Conan Gray.Photo: Brian ziff
“To me, it [the album] hopefully means that there will be a few more people in the world who will feel like they’re not alone in their situation, and that they will be able to find some comfort in the fact that I am also absolutely ridiculous, and also handle pain in the same ridiculous way,” Gray, 23, tells PEOPLE.
Superache Album Cover.
And even though Gray’s main concept on the album is love and relationships, the “Heather” singer admits he’s never truly experienced being “in love.”
“I’ve been heartbroken. I’ve loved people and have had them not love me back, and that’s kind of when I get heartbroken,” he explains. “I think that true love is a reciprocated thing. Otherwise it’s mostly just infatuation or something.”
Though this may be the case, Gray optimistically says he’s excited for the day hedoesfall in love and gets his heart “absolutely shattered.”
“I think that will be a very fun day,” he says. “And I think it’ll make for a really fun, ridiculous album.”
Gray also draws inspiration from being a people-watcher (hence his 2021 song “People Watching,” also featured on the album) and has found comfort in it from a young age.
Conan Gray.Kevin Winter/Getty
Fame is no exception to these feelings for the “Comfort Crowd” singer as he says it’s against his “nature” and finds it to be “bizarre” — but is “grateful” for it nonetheless.
“Fame is not something that I think I’ll ever be super comfortable in. But my fans are very kind people. I think that my fans are very similar to me,” he says. “There’s some people who are very good at being famous, and I don’t think that’s something that I really know about.”
It’s his friends, however, that he says put him in his place and put “into perspective how odd it is.”
“Some days I’ll wake up and I’m like, ‘I don’t really want to do this shoot’ or something. And they’re like, ‘Shut up Conan, who cares? Just shut up,’ " he says with a smile. “They’re always the first people to remind me that everything is very odd. They also remind me constantly that I am extremely lame and that they don’t know why anyone likes me. That’s a good thing.”
He adds, “Everyone needs to be put in their place. Doesn’t matter who you are.”
As Gray was growing up, he says he experienced bullying after “moving around a ton” and eventually ended up in a high school in Texas where he was “one of three Asian kids” in his grade. Looking back, the singer says his younger self would be “relieved” that he turned out “OK” — and has a piece of advice for fans who also feel like they have trouble fitting in.
“People are mean. And they stay mean, there’s always going to be mean people in the world. I can’t say that it’s gotten better,” he says. “Doesn’t matter who you are, there’s always going to be mean people in school and college and in the workplace. There’s just mean people and it always, always stems from insecurity.”
He adds, “But the truth is, you become better at realizing that these things that people say don’t matter. It’s something that I think happens within yourself, realizing that these things can’t affect you. You can’t let them. It’s just not worth entertaining. Just become a version of yourself that you enjoy. And if you like that, then that’s good enough.”
Another key component, he says, is the value of friendship — from the “other outcasts” he befriended in high school, to friends in the industry he can relate to likeOlivia Rodrigo.
Conan Gray and Olivia Rodrigo.conan gray/instagram
“Friendship is everything to me. I mean, I very much look at my friends like family. And when you’re someone who’s going through all these major changes in your life all at once, it’s nice to have people that you can depend on,” he says. “I think throughout my life, I’ve always had friends that I could cry to and rant to and it’s just important, no matter who you are, to have people that you can find comfort in.”
In regards to Rodrigo, 18, he continues, “She’s a wonderful person and a very, very talented songwriter. It’s nice to have people that you can relate to.”
Superacheis out now.
source: people.com
