Conan Gray is undoubtedly one of pop’s most exciting young stars. At 24, he already has two top-10 albums to his name (Kid Krow and Superache), and Taylor Swift even tapped him to help promote Fearless (Taylor’s Version). As for how Gray reached his current illustrious status, that’s just what he breaks down in the latest episode of UPROXX’s How I Blew Up.
From his perspective, his ascent wasn’t a big sudden thing, but a number of moments that gradually propelled him forward (as he put it, “little, tiny, incremental blow-ups over many years, most of them mental blow-ups”). What started it all in a big way, though, was “Idle Town,” Gray’s debut single that landed him a record deal. He explains that he knew immediately the track was a step in a new direction for him, saying, “I do remember thinking when I was making it, like, ‘Oh, this sounds a little different than the other stuff I had made.’”
Despite the song being a goodbye to his Texas hometown, he still carries the spirit of the Lonestar State with him: “I always joke that if you sing any of my songs in a Texan accent, they’re country songs.” He then sang a bit of “Oh, Heather” with some twang and a smile.
From there, he gets into that song (a Kid Krow highlight that had a long, complex gestation period) and other tracks and moments that helped him become him. So, check out the How I Blew Up episode above.