Conan Gray shines in new album “Wishbone”, his biggest album to debut.

Written by EJ Meredith

Conan Gray, does that sound familiar? You might have heard his name in passing, or from his hit song “Heather”, but have you really listened? Conan Gray's new album “Wishbone“ is perfection in its own distinct way. “Wishbone” isn't just an album but a carefully crafted story. As we follow Conan along on his adventure, “Wishbone” explores heartbreak, personal growth, and vulnerability that is prominent throughout the whole album. This album is meticulously composed and personalized to Conan, his vulnerability and cut-heart lyrics shine through in this album like no other, as he states himself that “musically it was the most comfortable he has ever been”. Gray originally wasn't going to make an album so soon after his third album “Found Heaven”, he shared on Vevo. He wrote most of this album alone, comforted on his living floor just for his own personal being, but after around 150 songs out of 300, the thought of “Wishbone” was created. Originally named as “Conan’s big adventure" by his friends, this album was a turning point for Conan in his personal life and in his music career.

It's no secret that this is Conan Gray's biggest album debut of his career, debuting as number 1 on the billboard album sales. “Wishbone” is also Gray's first album to enter the top 100 of 86 countries on the Apple Music chart, but numbers alone don't capture the full story. I asked Conan Gray fans or “coneheads” as they have been known as, how they would describe “Wishbone”. One writes on the album that “it’s both comforting and confronting in the best way—it’s a lot of open emotions and it’s very kind of, laying my cards all out on the table, but in a way that’s like, yeah, this feels like a hug because he gets it” (@wilmonscoffee on x) which highlights the reference as Conan being known as one of the most relatable pop artist of our generation. Another one writes that  “it's a cathartic unraveling of love, loss, and identity, told with both sharp edges and soft vulnerability — it’s the kind of album that hurts in the moment but lingers like healing after the storm.” (@somewhatwedie on x) “Wishbone” is a tough album to fully capture its magic into words but I feel these two quotes and the many more that have been shared with me, really highlights the full album and the influence Conan Gray’s music has on so many music lovers across the world, including myself. 

Before the release of “Wishbone," Conan highlights his songs “Vodka Cranberry" and “This Song” that were released as singles from the album accompanied with two music videos co-starring Corey Fogelmanis. “This Song” displays the giddy feeling of falling in love, high on the feeling that “they could love you back”, while “Vodka Cranberry" is the opposite, exploring the downfall of the relationship. Conan released a third music video the day of the “Wishbone” release for his song “Carmel", that continues the story, representing feelings of memories of your ex coming back up and reminiscing on the relationship, these three songs and music videos being known as the "Wishbone” trilogy.

 If this is your first time hearing Conan Gray from “Wishbone" I strongly recommend you to listen more. This 12 song sound track consists of slow meaningful ballads and hit upbeat pop beats with pain, heartbreak, love and emotional growth. A real no skip album. This album truly is life changing to Conan’s future career and I'm grateful to be along for the adventure. Whoever you are there is a song for you on Conan Gray's new album “Wishbone”.

Conan Gray in a styled shoot for his album "Wishbone". Offstage Exposure does not own this image, all credits to the original owner.