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NYC singer-songwriter Chloe Grace Baker—also known as Baker Grace—is going deeper and more personal in her newest single. Diving into her personal experience with mental health, her latest single "Be Ok" was the song she "needed to write". We asked Baker Grace all about "Be Ok", her writing process and what's coming next...

Listen to "Be Ok" below: 

Girls' Liife: What was the inspiration behind "Be Ok"? 

Baker Grace: I was going through a really tough time with my own mental health when I wrote "Be Ok", and it was one of those songs that just came to me. I went into the studio that day and I wasn't feeling it, so the producer and I went on a hike. We took a guitar up into the hills of LA and worked on the song. 

"Be Ok" really is about that— I just couldn't take it anymore, just how fast our world moves these days and the amount of pressure to be perfect and successful when it's hard enough just to get out of bed in the morning. I really just needed to get to the bottom of what was important to me and I think this song was the start of helping me do that. 

GL: How would you describe your style of music? 

BG:  I really like to describe my music as a balance between light and dark, organic and artificial. That represents my brand and who I am as a person. Finding that light between all these darker chords and darker synth with my voice being the light within. That positivity within represents who I am and how I try to navigate the chaos of the world around me. I like to show that music can be soft and sweet but it can also be powerful and strong at the same time. 

GL: How long have you been singing or writing songs? 

BG: I've been singing ever since I could talk, I didn't ever stop singing! I did musical theater and talent shows and I always wrote silly songs on my own. When I was in middle school my mind started to get deeper and darker and I was feelings and thoughts I'd never had before. Songwriting kind of found me in that moment, so when I was 12 or 13 I knew that I needed to be writing songs, I'd go crazy if I didn't! 

GL: What's your writing process like? 

BG: It's kind of all over the place, I get inspiration everywhere. I'll get a line or a melody in my head when I'm working out or cooking and I'll just jot it down. I'll go back in my notebook later and I'll have all of these words and melodies that just naturally come together when I go to the piano or studio. It's always really cool to see how all the fragmented pieces of my mind can be put together to create a story. 

BAKER GRACE'S CURRENT FAVES

Hobbies: I love to cook, I love food. I also love to read. 

Book: The Color Of Water by James McBride is a really amazing book, I highly recommend it. 

Coffee order: In the morning I always have coffee with almond milk, that's my go-to. 

Fashion trend: I love vintage clothing, I love a good pair of wide-legged jeans. I feel like everybody needs cute tank tops and t-shirts and a dope pair of jeans, that's the *perfect* outfit. 

GL: What's coming up next for you? 

BG: With this single, I'm stripping it back and getting to the core of who I am and I use my voice as the main instrument. I went back to some of the music that I listened to growing up like singer-songwriter folk music and gave it a modern take. I'm also working on how to produce and I love big beats and hip hop music so I think my next music is going to have bigger production but is still surrounded by the organic vocal elements. 

GL: What message would you like listeners to come away with after they hear "Be Ok"? 

BG: That mental health is important. Even when we know that mental health is important it's really hard to take care of ourselves and give ourselves the time to figure out who we are. I think it's super important that before we go and live our lives or try to please others, we figure out what we really want for ourselves and what's important to us. 

GL: What advice would you give to GL readers? 

BG: Don't be afraid to make mistakes. When I was growing up I wouldn't do things because I was afraid of failing. The second I stopped being afraid of failing I grew so much. I have made a million mistakes but I think that's better than never trying. 

Image Credit: Jamie Noise

Top image and slider via: instagram.com/bakergracemusic

by Abigail Adams | 3/12/2021