18 year old pop artist on the rise, Grant Knoche has just dropped his debut EP, “COLOR ME BLUE”. This debut EP from Grant is jam-packed with honest lyrics, clever songwriting/production style, and smooth, but gritty vocals that glide into your ear and create a connection between Grant & the listener. Knoche’s, former Kidzbop star, unique alternative style sets him apart from all other “Pop” artists and the sensation leaves you wanting more. 

Grant’s latest singles have caught the attention from a MASSIVE amount of people, including Spotify’s Playlist curators. Grant’s most recent singles have been featured on several playlists including Teen Beats, New Music Daily, Breaking Pop, and more.

Gaining the likes of Tiger Bear, Just Jared, and now us at PopWrapped, Grant is no doubt a young force to be reckoned with, and you’re definitely going to want to keep and eye out for all of his releases. More specifically, “COLOR ME BLUE”.

PopWrapped (PW): First off, Congratulations on an absolute fire body of work. As I was listening and
dissecting each track, I found myself getting Conan Gray, Troye Sivan, vibes – yet at the
same time, you have a unique sound. Does that make sense? Who would you say you
took inspiration from (if anybody) for the sound of this EP?

Grant Knoche (GK): Thank you so much! Love Conan & Troye so it’s an honor to be associated with them. In the last few years, I’ve been tryna find my sound. I went into multiple sessions with other producers, recorded a bunch of demos, but at the end of the day, I never felt like I completely connected with the music. I’ve been writing & producing since I was 11, and from being in those initial sessions, I learned a ton from just being in the room with people who were better than me. Some of my inspirations in music are Adele, Troye Sivan, Billie & FINNEAS, Dua Lipa, Lauv, and I drew from those inspirations while still trying to maintain my own voice and identity. This last year has been so exciting for me because I feel like I’ve finally found my sound and have self-produced & written music that I’m so incredibly proud of.

PW: “18” is quite a powerful track. Though it’s upbeat and stays true to your sound, it has
quite deep lyrics talking about some pretty deep stuff. Walk us through the process of
this track. How did this track come about, inspired by personal experiences?

GK: This was such a cool session. Brooke Williams & Jack Newsome, who are insanely dope writers, came over to my studio and we all started to catch up with each other’s lives. We somehow got onto the topic of friends that become jealous and bitter after you’ve had some success. It would always annoy me when I would see old friends and they’d say stuff like “oh you’ve moved to LA now and you think you’re too cool for us huh?”. 18 is very cool to me because it’s a mix of experiences that Jack, Brooke, and I have all gone through and it was just very easy to connect with.

PW: “As It Should” is a much slower, deeper, track. This track actually hit me rather hard. “If I
let it happen, it would’ve happened as it should.” I gotta get out of here, I’m lying to
myself. Absolutely stunning – one you should be really proud of.. What was the writing
process like for this track? This song is quite a different tone than the rest of the album.
At any point did you feel it didn’t fit the flow of the album?

GK: Absolutely love this song. Wrote this one with a good friend and up & coming songwriter/artist, Ellie Williams. the first artist that I remember listening to was Adele. The emotion in her voice shoots past the speakers and hits you right in the heart. I’d never experienced that before and listening to her, made me fall in love with music. I sure am a sucker for a ballad lol. I even taught myself to play her songs on piano and recorded shit tons of YouTube covers haha! But when Ellie and I sat down in the session, I felt like I just wanted to write a song that was stripped back, raw, and that showed my ballad roots. Some of the lyrics in this song are some of my favorite lyrics I’ve ever written.

PW: “Don’t Make Me Make You Cry” in fact, made me cry. I’m starting to feel that this album
follows a heartbreak – is that so, and if so, is this a love story that you’ve been involved
with or is it more modeled after a story that maybe isn’t yours, specifically?

GK: Aw, I love that. This EP follows a bunch of stories actually. Some of these songs are written through my point of view of my friends or family’s relationships and some are super personal to me. DON’T MAKE ME MAKE YOU CRY is a very personal one to me because it’s about a friend who wanted more than a friendship, and I didn’t want to risk losing what we have. I remember this song being written so quickly and it just felt so effortless. After the session, I was literally in my studio until 3 am listening to it on repeat. The feeling it gives off is so unique and different to me. When listening to it, I can’t decide if I want to cry or dance and it’s a feeling that I’ve never felt before. Very proud of this one.

PW: Overall, this EP/Album is absolutely fantastic. For sure going to be putting all of my
people onto this project. What do you feel is the overall message of this project? What
do you want your audience to take from this?

GK: So happy that you love it! This EP is about the thoughts & feelings that I’ve either experienced or have connected with while growing up and being a teenager. the really interesting thing is that the message that I intended, isn’t always that same message that was received. I’ve had tons of fans reach out to me about the same song and one says that it’s saved their life, and the other says that it’s helped them come to terms with a past relationship. I think it’s such a cool thing that people can interpret & connect with music in so many different ways. so to be honest, I don’t wanna give a definite answer about the overall message because I want to leave that up to the listener.

PW: Unfortunately, COVID 19 has wrecked all of our lives – especially the music scene. With
not being able to tour, shoot many videos, promo, etc – how exactly are you staying
motivated and positive during this time? Do you plan tour after this is over? & Lastly, if
quarantining and social distancing, what is the first thing you’re going to do when the
world opens back up?

GK: 2020 has been an insane year! One of my resolutions this year was to go see more artists in concert and I can definitely say that resolution isn’t going so well haha! it’s crazy to say but, the quarantine has been a blessing for me and my music. I’ve been able to finish up so many songs with 0% distractions. It’s been good to take some time off from the world and focus on my music. And yes! I’m 100% percent looking forward to touring, meeting fans, and being able to perform all my new songs! and I also can’t wait to get out of the house and see some shows after all this insanity!