Mckenna Grace has been famous for most of her life, but she’s still surprised that anyone listens to her songs. “I always listen to songs and I’m like, I wish this song was written about me,” she says, before deciding to fix the problem by writing songs for her friends instead. “Why not? That’s positive. That’s nice. Put it out into the universe.”
Her single “Natalie” was born from one of those moments of admiration envy. “I have this girlfriend of mine… and I went home and was like, why can’t I be as cool as her?” she says. “But I didn’t want to write a negative song. I thought, why not write a love song about her?”
Welcome to the heartbreak queen’s new era: platonic love songs. Not that she’s abandoning the emotional wreckage just yet. “That’s why my entire discography is heartbreak songs,” she laughs. But with “Natalie,” she’s tilting the lens—still intense, still jealous, just… nicer.
Grace has released two EPs in the past year—Bittersweet 16 (her punky, pop-rock debut) and Autumn Leaves (a softer, folklore-y drift into seasonal melancholy). Both are impressively self-assured for an artist who’s technically still a teenager, though not for long. “I’ve been acting for 13 years,” she reminds me. “Music? Just two or three.”
That said, don’t confuse newness for naivety. “I have a good idea for what I want to put out next,” she says. “I’m very in a Lana Del Rey headspace right now… but also, I want to do a rock or metal album someday.” In the same breath, she shouts out System of a Down, Limp Bizkit, and Slipknot. “My entire aesthetic and vibe says ‘folklore,’ but I love metal.”
She’s not kidding. Grace is already plotting a horror movie that she’d write a metal soundtrack for. “Just putting that out there,” she grins. She and her dad have several scripts in development via their Beautiful Ghost Productions banner—including The Bad Seed Returns, which she starred in, co-wrote, and executive produced. You know, just in her spare time between Ghostbusters sequels and songwriting trips to London.
Yes, Ghostbusters. The girl who once made Egon Spengler’s granddaughter cool is back in the jumpsuit for another round, this time in New York, and this time bringing guitars to set. “Finn [Wolfhard] and I both brought ours. Logan [Kim] plays Metallica on his. Paul Rudd plays too—he does this thing where he keeps restarting ‘Blackbird’ over and over. It’s hilarious.”
While most of Autumn Leaves was written during filming in London, “Natalie” came later. “I wrote it in February, then rerecorded it when I got back from being out of the country for seven months.” Even then, she still discovers old demos by accident. “My mom and I were driving and she was like, ‘Turn that one on.’ We were like, wait, this is fire. Why isn’t this on the EP?” That song was “What You’ll Never Say,” and it’s now one of her most streamed tracks.
As for albums of the year, she hesitates—then apologizes for hesitating. “Folklore,” she decides. “That’s probably my favorite album of all time. I’ll die on that hill.” She also name-drops Alanis, Blondshell, Lovejoy, and Dijon before spiraling into a Spotify-wrapped haze. “What did I even listen to this year?”
Eventually she circles back to the joy of writing for others—even if it’s just friends she wishes she could be for a day. “I want to start writing love songs about everyone I know,” she says. “Why not?” It’s the rare pop star flex that sounds less like ego and more like a homemade valentine. With guitars. And possibly screaming.
Watch the interview above and then check out the video below.
