Conan Gray has been slowly, meticulously building his footprint as a pop star for quite some time now. Developing an online presence at an early age via Youtube, Gray used his videos as a form of creative expression to escape a home life that wasn’t always idyllic, and his early EP Sunset Season put him on the map in a huge way. Building off early singles and a high-energy live show, Gray eventually landed a deal with Republic Records and continued releasing intimate, catchy songs that indicated big things were on the way for him.
The dream coalesced for Gray in March of last year, when he released his debut album Kid Krow, packed with singles that have racked up millions of streams all while staying true to the same clever, personal songwriting that initially catapulted him to stardom. Then, of course, the pandemic hit, and his performance at Coachella was canceled, along with a whole slew of planned international appearances. But, never one to sit on his laurels, Gray continued on despite a changed landscape, collaborating with Lauv, performing on Corden, and releasing a brand new track of his own tonight that somehow already feels leaps and bounds ahead of his 2020 debut.
“Overdrive” is classic, blockbuster pop with huge guitar riffs, soaring vocals, and the kind of chorus that makes you want to roll the windows down and scream it out into the night. It’s an instant hit, the kind of unstoppable young love tribute that will be adopted by kids cooped up inside as a breakout anthem, even if they’re just singing along with the car stereo. This one is destined for arenas, as soon as those stages are safe again. Check it out above and keep an eye out for Conan, he’s only on the way up.
