Since the release of her previous single
‘realign’,
Kayla Grace has received
Futurepop / Radio 1 airplay from
Maia Beth, performed a
BBC Music Introducing show, been featured by
Notion, and was included in
The Sun’s 23 for 2023 breaking artist list. Factor in new fans including
Matt Healy plus writing sessions with
Hugo Silvani of
Pale Waves and it’s apparent that her homespun mix of bedroom pop and darker alt undercurrent will continue to be rewarded with recognition in the year to come.
With all of that achieved in just three singles, Kayla Grace now continues her promising trajectory as she shares her latest song ‘Dumped’. Listen HERE.
There are break-ups that leave you nostalgic for the good times and break-ups when you lament that circumstances have worked against you. But ‘Dumped’ isn’t either of those. Clearly Kayla Grace is not only doing the dumping but doing it with relish – the ex-derided as being “a little kid” and “another pain in my ass.” It’s not so much a kiss-off of a song, but a fuck off. The music is just as fun, as Kayla Grace explodes from sad girl acoustic singer-songwriter in the opening verse to a kaleidoscopic burst of grunge fire in the hook.
Kayla Grace says, “‘Dumped’ was written about someone that kinda ruined my life for a bit. It was something that stressed me out even months after the end but eventually I reached this cleansed feeling and I was like, I’m so glad you’re history now. I think that feeling of looking back on all the chaos but still being like ‘babe’s, all you got was dumped’ felt powerful and fun so I ran with it and wrote this song. The dynamic of Carol Ades’ ‘26’ felt like a good reference point because of the amount of emotional release you could sense in the climax of the song. Writing and finishing this song has successfully allowed me to become indifferent about this person rather than allowing them to continue ruining me.”
Kayla Grace wrote ‘Dumped’ with James Newman and the track’s producer Ed Thomas(Jorja Smith, Stormzy). It was written and recorded at RAK Studios as part of a SoundOn writing camp teaming up with BMG Publishing. Through SoundOn, TikTok’s promotion and distribution platform, ‘Dumped’ will be released directly to TikTok’s Commercial Music Library’.
While Kayla Grace has already been compared to Avril Lavigne, Holly Humberstone and Olivia Rodrigo, she cites The 1975, Phoebe Bridgers and Nirvana as influences – and you can hear traces of all three of those artists in her songwriting. Lyrically, however, the stories are drawn from her own life: ‘realign’ examining the guilt she felt when her older sister had to move into a residential care home, and ‘nobody loves me’ trying to make peace with the demons from her childhood. She has also released the demo track ‘fifteen again’, which took her back to the confused headspace of that time in her life, while also paying homage to The 1975.
This year will see Kayla Grace release her debut EP.
