- Words Cal McIntyre
- Photography Aaron Sinclair
- Styling Trudy Nelson
- Grooming Bailee Wolfson
- Production Studio Notion
Prepare to get in your feelings as our newly crowned sad prince of pop, Conan Gray, is announced as Apple Music's Up Next artist for April 2020!
It’s no surprise that Gen-Z’s prince of pop, Conan Gray, is Apple Music’s newly crowned Up Next Artist for April 2020. We have been keeping a close eye on our favourite crooner since he graced the cover of Notion 84 last summer.
The story of Conan Gray is one for the big screens – the small-town introverted boy went from singing to himself in his bedroom to having millions of YouTube listeners and is now alt-pop’s newest boy wonder. With the release of his debut album, ‘Kid Krow’, Gray has cemented his status as one of the most tender and vulnerable artists to break through the internet waves.
Gray joins the likes of Billie Eilish, Victoria Monét, Bad Bunny and more on the Up Next roster as an important voice and storyteller for young people and beyond in both music and pop culture today. Kid Krow hit #1 on 15 of Apple Music’s Pop album charts its week of release and has been named the “Top New Artist Debut on the Billboard Top 200,” capturing #5 on the Album respective chart, #1 Pop Album, and #2 Billboard Top Album Sales. With so much more to come, it looks like this prince is going to be evolving into a King anytime now.
“Being chosen as Apple’s Up Next artist is extremely cool,” said Conan Gray. “I’ve watched so many of my favourite artists become Up Next artists, so to be put in that same position is truly insane. I could’ve never predicted writing songs out of my bedroom would turn into this. Very grateful.” We stan a relatable prince.
Gray’s Up Next short shot on iPhone 11 Pro comes to Apple Music exclusively today and is available to watch HERE. In the film, Gray sits down with Apple Music and opens up about conveying truth through his art, feeling like an outsider growing up in his hometown of Georgetown, Texas, and how his debut single “Idle Town” launched his music career. “The internet was the first place where people told me it was okay for me to be strange,” Gray tells Apple Music. “It was my diary. I just think anyone can relate to feeling like you live in your own little world.”
So, whilst you’re in isolation, why don’t you dive into the short and prepare to sing, dance and cry in your bedroom as that’s what Conan Gray makes music for. Long live Conan Gray!