GREYSON CHANCE

“Now looking back, I think I was really blessed that I was dropped when I did because that was right around the time that on a personal level, I was discovering that I was gay,” says Greyson Chance during a sunny morning in Los Angeles. It’s a week after our shoot with him in London during a promo trip for his latest single Dancing Next To Me and we’ve linked back up over FaceTime to talk about the next era of his extraordinary music career to date.

This year marks a decade since a video clip of Greyson sat at the piano performing Lady Gaga’s eclectic hit Paparazzi went viral and launched him into the public consciousness. His rise happened during a period when viral moments made their first overnight stars. Susan Boyle had become an international internet sensation just a year prior, while a floppy-haired Canadian kid called Justin was laying down the foundation for the Bieber Fever to come. It was a time when the music industry started scouring the web for tomorrow’s stars, where everyday people achieved immediate fame, and the birth of streaming meant music moments could go stratospherically viral faster than ever before.

At 12 years old, a young Greyson Chance was performing to millions on The Ellen DeGeneres Show, had scores of famous fans re-sharing his video, and had won himself a major label deal. A string of popular hits, music videos watched by millions and touring all over the United States followed. But years later he was left creatively exhausted and made the decision to move from Los Angeles back home