“I Trust Very Few People With the Aux”: Grace VanderWaal Makes Us a Playlist of Esoteric Pop

All photos courtesy of Grace VanderWaal.

Welcome to SOUND ADVICE, Interview’s weekly destination for playlists curated by our friends, enemies, and lovers. In recent weeks, we’ve collected playlists from David Longstreth, Chase Icon, and Sausha. This week’s installment comes from singer-songwriter Grace VanderWaal, who first captured the public’s attention at age twelve when her distinctive voice and ukulele ballads won her America’s Got Talent. Now, at 21, her twee, Teen Choice Award days are behind her, though not forgotten. Her latest album, CHILDSTAR, represents a deep reckoning with the fallout of childhood spent in the spotlight. To celebrate the release of her album and accompanying longform performance piece, Vanderwaal crafted a playlist featuring all of our favorite esoteric pop divas, from Lana Del Rey to Björk, and took the time to answer our Sound Advice questionnaire, where she determines the iconic child star status of the Olsen twins and delves into medieval torture aesthetics.

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Where do you dance? I dance everywhere. I dance in the street and in my bedroom and in the shower, but I like to go out dancing with my friends at Socialista New York.

Who do you trust most with the AUX? I trust very few people with the AUX. I feel like a lot of my friends don’t have the same music taste, so let’s say I trust myself the most.

What was your first concert? I think it might have been Twenty One Pilots, and it actually was a really, really good live show.

What’s your national anthem? “Norman Fucking Rockwell!” by Lana Del Rey.

Do you still play the ukulele? I can still play. It’s in my skillset, but I actually have not played in a really long time and I don’t have one in my home. No particular reason. Don’t know why. So yeah, I can, it’s just been a while.

Dream collab, dead or alive: Probably Lana Del Rey or Addison Rae or Julia Fox.

What song do you wish you wrote? Basically any song from Melodrama by Lorde, but specifically probably “Writer In The Dark” or “Silver Springs” by Fleetwood Mac. I definitely wish I wrote that song. Or “Cellophane” by FKA Twigs—I really, really, really wish that I wrote that one.

Who is the most iconic child star? The Olsen twins, obviously.

Name a song that reminds you of your hometown: Probably anything off of Acid Rap by Chance The Rapper.

What inspired the visuals for your new album? Medieval torture and medieval symbolism is where a lot of it came from.

Favorite venue in New York? I’m definitely not looking up the one that I’m playing on Saturday, May 10th. *Laughs* This is about to be a complete coincidence: Racket. (Get your tickets here).

What does your notes app look like? Like a woman who needs some serious, serious psychological help.