Why Conan Gray is a rising Gen Z star you need to know: the ‘Winner’ singer is besties with Olivia Rodrigo, counts BTS’ V and Halsey as fans, and kicked off a TikTok trend with his song ‘Heather’
- Singer Conan Gray has gone from YouTube vlogger to one of music’s hottest new stars in recent years, thanks to his Taylor Swift-inspired hits like ‘Heather’, ‘Memories’ and ‘People Watching’
- The American musician counts Olivia Rodrigo as one of his closest pals and is the king of writing songs about unrequited love – and admitted that he hasn’t dated anyone before
Conan Gray has come a long way since he first got his start in showbiz, uploading vlogs to YouTube a decade ago.
The American singer-songwriter, who was born in Lemon Grove, California to an Irish-American father and Japanese mother, rose to international stardom with hit tracks including “Heather”, “Memories” and “People Watching”.
His latest release? “Winner”, an emotional track that he “wrote at 2am” with “everything at the piano just [spilling] out all at once”, the singer said in a statement.
Here’s everything you need to know about the talented 24-year-old:
Conan Gray rose to fame on YouTube
Back in 2014, when he was 14 years old, Gray uploaded vlogs on YouTube, followed by covers of songs like Adele’s “Make You Feel My Love”. Per W Magazine, his talents were quickly recognised by several big names in the industry, and he got signed by UMG subsidy Republic Records in 2018.
He went from being a small-town boy to being Halsey’s “dream collaborator”, an inspiration for BTS V’s music, and counting celebs like Noah Cyrus among his fans, according to W.