Greyson Chance: “I Choose Love, And I Recognize Loyalty As A Currency. “

As we close in on the end of Pride Month, Greyson Chance has something to say with his long awaited EP Trophies; out now.

Yes, we all know Greyson from his viral cover of Lady Gaga’s hit single ‘Paparazzi’ when he was just 12 years old. Now in his early 20s, Chance is focusing on growing as an artist and says, “it’s not easy being an artist; it’s a constant battle for integrity, relevance, all of it.”

He took to Twitter to express his love and gratitude to his 2.5M followers and shared “Trophies is important to me because it’s a testament to myself that I am still here, and that I deserve to be here.”

With Trophies, Chance seeks inspiration within the hardships of the music industry. “I’ve been making music now for 11 years, and with that time comes a tremendous amount of trauma & battle scars.” It’s not by chance that Greyson has persevered.

We had a chance to speak with Greyson about his projects. Read the full interview below.

I remember when you were a kid, you went viral by singing Lady Gaga’s ‘Paparazzi’ and now here you are million upon millions of streams later. Looking back at your career so far, what do you think is that one thing that has set you apart from the crowd? I’m not too focused on setting myself apart from the crowd, I don’t think about that at all actually. After doing this now for 11 years, my focus has and always will be to persevere. It’s not easy being an artist; it’s a constant battle for integrity, relevance, all of it. I keep my eye on making sure I am always putting myself first and striving to make art that is intentional and purposeful. If I can do that, then I’ve won. 

Tell me about your recent release “Hellboy” and what this single means for you! The single was one of the last songs that I wrote for my upcoming body of work called Trophies. After not touring for over a year due to COVID, I found my self-confidence levels at an all-time low as I was writing this record. “Hellboy,” for me, was all about reclaiming my confidence and remembering what it was like to be onstage, performing, and truly being in my greatest element. I feel like a badass whenever I sing it. 

What’s your philosophy in life? I choose love, and I recognize loyalty as a currency. 

Since signing with Arista Records, you’ve released a number of singles that touch on your eating disorder. How important is it to you that artists open up about their mental health in music? For me, it wasn’t necessarily a conscious choice that I made, writing about my eating disorder and other mental health issues I’ve fought through; it was the only way that I knew how to heal through them. Writing has always been a sense of solace for me, and it is how I navigate through my life. My fans know me to be honest, and they know that I treat the music as a safe-space for me to open-up fully. I am really fortunate for that. 

The LGBTQ community has always had a tough time opening up about the issues that come with that such as mental health. In what ways have you been able to tap into the community and help make positive changes? What I have tried to do the most during the pandemic is just to be around and available to my friends. Queer people are used to feeling isolated, it’s how we have learned to survive, but COVID was different. It felt apocalyptic, scary, and unprecedented. Because of that, I reached out to my friends constantly during the height of lockdown, made sure they were okay, and made sure that they knew that I was always around for them, and they did the same for me. This sense of security and friendship was so vital to me during 2020. 

What’s next for you? Touring and releasing Trophies!

The definition of Contrast is ‘to be strikingly different.’ What makes Greyson Chance strikingly different? I’ll let you be the judge of that. I just write the music.