QT (musician)

QT
QT performing "Hey QT" in March 2015
Background information
Also known as	Hayden Dunham, Quinn Thomas
Born	1988 (age 28–29) Austin, Texas, United States
Origin	New York, United States
Genres	Electronic, pop
Occupation(s)	Singer, performance artist
Years active	2014–present
Labels	XL
Associated acts	A. G. Cook, Sophie
Website	drinkqt.com

Hayden Dunham (born 1988) is an American performance artist known for her musical project QT, an initialism for Quinn Thomas. QT is a pop singer portrayed by Dunham who promotes and is the living embodiment of the semi-fictitious DrinkQT energy drink. Her debut single "Hey QT", produced by A. G. Cook and Sophie, was released in 2014.

Dunham grew up in Austin, Texas and attended the Gallatin School of Individualized Study at NYU. Before the QT project, Dunham had done work as a designer and artist. She met British producer Sophie after the two had seen each other at various events. She found Cook, head of the PC Music record label, through his work online. Dunham originally wanted to do a song as a way to market a QT energy drink, and she asked the producers to repeat the name regularly.

QT is, in effect, a virtual character. The concept drew comparisons to the 2002 science fiction film Simone and the virtual Japanese pop star Hatsune Miku. The project includes DrinkQT, an "energy elixir" with a design by Kim Laughton. The music and drink are intended to be two manifestations of the same product. Both have been described as "fizzy" and "energetic", with Dunham stating that she wanted "to be able to talk about 'Hey QT' and have DrinkQT talk about 'Hey QT' and 'Hey QT' talk about DrinkQT." The drink has been distributed at performances, and in May 2015 DrinkQT was made available for pre-order. Journalist Sasha Geffen described it as tasting "like Red Bull, only a little more tart." Distributing the drink was a source of friction with the Red Bull Music Academy's sponsorship of a PC Music show.

On August 26, 2014, QT released her debut single "Hey QT" via XL Recordings. The single's release was accompanied by a photo of QT with a blonde wig trimmed into a messy bob cut. The promotional image was made by Diamond Wright, a team that includes PC Music musician Hannah Diamond.