CONAN GRAY
The King of Sad Boy Pop is a Swiftie
Conan Gray is already having a banner year. In the first three months of 2020, the rising pop star released his debut full-length album, became one of the most streamed artists on Spotify, and earned a shoutout from Taylor Swift.
Gray’s career in entertainment began like many — on Youtube. He started posting videos when he was just 9 years old, attracting millions of views and a loyal fanbase during his active vlogging days. He was nominated for both a Streamy and a Shorty Award in 2019, both prestigious honors for online personalities.
His music career took off after self-releasing his first single in 2017. Soon after, Gray scored a record deal with Republic Records to release his first EP, Sunset Season, and later his first album. His following continued to grow as his songs solicited millions of streams online. In 2019, he performed at a few small music festivals and was an opener at several Panic! At the Disco shows during the band’s Pray For the Wicked Tour.
But it’s Kid Krow that has rocketed Gray to a new level of fame. The album includes Gray’s most successful single to date, “Maniac,” which he released in October 2019. The synthy, unapologetic pop track charted in eight countries after first gaining traction on the app TikTok. Like many of the songs featured on Kid Krow, it’s raw, emotional and personal — all traits that have attracted so many to the album and Gray himself.
And as mentioned, Taylor Swift happens to be one of those newly christened fans. In an interview with People earlier this year, Gray gushed about his admiration for Swift and how much she’s influenced his own songwriting. After the release of Kid Krow, Swift used her personal Instagram account to praise Gray, and specifically his song “Wish You Were Sober.”
Gray had plenty of exciting events lined up for 2020, including a performance on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon and an appearance at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival. Those events have since been postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic. However, he’s still scheduled to embark on the European leg of his Kid Krow World Tour in April at this time. Despite any unforeseen cancellations and challenges to come, we expect Gray’s upward climb to continue through this year and beyond.
