{"id":66546,"date":"2025-08-13T13:17:09","date_gmt":"2025-08-13T13:17:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/66546\/"},"modified":"2025-08-13T13:17:09","modified_gmt":"2025-08-13T13:17:09","slug":"conan-gray-interview-on-wishbone-relationships-and-addison-rae","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/66546\/","title":{"rendered":"Conan Gray Interview on Wishbone, Relationships and Addison Rae"},"content":{"rendered":"

Cheap Date is i-D\u2019s new series where we take our crushes out for under $40, get to know them, and have a good old fashioned hang.<\/p>\n

Since he began making music, pop star Conan Gray has been writing about heartbreak, despite never going on a single date. \u201cI was almost trying to write to understand what they would feel like,\u201d he says. That changed with Wishbone, his surprise new album inspired by an actual breakup. Over the course of two years, mostly in secret, he wrote more than 300 songs about everything he went through. Twelve made the final tracklist.\u00a0<\/p>\n

I first met Gray in New York in early 2019<\/a>, when he headlined Bowery Ballroom for his debut EP Sunset Season, co-produced by Dan Nigro. Nigro would later help hone the sonic vision of artists like Chappell Roan and Olivia Rodrigo; Gray, meanwhile, went on to work with pop powerhouses like Max Martin. Wishbone marks his reuninon with Nigro, and like Gray\u2019s earlier records\u2014and Roan\u2019s and Rodrigo\u2019s, for that matter\u2014it blisters with the feeling of someone fucking you up, big time. It\u2019s also his most grown-up work yet: cinematic, lush, and sore.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Not to reopen wounds, but I wanted to hear how it came together. So we met for a cheap date at the London restaurant Ara. He ordered skate, I ordered the braised cabbage situation, and together we shared strawberries and cream. And the bill went to his label. . Thank you Republic Records. <3\u00a0<\/p>\n

Douglas Greenwood: Do you like ordering for people?\u00a0<\/p>\n

Conan Gray: I\u2019m scared to even order my own food. I have friends who will order for the whole table, and I just appear. When I\u2019m not eating in a restaurant I\u2019m eating the same thing every single day.<\/p>\n

What is it?<\/p>\n

Salmon and broccoli. I\u2019m eating a lot of salmon. Omega-3 is really important for your brain.<\/p>\n

Where are you living these days?<\/p>\n

I\u2019m living in LA, but with touring I\u2019m everywhere. I spend a good chunk of time in London because I have a lot of friends here.<\/p>\n

Where have they taken you?<\/p>\n

We went to this bar called A Bar with Shapes for a Name. I don\u2019t drink much, so I just got a ham roll.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s talk about the album. It\u2019s pretty incriminating.\u00a0<\/p>\n

I know! It\u2019s quite intense. I make my best music when I\u2019m a little uncomfortable with how much I\u2019m revealing. This was my secret project for two years, and now talking about it openly\u00a0 feels like betraying myself. I\u2019m literally having to face the music.<\/p>\n

Sometimes you have to really go through something to make something you\u2019re proud of.<\/p>\n

Publicly, I try to function normally. What people hear on the album is what I\u2019m not saying out loud\u2014because it\u2019s brash, or immature, or just too much. But I think I finally know what I\u2019m actually saying. At some point, you realize: This is probably who I\u2019m going to be forever. I\u2019ve solidified a bit. The jello is really jello. I say that, but who knows? Next year I might get a buzz cut and face tattoos.<\/p>\n

So\u2026 problem solved?<\/p>\n

I\u2019d love to say yes, but no. Ask me next week!<\/p>\n

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Wishbone feels tied to superstitions. On \u201c11:11,\u201d you mention throwing salt over your shoulder and four-leaf clovers. Do you believe in that?\u00a0<\/p>\n

I don\u2019t, which is why it fascinated me. During that time, I got paranoid, but I also romanticized fate. I gave meaning to\u00a0 coincidental things\u2014numbers on a microwave, star signs, seeing someone\u2019s initials in strange places. I kept\u00a0 hoping the universe would explain what the fuck was going on.<\/p>\n

You\u2019re back with Dan Nigro on this album. What does he mean to you?<\/p>\n

Dan adopted me, basically. I legitimately went from being a Texas high schooler\u2014no nepo story, nothing\u2014straight into his arms. He\u2019s truly like a father to me and Olivia and to Kayleigh [Chappell Roan].\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI was there during the painting of the Mona Lisa\u201d<\/p>\n

conan gray on being the first to hear \u201cdiet pepsi\u201d<\/p>\n

Is it true you were the first person to hear Addison\u2019s \u201cDiet Pepsi\u201d?\u00a0<\/p>\n

Yeah. I\u2019m close with Luka [Kloser] and Elvira [Anderfj\u00e4rd], who made Addison\u2019s record. It was their first day working together, and I stopped by with a friend. I\u2019d met Addison a few times\u2014she\u2019s insanely talented and hardworking. They played me just the chorus, and I said, \u201cThis is awesome. Please finish this.\u201d They did their magic, and it\u2019s a smash. I was there during the painting of the Mona Lisa.<\/p>\n

Before you hang out with someone, platonic or otherwise, how much digging do you do?<\/p>\n

This feels pointed. I 100% know your home address [before we hang]. It\u2019s become an issue though\u2026 should tell this story?\u00a0<\/p>\n

Absolutely.<\/p>\n

When I was younger, I was obsessed with Josh Hutcherson after Bridge to Terabithia. I learned everything about him. Watched every movie. When he was cast in The Hunger Games, I was like, You don\u2019t even get it. I met him maybe a year ago\u2014he\u2019s from Kentucky. We were talking; he\u2019d never met me before, and I go, You\u2019re from Kentucky, right? Tried to play it off like he\u2019d mentioned it. Anyway, Josh Hutcherson, if you\u2019re reading this: You\u2019re a legend, and I\u2019m sorry I knew you were from Kentucky and on the basketball team.<\/p>\n

You\u2019ve been kissing people<\/a> recently. What\u2019s your lip balm?<\/p>\n

This is gross, but I had an era where I had insanely chapped lips, because I was on medication for my skin, and it was like, fucking up my life. The only solution that worked was this thing called nipple balm\u2014don\u2019t look at my boobs right now. It\u2019s made for people who are breastfeeding, because, I mean I don\u2019t know, I\u2019ve never breastfed, but I\u2019d imagine it gets quite intense. So thank you to the nipple community for my nourished lips.<\/p>\n

What\u2019s on your Instagram Explore page?<\/p>\n

Do you know this thing called tide pooling? When the tide goes low, all of these little pools are revealed in the beach, and you can find the most incredible creatures. When I was living in San Diego as a kid, it was like magic. You would go out to the beach and there\u2019d be neon purple little sea slugs called nudibranchs, which are poisonous and beautiful. There\u2019d be sea anemones and crabs, and maybe an octopus. That\u2019s a lot of my explore page. Also fossils and old Hollywood audition tapes. I don\u2019t need to see real people today, I need to see sea slugs.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Last question: Who gets the check?<\/p>\n

If you\u2019re on a date, it stresses me out when there\u2019s a debate, so I\u2019ll just pay for it. I don\u2019t need to end my wonderful dinner with a fight.<\/p>\n

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Conan Gray\u2019s \u2018Wishbone\u2019 is out on Friday 15 August.\u00a0<\/p>\n