Gracie Abrams

I always struggled going against the grain of how pop music should be structured and the seriousness with which people approach writing sessions in Los Angeles.

I think it's obviously an abnormal, pretty unnatural thing to be available to so many strangers, in the way that you are, when you choose to share your feelings through music, or any medium. Everyone's allowed to have their own opinions, which I totally respect, but I think it's also why I don't tend to go seek those out.

That's what I love about songwriting. It's why I've been obsessed with Joni Mitchell forever. You can place yourself right in the moment that she's in, and it makes you feel very close to her as an artist. Feeling like you know someone through their writing strengthens your relationship to all their future music, in my experience.

I've always loved space in music, when songs are allowed to breathe and aren't muddied or weighed down by unnecessary production elements.

The Internet is a funny and scary place to talk about your feelings.