Grace VanderWaal (artist)

**daflyboys** · 12-06-2016, 11:25 AM

Re: Grace VanderWaal (artist)

I don't ever watch this show and happened across this thread. I agree that hopefully she will be managed properly and that the industry, that you hear so many artists speak poorly of, will not consume her. I wish the audience would just let her and others like her just perform instead of howling every time there's a chord change...gets in the way and takes away from the song.

Spoiler

**CMH** · 12-06-2016, 07:54 PM

Re: Grace VanderWaal (artist)

AGT is the only reality show television I watch. Even had the chance to work with them during auditions two seasons ago and enjoyed every second of it. Wish I could have done the live shows.

Grace is pretty much the next big thing in America. She's probably going to end up being the biggest star the show has ever discovered. Simon Cowell can thank his lucky stars she walked in through the doors to audition and play "I don't know my name."

I'm definitely a fan, or as much as one a 34 year old man can be. She's just got this sweet innocence to her and a clear understanding of what kind of music she wants to make. Hard to find that at her age.

I hope she continues to grow as an artist.

**Blzer** · 08-19-2017, 03:21 PM

Re: Grace VanderWaal (artist)

She's coming out with a new album later this year, and performed her first single on AGT earlier this week:

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/jlm3dZ1Evck?start=74" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>

She's already looking older and more composed.

**JayBee74** · 08-19-2017, 05:11 PM

Re: Grace VanderWaal (artist)

Guaranteed superstar.

**RoundingThird** · 08-19-2017, 07:53 PM

Re: Grace VanderWaal (artist)

Her voice reminds me a lot of Ed Sheeran. Same style of music, lyrics seem to have similar themes. Definitely going to be a star.

**daflyboys** · 08-19-2017, 10:20 PM

Re: Grace VanderWaal (artist)

Originally posted by Blzer

She's already looking older and more composed.

Very true.... and the audience still doesn't know how to shut up and just enjoy the song!

**Blzer** · 11-03-2017, 02:05 AM

Re: Grace VanderWaal (artist)

Her new album Just the Beginning is out in stores on Friday, but you can listen to all of the songs on YouTube (*last two are Target-exclusive bonus tracks).

Holy hell, she is good. And honestly, it gets better as you get deeper into it.

1)
<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/swTki-Klk3g" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

2)
<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/CKnMAFeFrzo" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

3)
<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/40In08Uon0I" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

4)
<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/X-qosJQtp5E" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

5)
<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/o7eLKttSYMA" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

6)
<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/btSvAjUrBhU" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

7)
<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/PbgQMZm_L3Q" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

8)
<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/GnmlTfUFXPU" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

9)
<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/5lcCW7GGd7c" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

10)
<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/lHNF5G-Ufy4" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

11)
<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/kPVVNCmjOcY" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

12)
<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/TAHi5sZZdeA" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

13*)
<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/ofosBNlhvGo" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

14*)
<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/0-eNhfQULZg" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

**Blzer** · 11-04-2017, 10:49 PM

Re: Grace VanderWaal (artist)

Okay, long review time (just wrote one for Amazon and posting it here).

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

The Art of Singing in Context

I became a big fan of Grace VanderWaal since hearing her sing I Don’t Know My Name on America’s Got Talent. I was so much so a fan that I kept asking “Where’s Grace?” during the later rounds because she was the contestant whom I cared about watching most, thinking I missed her being cut or something (this was my first season of AGT and I did not understand how the golden buzzer worked). Ironically enough, I am not in love with her debut track. Her entire audition did provide me some insight on who this person is and could be, though: Grace is a humbling, talented musician and songwriter, who is inspired by personal experiences and wise beyond her years to boot, understanding her voice and appropriate genre. Fast-forward almost eighteen months later, and with the release of Just the Beginning we get the same Grace and then some. Now, we can also confirm that she is a grateful human being with an unmistakable identity and passion for her craft, and has a nonconforming attitude to her music career. You can figure out who Grace is through her music, but I think even more so if you have followed Grace since AGT that these personality traits help complement this album because of the context you can apply to it.

She is wholly in control of her out-of-control vocals, every little bit with intentional nuance provided to it. To take from the title of her EP last year, she is “perfectly imperfect,” taking the rawness in her voice and using it to a calculated advantage. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion on whether they like her particular voice, but claiming that she is a poor singer would seem to be somewhat inaccurate—as she is essentially the Picasso of the singing world (in terms of style, not fame or proven ability). With choices of falsetto, softness, voice cracks, belted notes, and sustained pentatonic scales, Grace invokes any kind of emotion that she attempts to convey even in youthhood. You can even tell if she is singing a line with a wide grin and ultimate confidence, or glassy eyes and a hint of fear. It is voice acting at its finest, and once again this helps employ context in each song of hers.

Context actually goes both ways—not just from what the musician implies, but also from what the listener infers. I unfortunately can take first impressions the wrong way, and I did so with the first two tracks that she released. When Moonlight came out, I thought Grace was converting to a pure pop artist and was ready to blend into a sea of other singers, even down to what I call the “jungle vibe” that you hear in the chorus from similar artists like Ed Sheeran. I didn’t like the song to begin with. Then Grace appeared on AGT again and sang it live, and again the context transformed because I had a different image behind the song. The music video was the same way. I grew to really like the song, and I sway to it when playing it in my car now. The second song to release was Sick of Being Told, and the YouTube video of it came with a shot of her around a bunch of ukuleles with a kissy face; combined with the song just starting out so differently, I was facepalming over what this “new Grace” was becoming. It wasn’t actually until I heard it again without that image and with the many newly released songs on the album that I understood its true context and got that other image out of my head. Again, context means so much for these songs to be heard the right way, and I think when first released they did not do me any favors.

But really, in the end I think you’ll understand that I tend to enjoy her less poppy songs more. I am okay with radio-friendly singles, but I want to make sure that she still sticks to her roots, and it feels that she has. I had heard Burned from a concert, and was probably the track I was most excited to hear a studio version of. It seems like a great mix of the Adele songs Rolling in the Deep and Skyfall. Unfortunately, I am not in love with the song’s studio arrangement, and I think four things could improve it: 1) apply reverb to her voice to give it a darker chamber feel; 2) more falsetto moments, especially after the bridge where the piano is softest; 3) completely take out that “Wanna wanna get burned” pop nonsense in this otherwise organic track; 4) insert a full two-measure break between the pre-choruses and choruses. I think it released as intended, but this was one time I personally disagreed with the artist. What could have been my favorite track definitely fell a few notches for me, though I still love the song (the live version admittedly sounds better).

Just a Crush is the closest Grace VanderWaal that I know from before, and surprise surprise, it one of only two songs on this entire album that she is owed exclusive writing credits for. It is cute, up-tempo, a bit ironic, and is extremely catchy (almost like it belongs in an Apple commercial). The first time I heard it, I couldn’t help but be a little offset with how often the song focuses on the word “just.” In fact, it literally covers a full minute of the 3:14 track (more than 30% of the song), which is a little eye-opening. After accepting it is the chorus and going along with her beautiful note-tracking, it actually comes off as preferred to something else, even other lyrics. The thing that sticks out most in this song though is this is the first instance of what I feel may be a double meaning song. Every piece of art is open to interpretation, and with Grace I keep looking toward how she has transformed from nothing to everything in a matter of quick moments, and how exhausting it may all be. It makes me wonder: is she singing about a person, or her career? Listen to the song and see for yourself what I mean. When she says “I hope you understand what I’m telling you, I don’t wanna be confusing,” she might now be speaking to us and not necessarily the object to which she’s referring. Whether intentional or not, it is the brilliance of writing that once again shines through.

Now that you have understood how important context is from the leadoff hitter to the cleanup hitter, I’m going to more briefly go over the rest of the lineup here.

So Much More Than This is a welcomed single and likely going to be her next music video track, but that is all I can take it for right now. It is good, but outside of the verses seems to be arranged more from producers than herself.

Escape My Mind once again takes the pop approach but it has its own unique Grace flair to it, especially in the pre-choruses. I love the choice of instrumentation in the song (including the dominant inclusion of her ukulele). The main hindrance of this song, besides the fact that I don’t connect it much with the Grace that I know (not saying it’s not personal of course), is that its style feels a bit repetitive with four of the other first five songs on the album. If the aforementioned So Much More Than This didn’t exist on this album, it would be right where it belongs. When playing on shuffle, there is no issue of it finding its place.

Talk Good is a complete variance in so many ways. First of all, it represents the first of the bottom-half of the tracklist (7 of 12), which nearly completely deviate from mainstream radio-friendliness. Secondly, the song itself is so different from anything we have heard from her before. Grace experiments with more minor chords, plays a bit dark and edgy like you would hear in an underground club instead of a Starbucks lounge. The lyrics play right into Grace’s hands, never short of saying what comes to mind for her. When it first played in my car I was caught off-guard thinking it was some strange kind of filler to balance out the album's musical tones, but I have since discovered its identity and really like where it fits.

Florets is fantastic, and currently stands as my third favorite track on the album. It contains the catchiest riff/beat in the verses and engulfs itself in this airy feeling chorus that you would hear in a Sia song, then the poppy break confirms the song’s versatility but also gels so well again with the instruments in the verses. It makes me wonder if Grace originally wrote this song with a ukulele and somebody “remixed” it, and while I’d love to hear a stripped version of this song I also love its current form just fine. The song’s lyrics match the song’s style as much as Just a Crush did. I kind of feel if she was asked if she could be any entity besides a human, she would probably say a floret. If it takes off as a hit, this is song is totally going to play at every high school dance and get people bouncing after the chorus.

Insane Sometimes is a great song that I don’t think will get itself enough credit because it doesn’t necessarily do anything special: it’s not too mainstream, it doesn’t feature an impressive vocal range, the words can get lost in the other vibes the track contains, and while it is very good it does not top the album in any way. That’s okay, too! I think Grace speaks for most people with her words though, but more importantly it almost makes me feel like this is where her thoughts—happy or otherwise—wander when she is by herself. I want to enter her mind when this kid is enduring her song-writing process.

A Better Life is the second song on the album written only by Grace, and it shows. I like everything about this song as it is also my second favorite on the album, and it encompasses all that is Grace. Back to an internal focus and stripped of any percussion, completely in raw form. Her melodies here are absolutely divine, even though here she sounds younger than her other songs (it brings me back to her AGT performances). When you open up the lyrics to this song you’d think she doesn’t have much to say due to the word count, but less is more with this song and every bit is worth a deeper analysis.

City Song… I’ll call this right now, this is the non-single track that is going to sneak up into extreme popularity very quickly. It is strangely anthemic, and has a rooted togetherness to it, less about her and more about everybody else. Hilariously, it kind of makes me think of Baby from Baby Driver. It’s hard not to like this song, though currently it’s hard to say much about it.

Darkness Keeps Chasing Me is the true standout performer. It brings back everything I said about Grace and wraps it all into one, from her powerful emotions to fitting context to multiple interpretations. Grace is all over the place in this song, she doesn’t know where to go and lets it all out. This is easily the most complex and mature composition she has ever crafted. I first heard this after a full playthrough, and this plays out like the last gasp of a dying breath (in a good way, trust me) where she has exhausted all of her efforts prior to climaxing with this epic. It literally left me in tears. Here is a girl who, after that stellar AGT performance of Moonlight I mentioned earlier, went backstage and fell into her father’s arms just wanting a break from it all—just a hint of rest and normalcy again. I bet she has daily contemplations of wondering what life would be like if she did not have what she has now. Are her second thoughts real? Or are they just passerby thoughts like we all have? Well, it was enough to write a song about. She might think of herself as a girl who has everything but also has nothing, and it is heartbreaking. Her “please don’t” lines choke me as they choke her. There is a void that she is trying not to slip toward, and I think these thoughts escape her over time but it still lurks overhead. Anyway, this track may be too much to handle for some in the sense that they might not be able to grip everything she is singing about if they don’t know her or did not experience the entire album before it, but of course context once again matters here and song placement was crucial. She has never written or performed a better song in studio, period. This number will be so hard to top in the future, especially given how young she was (and still is, of course) when she wrote it.

The Target disc I have contains two bonus songs, Lungs and Hope for Change. I like both songs (H.F.C. a little more so), but I also see why they are bonus tracks and how they do not really fit in with the rest of the album. The main disappointment I have in the bonus tracks are not the tracks themselves, but the tracks that weren’t here. I was really hoping the two surprise tracks would be complete studio recordings of Missing You and 12 Stars. Perhaps someday!

In the end, Just the Beginning plays out like a kid in a toy store: Grace has everything at her disposal and wants to adventure through all of it. She was wildly successful in doing so, and I think when put in the right context it absolutely has to be deemed as one of the best albums from somebody as young as she is, if not the actual best. I anticipate her next album will allow her to even explore more of herself in her music and never be short of anything she doesn’t personally want to do. I think she will start to break the mold in the current pop trend that we and Maroon 5 are currently stuck in, and we are going to find a little more bluegrass in music in the future. Grace isn’t the next Taylor Swift or Fiona Apple, but somebody else will be described as the next Grace VanderWaal someday because of how impressionable this gal is and will be for a long time. It is funny going back and hearing the songs on her EP again and already seeing “how far she has come,” though Beautiful Thing could have been placed right into the mix of these songs (at least the latter half of the album) and not a single eyelid would be bat. This girl’s originality is an inspiration to many, and the cover booklet contains some appreciative fan artwork of Grace that I love looking back to.

This album is so important to be listened to with the right context in mind. I’m not sure you could just pluck anybody off the street, say “Listen to this!” with one of the titles, and instantly turn somebody into a fan. It’s possible, but she is so much more interpersonal than that that she has a journey you may have had to follow with her to truly understand why I am giving this album its deserving 5/5 rating (plus the fact that there is not a bad song on here). I think most know her name though, and she will continue to catch on and grow, as she just has an entire life ahead of her. I am looking forward to following that life—and hopefully long musical career.

Standout tracks: Moonlight, Burned, Just a Crush, Florets, A Better Life, City Song, Darkness Keeps Chasing Me

**Blzer** · 12-02-2017, 11:49 PM

Re: Grace VanderWaal (artist)

GVW at Billboard Women in Music 2017 Awards, plays a stripped acoustic uke version of Moonlight and accepts 'Rising Star' award.

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/VQODLWSiyys" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

**CMH** · 12-03-2017, 10:11 AM

Re: Grace VanderWaal (artist)

I haven't listened to the album but the Moonlight track is really good.

Great voice.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-N920A using Tapatalk

**Blzer** · 12-03-2017, 12:36 PM

Re: Grace VanderWaal (artist)

Originally posted by CMH

I haven't listened to the album but the Moonlight track is really good.

Great voice.

Most of the front of the album is loaded with the more "radio-friendly" pop hit kind of songs, and I think the back has a little more depth and variety.

That being said, someday you really really have to hear Darkness Keeps Chasing Me. I don't want you to spoil your appetite and hear that one before any of the others though, so get to it when you feel you can.

Moonlight has really grown on me over time though. When it first first came out, I didn't much care for it. Then the music video and live AGT performance gave it context and I really started to enjoy it much more. Now I love it.

**Blzer** · 12-09-2017, 08:58 PM

Re: Grace VanderWaal (artist)

New music video for So Much More Than This.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=48qcnpCWBq0

**Blzer** · 02-01-2018, 07:26 PM

Re: Grace VanderWaal (artist)

City Song music video.

https://youtu.be/sJGgV3p8JzY

**Blzer** · 02-19-2018, 01:17 AM

Re: Grace VanderWaal (artist)

She has remade Johnny Nash's "I Can See Clearly Now" with an unreleased single called "Clearly."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TijRjIHDnak

Grace VanderWaal (artist)

Recommended Videos

Grace VanderWaal (artist)

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment