Darren Stanley Hayes (born 8 May 1972) is a UK based Australian singer-songwriter. Hayes debuted in 1996 as the frontman and singer of the pop duo Savage Garden, whose 1997 album Savage Garden (Savage Garden (album)) propelled them to superstardom. It spawned the singles "I Want You (I Want You (Savage Garden song))", "To the Moon and Back", and the airplay number-one "Truly Madly Deeply". The duo followed the success of their debut album with Affirmation (Affirmation (Savage Garden album)) (1999), which also produced several hits such as "I Knew I Loved You", "The Animal Song" and "Crash and Burn (Crash and Burn (Savage Garden song))". Savage Garden sold more than 23 million albums worldwide before parting ways in 2001.

Hayes released his first solo album Spin (Spin (album)) in 2002. The album sold two million copies worldwide, debuted at #2 in the UK album charts and spawned the hit single "Insatiable (Insatiable (Darren Hayes song))". Hayes second solo album The Tension and the Spark marked a big change of direction for the singer-songwriter, showing him experimenting with electronica and darker lyrics. NME wrote about Hayes and the first single from the album, Popular saying it was "A twistered masterclass in career reintervention...This guy is a genius." While The Observer said "This album is no folly and succeeds, often to the point of all out triumph, on its own terms." Hayes parted way with his record company in 2006 and started his own independent record label Powdered Sugar (Powdered Sugar (record label)), from which he would release his third solo album This Delicate Thing Weve Made (2007). Including his work with Savage Garden, Hayes has sold more than 25 million albums worldwide.