Greyson Chance almost walked away from music more than once. After a health scare, years of doubt, and a long journey toward forgiving his younger self, he steps back on stage with a sharper and wiser sense of who he’s become.
But behind his new persona lay a teenager who carried the weight of unspoken struggles, including the pressures of fame and the manipulative industry. So he is setting everything on his own terms and is, once again, ready to flip the record.
Since early 2022, the American singer-songwriter has been an independent artist, with a sense of artistic freedom apparent in his new music. Ahead of the Manila stop of his “Gold” tour, I spoke with Greyson, both as a writer and someone who has been rooting for him since 2013 — three years after his debut as a child pop singer, when he went YouTube-viral for a Lady Gaga cover. Before our conversation, I found myself compiling our meet-and-greet photos from over the years, realizing I had grown up and gone through a lot with the help of his music.
Greyson was previously in Manila in 2019; he was supposed to return for his “Portraits” tour in 2020 until the pandemic postponed it. The opportunity to slow down gave him time to reflect, and he channeled his feelings of self-doubt, isolation, and uncertainty into his album “Trophies” in 2021. Finding this positive outlet in his creativity, along with overcoming major imposter syndrome, led him to create the tour he has been planning since last year. The “Gold” tour is a flip of perspective for Greyson because it's an opportunity for him to perform songs he never expected to play again. At the same time, it is also a celebration of his growth as an artist and a reunion with his fans who have grown with his music.
Despite thinking of giving up music many times due to being “tossed around as an artist” and the general pressures of the industry, he constantly finds his way back into it. “I feel such an appreciation for my fans and for the people that are still here buying music, and honestly, people like yourself that have been here for every chapter,” Greyson shares. “That's kind of what this tour represents: it is meant to be a celebration of every sort of iteration of music.”
I think re-recording these songs actually gave me a lot more compassion towards that time in my life, realizing, ‘Dude, you were a kid. You did such a good job, and you did the best you could.’
Now 28, Greyson has been performing for almost two decades. While he did not completely step away from touring, he took a hiatus around 2017 to continue university and focus on personal growth. In 2019, he made a significant comeback on stage with “Portraits,” which he described as his “returning to music” album, making it more special for him. “It's a lot of hard work, but that energy and that emotion that you get from the show — that’s what kind of keeps you going. And I think I'm at a stage now where I really, really am enjoying being onstage. There are no plans to stop touring,” he admits.
Touring is healing, as Greyson witnessed his fans’ growth and was surprised that younger fans are discovering his music. “Seeing how everyone has grown up has been the craziest thing. So I feel very present right now, more so than I think I ever have been in the past.” Touring is also challenging, especially planning the setlist. Accompanied by iconic gems from singles and EPs, Greyson wanted to embrace his entire catalog and reconnect with past versions of himself, while still balancing fans’ expectations. “I think Lady Gaga taught me that a show should always have an intention and a purpose,” Greyson shares. “When I look back at my 12-year-old and teenage self, he is a different person, but the goal of just being able to perform is still there. That's the constant. And I'm just working on nurturing that all the time.”
Beyond his new releases, Greyson also re-recorded two songs from the 2011 album “Hold On ‘Till The Night,” entitled Waiting Outside the Lines ‘25 and Summertrain ‘25. It’s easy to see how hard these early songs must have been for a 14-year-old as he talks about them today and remembers the pain from which they came, while also navigating different record labels and realities at the start of his career. However, revisiting them has made him perceptive of the “could-have-beens” in the industry. “I think re-recording these songs actually gave me a lot more compassion towards that time in my life, realizing, ‘Dude, you were a kid. You did such a good job, and you did the best you could.’ And the fact that I'm still here today, still doing it, is a testament to that. Re-performing the songs was really therapeutic to me in many, many ways,” Greyson explains. “It was stressful because I was so nervous that I was gonna mess it up, like I didn’t want to release them.” There were lingering thoughts that fans might compare them to the original, but both songs were received positively, especially from old fans, evoking emotions of nostalgia.
He has plans to re-record other old but classic songs like Slipping Away and Hold On ‘Til The Night. “It was such a therapeutic process, and I think I found a lot of joy in it. But right now I'm focused on my album that I want to put out next year.”
Fans have been ecstatic about him “coming home” to Manila after six years. They are meeting another version of Greyson, and he hopes they’ll see him in a new way. When asked what rendition of him he wants to show fans this year, he was reminded of when he went to Lady Gaga’s concert and saw his key artistic inspiration and mentor in her prime. “That's the best she's ever looked, that's the best she's ever sounded, that's the best she's ever performed. That's how I want to be on the ‘Gold’ tour. I want fans to be like, damn, he's still there, in his prime. That's what I hope to deliver.” He also wanted to remind himself that his music has lived within people’s lives, and has stayed with them through their heartbreaks, their changes, even their most mundane moments. “At the end of the day, it makes everything worth it — that should be enough for me.”
If there’s one thing Greyson learned from being in the music industry, it is to lead with your instinct. He looks back without regrets as he embraces everything a lot more, realizing that certain decisions brought him to victories and triumphs, with people still supporting and showing up for him. “Trust your instinct. It’s a very valuable thing,” he reminds. Greyson knows that he is back to believing in himself again, and trusting his gut feels good this time.
Our conversation closes the same way it opened: honest, unguarded, and familiar, like sharing a chai latte with an old friend. Greyson Chance is still here, still creating, and finally living in the version of himself he long hoped to meet.
Greyson Chance’s new singles, Flip the Record and Savanna, are out now on all major music streaming platforms. Follow the artist at @greysonchance.