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Salt Lake City-based musician Addison Grace shares new track and video "If Nobody Likes U" today out everywhere now from their forthcoming sophomore EP. The track is a gentle, affirming love letter to Grace's younger self and their listeners, where they begin to accept themselves and learn how to cope with life's various hardships. The five track project Things That Are Bad For Me is due out November 11 and available for pre-order now. Hear the new music and more live this November as Addison joins Ricky Montgomery for a West Coast run. Grab tickets via addisongrace.xyz/tour.
"If Nobody Likes U," produced by Cameron Hale (Claud, Neon Trees, Khalid) who also produced Grace's March 2022 single, "Makes Me Sick," is a comforting pep talk from Addison Grace's now 21-year-old self to their younger self that concludes the forthcoming EP. Over a simple guitar strum, the track takes listeners through Grace's adolescence, including the more difficult moments that often feel like the world is ending as a teenager. Towards the second part of the song, Grace reassures h and ultimately finds hope and strength within, singing, "But I'll be OK / I'll be alright / I will be fine / 'cause I've always been fine / If nobody likes me / I still do." It's an encouraging reminder of self-love, self-acceptance and that hard times don't last. Grace explains the song is, "a love note to my younger self and also to my audience. It’s a song meant to bring comfort to anyone who truly believes they’re unlovable. It’s a reminder that no matter how broken or messed up you think you are, there is always someone out there who can and does love you–even if it’s just yourself."
The accompanying video, directed by frequent collaborator Sydney Ostrander, draws inspiration from the classic children's story, Where The Wild Things Are and depicts Grace in nature, joined by a ghost and donning a yellow crown. Grace explains, "I wanted the video to star a rough, carefree boy and his unexpected best friend, a ghost. Both characters have traits that would make them outcasts–the boy is messy and wild while the ghost can’t be seen. It tells the story of them being best friends and finding out that even if they’re outcasts, even if nobody likes them, there’s still someone who does care. They will always have each other and that’s enough for both of them."
Watch "If Nobody Likes U" (Official Music Video)
Addison Grace's second EP, Things That Are Bad For Me expands on the vulnerable sonic world built with their May 2022 EP Immaturing. Where the previously shared, often light-hearted project chronicles growing up and navigating the challenging aspects of discovering one's identity, the follow up collection embraces the darker, harder parts of this new understanding and self-acceptance. Over a new set of five tracks, Grace shares the forthcoming EP is exactly what the title says, explaining, "It's a journey of self indulgence and depreciation, jealousy, pain, and acceptance. I’d always had a hard time with comparison and self acceptance and that started to show in my songwriting. I was indulging in such awful feelings. Now I feel each song tells its own story and spirals into different reasons of why I was struggling up until the last song, 'If Nobody Likes U,' where you can hear I was finally learning self-acceptance." Grace continues, "While the 'Immaturing' EP was my journey of growing up, discovering myself, and transitioning, 'Things That Are Bad for Me' is the journey of not only learning to live with yourself but also learning to feel those difficult, gross emotions and be able to accept them."
Today's release follows the recently shared single and video "Pretty Girl," which landed on Pride.com's Songs You Should Listen To This Weekend list. On the Andy Seltzer-produced track (Chelsea Cutler, Del Water Gap, Samia), Addison learns to put themselves above a seemingly perfect, yet ultimately destructive relationship. It's a song that explores identity and perception where Grace ultimately realizes choosing oneself is most fulfilling, rewarding and essential for their own well-being. Explaining the track's meaning, Grace shares, "'Pretty Girl' is a journey about loving someone who you know will never see you as 'you.' It’s the struggle of them being 'perfect'–they’re exactly who and what you want but also knowing it can never be because they’ll never love or accept who you really are. It’s accepting that fact for the sake of your own self preservation."
Its accompanying video, shot on film and also directed by Ostrander, is a nostalgia-tinged, dream-like visual that finds Grace in a garden surrounded by greenery that often towers over them. With the video, Grace shares they set out to, "emphasize the message of self-preservation and happiness–choosing yourself over loving someone who can’t. We shot on film to create that “memory” feel and it shows me “saving” a snail from a pink dollhouse and building it a home in the garden instead. I think art is always up to the viewer to decide what it means but I will say the underlying queer message was very intentional."
Immaturing and its subsequent headlining fall tour across the U.S. with Sydney Rose, which saw several sold out dates including Chicago and LA, solidified Addison Grace as a rising force in the indie-pop world. With relatable, journal entry-like songwriting complete with unrequited love, questions around identity and the overwhelming excitement of a new crush, Immaturing is a contemporary coming-of-age collection that cemented longtime fans and invited new ones into the fold.
The first and fan favorite single from the project "I Wanna Be A Boy," allows Grace to discover more of themselves and their gender identity, and proved to resonate deeply for listeners, garnering over 2.9 million streams to date on Spotify. The EP's second single, "Makes Me Sick," caught the attention of Billboard, who wrote the track is, "a heartbreaking anthem dedicated to self-sabotage, where Grace details their exploits in navigating the lovesick feeling they’re caught in." EUPHORIA Magazine lauded, "What makes 'Makes Me Sick' a highlight of Grace’s discography is its raw and honest vulnerability into something as complex and deeply felt like love. It’s a song for the people who have been hurt in the past; the ones who are unsure of if they deserve the better treatment by whoever comes along next."
In addition to new music, Addison Grace will hit the road with Ricky Montgomery throughout November for a string of dates across the West Coast. See a full list of dates below, and grab tickets now.
"If Nobody Likes U" out everywhere now sees Addison Grace comfort their young self and present self as they learn to accept their own flaws and if nobody else, they will always have themselves. Find Grace on TikTok, Instagram, Twitter and YouTube to keep up with the emerging musician, who has much more in store. See Addison live this November with Ricky Montgomery across the West Coast with tickets on sale now. Things That Are Bad For Me, the sophomore EP by Addison Grace is due out November 11 and is available for pre-order now.
Listen: "Pretty Girl" | Watch
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