life.
Speaker 4 (09:47):
Sacads to midnight, tall dark and hand me like a firework.
Speaker 6 (09:54):
He chance to me because I'll never call my man babe,
mcast run.
Speaker 4 (10:02):
For dear life sadds to midnight to sadamenta.
Speaker 5 (10:13):
But when the sun rises and the drinks weear off,
do you think about it? Do you carry on the
lies you in the break.
Speaker 2 (10:26):
Got to think of me?
Speaker 5 (10:29):
How you got it wrong? God is wrong? You got
it wrong. You'll think of me when you.
Speaker 4 (10:38):
Hear this side.
Speaker 3 (10:44):
Oh, this is meant to be a first time.
Speaker 4 (10:50):
You chose to send me up. And that's fine a
time baby Mom's Ryan's run for dear life and say
pegs to dog you hand me live files.
Speaker 6 (11:08):
Guys, cost for denstant.
Speaker 4 (11:20):
To save me, to sack me?
Speaker 3 (11:29):
How good?
Speaker 1 (11:31):
So good?
Speaker 2 (11:31):
And do you see what I mean? I mean you
don't need me to tell you this, but tit. Oh,
thank you vibes, thank you.
Speaker 3 (11:37):
She is my inspirationion icon mother.
Speaker 2 (11:41):
Cassie, thank you so much for coming and go well
with everything you've got planned for yourself. Thank you, Cassie. Yeah,
and if you want to get a hold of it,
the EP is called the Yellow Chapter. For more from
the Mic Asking Breakfast, listen live to news talks. It'd
be from six am weekdays, or follow the podcast on iHeartRadio.
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