A former X Factor contestant from Blackburn releases her brand new EP today (26 November) – and it’s set to take you on an unfiltered ride from hope to heartbreak.
The EP follows the success of Grace Davies’ original song, ‘roots’ which featured in the UK Top 40 music charts following its release in October.
The EP, which features six songs, is a personal collection of tracks marking Grace’s astounding progress since she embraced the journey into releasing independently.
It carries a message of Grace’s growth and strength over the last year, as she’s embarked on releasing under her own musical direction and retaining full creative control.
‘i wonder if you wonder’ is the epitome of rawness and honesty, something Grace is proud to display to her dedicated fans.
Speaking about her EP, Grace said: “The songs are the six stages of a relationship going wrong; I’m looking for love, finding it, losing it.
“The EP captures my many emotions – happy, sad, angry, upset, feeling lost, grief. I get progressively worse until I finally reach the ‘f*** you’ stage.
“The concept came after the songs, which were written a few years apart. I realised that if I put them in a particular order, they would tell a story, but really they’re just ballads about my still tragic life.”
There are six songs in total on the EP, including: somebody, i met a boy online, roots, testosterone, used to you and toothbrush.
‘somebody’ is the EP’s opener and the final track to be released. It’s a spine-tingling, stripped-back, classic piano ballad about being ready for love, which dates back to 2018 and written alongside collaborators Frances (Dua Lipa, Katy Perry) and Jin-Jin (Jess Glynne, RAYE).
24-year-old Grace said: "‘somebody’ is one of my favourite songs I’ve ever written.
“I’ve loved Frances as an artist since I was in my teens – her song ‘Grow’ was an inspiration for ‘roots’. At our first session together we wrote ‘somebody’ and I’ve longed to put it out ever since.”
‘i met a boy online’ talks of a time when Grace felt lonely, isolated and alone in London and dipped her toe in the world of online dating.
It was not initially intended for the EP, however when the former St Leonard's CE Primary School pupil Grace began posting about the song on TikTok, it blew up and gained an impressive view count of over 1.5M, leaving her with no choice but to add it to the collection.
It subsequently was featured on MTV’s new series of Catfish UK.
@itsgracedavies I wrote a song about online dating during lockdown... Does anyone relate? ##fyp ##foryou ##onlinedating ##songwriter
♬ i met a boy online_grace davies - Grace Davies
(Credit: Tik Tok/@itsgracedavies)
‘roots’ was written entirely by Grace, and she famously performed the track for her X Factor audition in 2017.
Every day since, her fans - millions of whom have viewed her viral audition video on Facebook – begged her to release the song, which she finally did just last month. The reaction was incredible, with the track charting instantly.
‘roots’ has also been widely used as a romantic wedding song, something which has overwhelmed Grace.
2 DAYS ✨ since i performed it on the show, you took ‘roots’ and it became your song 👰🏻♀️ as a songwriter, to think you’ve created something people connect with to the point where it’s the soundtrack to some of the most special & emotional moments of their life is just… wow ❤️ pic.twitter.com/758ssqFwbC
— grace davies (@gracedavies) November 24, 2021
She said: “Since I performed it on the show, you took ‘roots’ and it became your song.
“As a songwriter, to think you’ve created something people connect with to the point where it’s the soundtrack to some of the most special & emotional moments of their life is just… wow.”
‘testosterone’ was the EP’s first official single release in March 2021. The song was written by Grace’s teen idol Lauren Aquilina, with whom she worked on ‘Friends With The Tragic’, and Pete Rycroft, aka Lostboy (Rita Ora, Griff, Tom Grennan).
‘used to you’ might be construed as a track with lyrics fitting for a breakup, however that wasn’t quite what Grace had in mind when she was putting the song together.
‘used to you’ is in fact about the breakdown of her previous label SYCO, with the lyrics talking of how crushed she felt when she received that dreaded phone call back in 2020.
Closing the EP comes witty heartbreaker ‘toothbrush’, a real-life tale of moving on by throwing out an ex’s possessions. This up-tempo, liberating track enriches Grace’s signature sound of utter pop perfection.
“I call this my ballad EP,” says Grace. “It takes me back to my roots, but with all the experience I’ve gained by being on X Factor, playing big gigs, releasing records and working with so many great creatives.
“As cheesy as it sounds, I know the girl who wrote ‘roots’ would be really proud of this EP and all she’s achieved.”
‘i wonder if you wonder’ is now avaliable to buy and stream now via Spotify, Apple Music, ITunes and Grace’s official store: https://lnk.to/iwonderifyouwonder
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