GRAE's mesmeric vocals blended with her unique and authentic lyricism come to life in her new song, “Forget You.”
Who are some artists that you look up to and draw inspiration from?
I look up to many artists, Janet Jackson, Corinne Bailey Rae, Norah Jones, Prince, But the artists I draw inspiration from for my music are The Cure and Tame Impala.
What was the creative process behind your latest song, “Forget You?"
When I first started writing ‘Forget You,’ I was excited to bring it to my producer. I was in a nostalgic mood, as per usual, and decided it was time to let go of this person/relationship I romanticized. At the time, I still hoped we’d work out, but after writing the song, it felt this emotional release, and I realized many things. I brought the music into the next session with my producer Connor Seidel and writing partner Willa Milner, and they loved the chorus I wrote, which is the one we recorded. We then refined everything else lyrically. When I was recording the vocals, I was highly emotional, and I had to take breaks in between to collect myself. The result was a raw, emotional and honest song, and I’m super proud of it.
Do you follow a process or ritual before a performance to get rid of nerves or performance anxiety?
I, unfortunately, haven’t performed enough yet (due to the pandemic) to have gotten a good ritual down, but typically if I get performance anxiety, I tell myself it’s excitement. I once heard that your brain doesn’t know the difference between nervousness and excitement, so I turn the feelings into something positive!
Your debut album “Whiplash” is set to be released later this year. Has there been an evolution in your style through this album compared to your previous work?
Most definitely. There's always an evolution with each new project. You grow and realize a lot in the process, and I feel, personally, that I'm forever changing. Musically my style has developed into something I'm proud of; I've started incorporating my influences into my sound, and that's been pretty cool. I better understand what it means to be GRAE and what I'm trying to achieve as an artist. This album is a version of myself that is more confident and sure in who she is. I'll likely have a more solid and recognizable music identity in the future, but there will always be an evolution and this need to explore with different sounds. I like doing that, but it's nice to feel like I have more of an idea of who I am now.