Gracee Shriver

Hey y’all! This is Gracee Shriver and you’re listening to Coffee With A&J. Hey guys, welcome back to Coffee With A&J. What’s up everyone? We’re so excited to have Gracee with us here today. Thank you so much for coming on. Thank you for having me. I’m pumped. Ya, of course! Do you want to introduce yourself, kind of let everyone know where you’re from, your major, that kind of stuff? Ya! So, I’m from Owasso, Oklahoma, it’s kind of near Tulsa, and I’m a Music Business major at Belmont. So, studying music and doing shows and stuff on the side right now. So, what was your music journey like? How did you start, did you have any influences that really pushed you to pursue music as a full-time career? Ya, so when I was like nine, I got into singing lessons and my mom actually put my sister in them to kind of break her out of her shell and she hated them, so I took over because I was kind of wanting to do everything she did. I’ve been doing it ever since. I pretty much grew up listening to every country music artist under the sun, but like Reba and Carrie and Miranda Lambert, people like that, I was obsessed with. So not long after I think when I was ten, I won my first guitar. Started writing songs and just pretty much pursuing it ever since I got a job at a barbecue restaurant in my town and I sang there on Friday nights. I sang there until I graduated high school. So ya, that’s pretty much, that’s how I got into it. That’s awesome. So, would you say music is what brought you to Nashville or was it college? Like what kind of got you here? I would say music for sure. Ever since I was little, I told everybody that I was gonna go to Belmont because so many famous like country music singers went there, but definitely the city and like my music career is what brought me here. Belmont was just kind of like a perk of being here. So, the song I’m about to sing is my new single coming out. It’s called “Like A Broken Record.” Do you want to talk a little bit about your experience on The Voice? The Voice was so fun. I made a ton of lifelong friends and it was kind of cool because it was like a mini crash course of what the industry was gonna be like. Right when I got off honestly on the way home my mom was like, “Is this still something you want to do,” and I was like, “Yes, it made me want to do it more.” I was on Team Kelly and then on the Knockout round, which was like the third round, I got stolen by Blake and so it was fun. Taylor Swift was my Mega Mentor, which I completely fangirled over. So you met her? I met her, yes. How did you handle-like, did you know it was her or did you walk in and you were completely surprised? I was completely surprised. She, like they don’t tell you who the Mega Mentor is, and so I walked in with the girl I was gonna sing against in that round and we were both the same age, and we flipped. And then I was like, “How am I supposed to sing in front of Taylor Swift?” That’s crazy that you got to sing in front of her. Ya, I know and so we had to practice our songs and she was there to like help us with like choreography and critiquing and then like telling us what we do and don’t do and sharing her experience. I was like, “I’m being coached by Taylor Swift right now.” Oh my gosh, that’s like an amazing…holy crap. It was so fun, but it was definitely crazy and when I got home my mom was like, “Can you believe that just happened?” Ya, that’s insane! What song did you sing in front of her? So, I sang “Lead the Pieces” by The Wreckers, which is kind of an early 2000s song, but it was so fun. It was kind of crazy because when I sang that song, she was like, “Oh my gosh, breakup songs, like those are my jam,” so I was like, “Ya!” You were like, “I know.” I didn’t even write that song and I was like, “I know!” Ya, she was so cool and my mom was freaking out because during, like while I was singing in there, she since I was a minor, she had to come with me at all times, and she sat in the back and I guess sat next to Taylor Swift’s dad the whole entire time. Like talking to him. She didn’t know who it was until he left and then the guy producer was like, “You know who that was, right? That was her dad.” My mom was like, “Oh my gosh!” That’s so funny that your mom was there. It was so amazing. I honestly probably…I couldn’t have done it without her there. It was like-because living out there in Los Angeles for that long was kind of crazy, but she made it fun and it was cool to share that experience with her. How long were you there for? I was there for about like six months to seven months in total Oh wow. So when was this exactly? This was my senior year of high school. So I literally like went my whole- the summer before my senior year into my senior year. I got back the very end of December was when the season wrapped up like right before Christmas and then COVID hit in the spring semester of my senior year. So, I was like never into school. So you didn’t get to walk at graduation? Well, the COVID kind of cancelled that anyways, but no we did get to walk. It was just way late and they like split us up. Oh, interesting. But I didn’t get to like go to class at all, so I was kind of like “Oh whatever.” It was fun. So what kind of opportunities would you say that being on The Voice has brought you since the ending of the season? I definitely think like I’m really glad I did it. I was a little nervous at first, you know kind of skipping a lot of the major life moments, but I feel like by doing that it taught me so much, especially when it came to like stage performance and things. But also when I moved to town, it’s drawn a lot of attention to the fact that I like did live television and things like that. So, I defeinitey feel like most of all it taught me so much. Just between wardrobe and even hair and makeup and like interviews. They coach you on how to do interviews right? Yes, we did…oh my gosh I don’t know how many interviews I did. It was so many, but it was definitely a good learning experience. Ya, that’s awesome. So, do you feel like you don’t get nervous as much when you do live perfoamnce here just because you had all of that experience? It kind of honestly depends. I feel like it’s not even as much nerves of what other people are going to think, but I put pressure on myself. Right, ya. Which is something I gotta, especially in this industry, I’ve got to learn to go more with the flow. But ya, I think it helped a lot because I mean…and in those moments that I go kind of backwards, my dad’s like, “Ok, you sang in front of 11 million people. Like, what is your deal?” Like, I know! I know, but I still put that pressure on myself sometimes. That makes sense. That’s good though. So your new album is set to come out really soon. Can listeners expect a new sound or is it going to be similar to your past projects that you’ve released? I am so excited about this one because I definitely think it incorporates some of the stuff that I released a little bit ago, but also it’s like I got to really hone in on my sound on this project. So, I think it will bring a different vibe than the other ones have before. This is the first song that I wrote when I got to town, so it was kind of crazy. It started it in my bedroom and then I took it to a couple of my friends, one named Buddy Owens and one named Gaylin Griffin, and we sat down and finished it. I’ve been in love with it ever since and so getting to record it was so amazing. I’m pumped for everybody to hear it. It’s gonna be so good. That’s so exciting. What would you say some of your biggest inspirations were while creating this new album? Ok, honestly it really wasn’t even artists, but experiences that kind of shaped it. I think moving off to school came with a lot of…especially because I’m nine and a half hours away, so it kind of came with a lot of stresses, but also new exciting feelings. So, it’s kind of all over the place and I have several songs being released within the next couple of months and they’re kind of just like an emotional roller coaster, which is what I feel like I was going through at the time. So, that’s how I would describe it. So, on a different note, what’s some advice that you have to give to young females trying to break into country music since it’s such a hard industry? Ya, I would say that’s one thing I’ve had to ask a lot of people as well. I feel like sometimes, especially females, like you know they don’t get as much radio air play and things like that. So, I would just say sticking to it and one thing that I’ve had to continuously tell myself is just being myself. I have a low voice for a female and sometimes people might look down on that, but I’m like, “Well, that’s who I am.” Not everybody has a low voice, so I guess really honing in on those things that make me unique. And, just remember that at the end of the day I’m doing it, or every female that’s doing it, is doing it because they love it. So, it’ll all work out as long as you stay really true to yourself, which I know it seems so cliché, but it’s really hard at times. No ya, that’s definitely good advice. So, what would you say is next for you? Right now I actually…so, I’m releasing my song and then I have a video coming out to go along with it, which was like my first major video that I’ve been able to do. It was actyally produced by Riley and he went to Belmont. He just graduated. So, he did so good and that will be popping up on like the CMT things, which has been crazy. I’m super pumped about that. I have a couple major shows coming up this year pretty soon within the spring that’s really good. So, mainly just a lot of shows. A lot of new music coming and ya, it’s kind of going to be a whirlwind. That’s so exciting! Well, thank you so much for coming on with us. Thank you for having me. This has been so fun. Do you want to give the listeners your usernames, Instagram, where to find you? Spotify? Ya, so my Instagram is Gracee.shriver and that’s G R A C E E dot Shriver and then my Spotify is just Gracee Shriver. Twitter, Facebook, it’s all the same just with two Es. It’s kind of spelled weird. Awesome, well thank you so much. Ya, thanks for coming on. Thank you guys! This is Gracee Shriver. Thank you for listening to Coffee With A&J.