It is almost hard to believe that it has been four years since Grace Davies first appeared on 'The X Factor,' performing her beautiful original song 'Roots' at her first audition. Fast forward to 2021 and Grace Davies has released numerous singles, including 'Amsterdam,' 'Just A Girl' and most recently, the infamous track 'Roots,' with the track landing a position in the Official Big Top 40.
'It was just a massive relief and weight off my shoulders to get it out there and see the fans enjoying it within those first twenty-four hours,' she explained when speaking about the success of her latest single. However, she added that 'seeing everything that happened to it afterwards was just a pure shock, but it was mind-blowing, as I wasn't expecting it at all!' Describing the craziness of the past number of weeks as 'an up and down rollercoaster,' it is inevitable that she is relieved to get a song that has touched so many people across the world released.
Despite the song being so well-received back in 2017, when speaking with us, Grace explained that she didn't expect the single to go any further than her fans. Yet, there was a slight apprehension around the release, with her describing that she was 'scared about the expectation people had for it, as it did wonders for me four years ago, but I thought that if I put it out now, I was worried that it would be anti-climatic and a bit of a let down, so that was a massive fear.'
Speaking about the personal representation of 'Roots,' the immensely talented singer, song-writer and performer explained that she first penned the single when she moved away from her hometown to London. 'I wrote 'Roots' about wanting to do music forever and I was so in love with the house I was in. I didn't want to go back to my hometown. I wanted to stay in London and do music all the time.'
When asked about the moment she found out that 'Roots' had placed in the UK Official Top 40, she explained that she was 'in bed with a hangover when I got the message from Capital FM and then I was just screaming and crying. I'm so dramatic, but it was amazing!'
One thing Grace has been on her social media is very transparent about the challenges the past number of months have brought. Amid the pandemic, she moved away from London and she is now an independent artist, but the success of 'Roots' and everything that has come with it is hailed as a light at the end of the tunnel. 'It's been a difficult eighteen months for everyone in every industry, but the label shut down and everything that happened didn't help. Coming away from London was really good for my brain, but then I kind of wondered if I was going to be here forever or do I just have to move on and change career paths. I didn't know where it was going to take me, but the past couple of weeks have made me realise why I kept going - thank God I did!'
During the lockdown period, which she admits inevitably had its pros and cons, Grace had the opportunity to produce her own music - a skill that she got to build upon, with that particular time also giving her the opportunity to 'be more creative by myself.' Talking about the challenges that came with producing her own music, she explained that 'it was left up to me to produce, and I didn't know how to produce, so I had to teach myself it. It is definitely an added skill that lockdown forced me to do and one that I'm now very grateful for. Spending all that time by myself also forced me to write by myself, which I kind of forgot to do.'
Grace has also been on tour with Janet Devlin, which has also given her the opportunity to perform her own music live again. 'It has been such a nice experience for me, but also for the fans as well, because they have been coming to online shows I do every month and watching them through a computer screen. I released my first single in January last year and then we went into lockdown, so all of these songs have been lockdown babies. To perform them for the first time, even though some of them are a year and a half old, is amazing. This is the fun part of my job and something that I have always wanted to do. It was the one thing we weren't allowed to do over the past eighteen months, but it has been nice to see people, be near them and sing in front of them to their face!'
Looking ahead to the future, she has her new EP out this month, and she also hopes to hit the road to perform her own headline shows at the beginning of next year. With a promise of new music also, it looks as if 2022 will be just as exciting a year as 2021 has been for her, if not even more so!
She thanked her supporters for being 'the most patient ever.' With one final message of appreciation, she thanked supporters for 'sticking around and not getting bored of me, and for continuing to support me all the time - it's mind-blowing really!'
Grace Davies' new EP 'I Wonder If You Wonder' is set to be released later this month.
By Rachel Dempster