Conan Gray has had an untraditional path to pop success. He started on YouTube, uploading his first vlog in January of 2013. It wouldn’t be until November of the following year that he would make his first singing video, a cover of “To Make You Feel My Love” . After years of vlogging, he finally found his way in the industry, signing to Republic Records in 2018. In that same year he released his debut EP, titled “Sunset Season,” which made its way to number 116 on the Billboard 200 chart. However, despite some early success, Gray hasn’t maintained attention from the public or critics and is on the backburner of the pop genre.
Gray’s breakthrough wouldn’t occur until his debut album, 2020’s “Kid Krow,” and would subsequently peak there. “Kid Krow” reached number 5 on the Billboard 200 chart, a career high for Gray that has yet to be matched, and charted for 36 weeks. The album’s 10th track “Heather” was not only the album’s breakout single, but Gray’s, peaking at number 46 on the Billboard Hot 100. “Heather” is Gray’s most streamed song on Spotify, with 1.9 billion streams, and remains his most popular song on the platform.
“Heather” is about how Gray desperately wishes that he was Heather (the subject of his crush’s adoration), with the chorus including the line “I wish I were Heather.” The song has become so important to Gray and his fans, that every December 3rd, they celebrate “Heather day” (a date mentioned in the song’s first verse).
His next two albums, 2022’s “Superache” and 2024’s “Found Heaven” peaked at numbers 9 and 14, respectively, but despite the strong singles of “Kid Krow” (“Maniac,” “Heather”) none of his subsequent singles have found Billboard acclaim. That doesn’t mean none of them have had merit though, with “Memories” (“Superache’s” penultimate track) and “Alley Rose” (“Found Heaven’s” fifth single) being some of his strongest ballads to date.
For most of his career (“Sunset Season” to “Superache”) Gray consistently worked with producer and songwriter Daniel Nigro. The two have found immense success with each other, combining forces for the aforementioned “Heather” along with other popular Gray songs. Although it can be difficult for a producer to make a name for themselves, Nigro has found recent stardom, taking the Grammy award for Producer of The Year, Non-Classical, at this year’s ceremony.
Nigro’s breakthrough has been found through his work with prominent pop artists Olivia Rodrigo and Chappell Roan. Nigro has produced every Rodrigo song, including her Grammy winning debut album, “SOUR.” The album earned him his first four Grammy nominations, and first Grammy win for Best Pop Vocal Album. Nigro went on to produce Roan’s debut album, “The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess,” which also earned him four Grammy nominations.
Rodrigo and Roan were both thrown into superstardom, becoming household names after their debut albums, which is a rare feat. Both also took home the title of Best New Artist at their respective Grammy ceremonies. Clearly, Nigro has what it takes to help propel an almost unknown into the pop rafters. Then, what went wrong with Gray? Why has he been stuck living in the shadows of his peers, despite sharing the same primary collaborator? Is it due to the recent takeover of “pop princesses” like Rodrigo, Roan and Sabrina Carpenter in the music industry? It’s not like Gray is untalented, or even unpopular, he just hasn’t captured the hearts of critics and the general public like Rodrigo and Roan did on the first try. Some could say Gray has found his music industry “Heather(s).” One factor that might make this situation more frustrating for Gray, is that he worked with Nigro first, in 2018. While Nigro first collaborated with Roan in 2020, and then Rodrigo in 2021.
Maybe Gray needs more time to establish himself, like Carpenter, whose sixth album “Short N’ Sweet” finally cemented her spot in the pop realm. It should be emphasized that “Kid Krow” wasn’t a failure by any means, just because it lacks in comparison to “SOUR” and “Rise and Fall” doesn’t mean it’s anything to scoff at. Gray threw everything at the wall, he himself just didn’t stick.
It may seem unfair to compare Gray to Rodrigo and Roan, but it’s a comparison that can’t be avoided. It wouldn’t hurt if Gray returned to where his success first bloomed: in the studio with Nigro (who didn’t work on “Found Heaven”) as the primary producer for his fourth album. This seems likely, as Nigro co-produced Gray’s latest single, “Holidays.” The chances of this upcoming album gaining the favor of fans (and critics) are significantly higher when you add in Nigro, especially since he is now not only known as Rodrigo’s producer, but an artist in his own right.
First Rodrigo dominated 2021, then Roan in 2024, and now Nigro himself won an individual Grammy in 2025. Gray has the talent, the producer, and now the opportunity. It seems safe to say that now is the time for Conan Gray to go mainstream.