SAY YES TO SAYGRACE
Her Breakthrough and “Boys Ain’t Shit”
Grace Sewell comes from a family of musicians. Her grandparents toured with the Bee Gees. Her brother’s musical breakthrough was a feature on Kygo’s “Firestone.”
Grace, a 22-year-old Australian, was originally known by her first name and grew up listening to vocal powerhouses like Amy Winehouse, Janis Joplin and Shirley Bassey. Family tradition and a childhood love of soul inspired her to pursue her own career as an R&B artist. In 2015, she signed with RCA Records, an American label owned by Sony. The RCA label helped artists including Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera and Childish Gambino climb the charts.
Grace released her breakout single with fellow RCA signee G-Eazy. She also covered the 1963 Lesley Gore pop classic “You Don’t Own Me”. It was ranked as one of the most popular viral tracks by Spotify and later featured in the 2016 blockbuster Suicide Squad.
Grace’s 2016 debut album, FMA, is soul-inspired. It feels vintage, clearly drawing inspiration from some of her favorite childhood artists. “Hope You Understand” sounds like it could be an Amy Winehouse track laid over a 90’s hip-hop beat. Every song mixes classic R&B style with a modern twist, a testament to the old and the new.
After three years of waiting for new music, Grace reemerged last month as the rebranded SAYGRACE. Her new cut, “Boys Ain’t Shit,” is edgy pop, punctuated with profanity and speaks to the patriarchal power structure. It’s more pop than her previous work, but her hip hop roots echo throughout the song.
The “Boys Ain’t Shit” video is a riotous good time, starring a sassy blonde pre-teen girl dressed in a suit and tie. The school dance video depicts flipped gender roles –– boys wear dresses and count calories, while girls gorge on cake and steal Barbie dolls.
No word, yet, on new music from SAYGRACE, but we’re hopeful it’s coming soon. We can’t wait to see how or if she provokes us, again, with her genre-fusing style.
