Um, attention all shoppers. Do we have a Molly Grace? We certainly do, and she’s not just making waves in aisle four like in her 2024 hit “What If I? (The Grocery Store Song).”
Fresh off her recent single “Heaven Sent,” released on May 23, Molly Grace is gearing up to support Betty Who’s summer tour. The recent Belmont graduate is making waves on TikTok and on stage in her classic sparkly romper.
When she’s not performing, the 23-year-old might be watching movies with her friends (she’s a horror gal), on a nature walk, or getting her nails done (pink, of course). But she can never stay away from music too long, and she’s already started writing for the next project, she teases.
Culture, unfiltered
Our newsletter will bring you the pulse of queer culture, from the tastemakers to the groundbreakers.
Honestly, I’ve been hearing your stuff for months on Instagram and TikTok, so I’m really excited to hear about your journey. What has it been like to get to where you are now with music and performing?
I have been a musical gal for my entire life. When I was little, I always loved singing. Do you remember when your family would have a computer and it would be in a room? I would go into the computer room and look up Justin Bieber karaoke and sing by myself. As I grew up, I started getting involved in theater and choir and just basically anything performing arts related that I could do, both in my school and in my community. And I started writing songs when I was 10 years old. It was never a question of if I would do music, it was how. Part of me was like, “Do I want to be on Broadway? Do I want to be a music teacher? Do I want to do any of these other things?”
Ultimately, I just really love songwriting, and I love being an artist. I feel like it fulfills me in such a big way, because I get to be larger than life and entertain and perform, but I also get to be honest and talk about my own life and be vulnerable with people and relate to people on a personal level. I’m not really playing a character. I really worked on it all throughout college. I went on my first tour second semester of senior year of college, which was crazy, because I was doing classes during the week and tour on the weekends. That was a real rock star experience.
Amazing! Tell me about one of the first moments where you were like, “Whoa. I can see this being something really big.”
Honestly, the first moment for me was my senior year of college. Belmont does this thing called the Showcase Series. It’s completely student-led, students produce the show, and students are the acts, and it’s basically a big competition. They do country, R&B, and pop, all these different genres. I had applied every year to audition, and I never made it, but my senior year, I made it to the auditions and into the showcase. What’s cool about these showcase performances is that they’re in our arena, so I got to be on a big stage with the LED screens and the full lighting design. I played shows where I’d have my band and stuff in a tiny club. But this was the first time I really got to realize my vision as an artist to that scale with the background dancers and the full band and all the visuals happening on the screen and the sparkles and the hair, the whole thing. And it was that performance where I was like, “Oh, I want to be a pop star.” Before that, I almost wasn’t letting myself dream that big.
You have that pop stair flair and persona in your videos. What does that feel like for you?
My god, I love it. When I don’t play a show for a while, and then I put on my heels and my sparkly romper, I literally feel like I’m a superhero. It’s so fun for me. Molly Grace is just a caricature of Molly Zeytoonian. I lean into the most confident, flashy, flirty parts that are in me as a person. So when I get to go on stage, I honestly feel so confident and sparkly and dazzling.
“When I don’t play a show for a while, and then I put on my heels and my sparkly romper, I literally feel like I’m a superhero.”
– Molly Grace
You just finished your tour pretty recently. What was that experience like?
This tour was really something special, because it was the first tour since “F.E.M.M.E.” having its moment on TikTok and Instagram. We had just done an East Coast tour a year prior, which was my first tour ever. The experience of seeing fans in person for the first time was mind-blowing. But with this, it was crazy. I remember when we booked these rooms and they were 500 caps instead of 150, I was like, “Oh my god. Who is going to come? I really hope that people show up.” But these rooms were full every night, and I got to stay after the show and talk to so many fans and meet so many people, and it was a real moment of “Oh sh*t. We’re really doing this.” I’ve been to shows this size as a fan, and so it was mind-blowing to hear people singing the lyrics. Really, the part that always gets me is the fact that people plan their life around this show. They make travel arrangements and plan an outfit and go with their friends and get dinner before, and it’s just crazy. People are spending their money and time to come see me. It was really surreal and validating as well.
Not to bring up the elephant in the room, but are you seeing a response from fans in this political landscape?
That’s another thing that’s been really special about this last tour, because it’s been my first tour since the changeover of presidents. I have never been more grateful for our community and for gathering together in person, specifically, at a show. I think a lot about what my role is because I think art is inherently political, whether you’re trying to make it politically consciously or not. Me being an out lesbian artist is political. My personal role that I’ve given to myself is the pursuit of creating these safe spaces. The music I make is really joyful and it is really empowering and it’s really fun, and shows are really just a good time and a good vibe. My goal is creating my concerts and my music to be these spaces where, for a second, we can all breathe and dance and have fun and be together and not have to feel so self conscious. That’s my mission as an artist, and I think it’s so important.
“Me being an out lesbian artist is political. My personal role that I’ve given to myself is the pursuit of creating these safe spaces.”
– Molly Grace
What is it like for you to be young and performing for young people?
I love being Gen Z. I am a proud Gen Zer. It’s just really fun, especially the queer Gen Z community as well. I feel like we were the first generation to grow up with queerness being not as taboo of a topic. I always talk to my sister, and she’s a millennial, and she’s always like, “It’s so cool how your generation is so fluid in so many ways, like experimenting with sexuality and gender identity.” I’m really lucky to be a part of this generation that is more free to explore and isn’t afraid to be proud, if you will. I also think it’s such a fun vibe at shows, because I feel like a characteristic of Gen Z is we’re quite silly and a little unserious. I dance a lot with the crowd at shows and at the merch table after the show too. My fans are just so funny and kind and I just love being a part of this whole generation.
You make videos applying to be the next “pop princess.” What is it like to be up and coming right now?
One of the greatest joys of coming up right now has been making friends with artists that are also doing it because we can commiserate about the parts that suck, like posting your TikToks and praying that they go viral and they never do. Sometimes my friends and I will send each other our demos. It’s just been really fun to have people to come up with. We’re all growing and hustling right now. We’re the next class of pop princesses and princes and royalty.
What’s your favorite song to perform, if you can pick a favorite?
Well, I have a few. Right now, my favorite song is called “Heaven Sent.” It’s so ridiculously campy. It’s a pop disco song that’s also a gospel song, and it likens a sexual awakening to a spiritual one. It’s ridiculous and funny and cheeky. Every time I perform it, the crowd loves it, and I love doing it because I get to just be really dramatic and funny.
Where do you draw inspiration from?
I draw so much inspiration from so many different places. I love disco, so I love Donna Summer, The Pointer Sisters, Whitney Houston, Michael Jackson, Prince, all of those vibes I am really inspired by. I listen to mostly pop music, and a lot of what’s current, and I listen to a lot of up and coming artists that are around my size. I get really inspired by people who are doing cool things right now, like artists that are around my size that I’m really inspired by. I love Caroline Kingsbury and MARIS and Isaac Dunbar and Meg Smith. I also love, of course, Chappell Roan and Sabrina Carpenter. I love Remi Wolf.
So, what’s next?
I have a lot of music coming out this year that I’m really, really proud of. Also, hopefully more touring. Basically, it’s a busy year, and it’s gonna be a good one. All I can say is that you will never have to wait that long, ever. This whole year, things are happening back to back, so a fan will never have to be starved. ♦
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
Related
The ‘Drag Race’ star spills the tea on her showmance, her cast of Koriverse characters, and being compared to Trixie Mattel.
The fashion influencer and model tells us about bringing femme representation to TikTok and finding queer joy in New York City.
Sign up for the INTO newsletter and get your twice-weekly dose of stories that shape the queer experience, culture, and lifestyle.
INTO’s 25 Under 25 is celebrating 25 queer changemakers ages 25 and under all Pride Month long. Check out a new interview every weekday through July 4 on our 25 Under 25 homepage.
