We all have to fight off those invasive thoughts. From doubting the feelings of those closest to you, to falling through a self-deprecation spiral, mental health is no easy subject to tackle. But, newcomer Kayla Grace is here to let you know that you aren’t alone in this with the release of her new tune, “nobody loves me”. A candid outpouring of emotions from the pop artist, we are invited to delve into the depths of her mind with the new track, all while angelic vocals akin to those of Olivia Rodrigo and Gracie Abrams promise to captivate from the first note.

Speaking on the message she hopes to convey to listeners, Grace explains, “I need people to know that no matter how neglected they feel, they are never alone with all of the rubbish. There is always someone there for you even if you haven’t found them yet – and you can always get through it. Such a cliche but honestly something I have to remind myself of every day.”

Upon the release of “nobody loves me” and its unfiltered music video, the pop artist took some time to get candid with Wonderland about her personal battles with mental health and the ability of music to kickstart important conversations. Head below to enjoy our interview with Kayla Grace…

Hey Kayla! How are you? Where are we speaking to you from?
I’m emotionally unstable but I’m about to make bubble tea so thriving, thanks! I’m in my home town of Watford sitting on my mum’s very ugly office chair.

Let’s start at the beginning, what’s your earliest memory of music?
I think most of my childhood memories got erased for the sake of self-protection, honestly, but I just remember being obsessed with X Factor and recording singing videos on my Blackberry Curve. I actually was atrocious. My mum had to hold an intervention for me to make sure I didn’t actually think I was any good, she was scared I’d try to pursue music, but here we are.

When did you decide to pursue it yourself? What prompted you?
I started by posting covers on YouTube which we won’t talk about haha, but I think I just realised despite the toxicity that social media breeds, it also gave me so much freedom to put creative stuff out there without knowing anyone. My music teacher at school also helped, I used to sing in shows but he would only ever let me perform if I sang something I’d written myself, so I then realised how much I loved showing people original music.

How do you tend to approach your music? Do you find yourself drawing on personal experiences?
My music is 10000% my own personal experience. I love to open the songs up to whatever people resonate with, but when I’m writing them the story behind it is always so specific and I do these rants on a Google Doc of just everything going on in my head and try to piece it together, painful cliche but it genuinely is like therapy. I sing about things I’m too afraid to talk about normally and to be fair, it does get me in trouble.

Congratulations on the release of “nobody loves me”! The title is evidently quite a poignant one, but what was your mindset like while coining the piece?
I was honestly just overwhelmed with a feeling of loneliness and it took me back to being a kid again. I grew up with a disabled sister and she needed a lot more care and attention than me so I often got my needs neglected and that probably shaped my unhingedness. My parents really did try their best but I think I’ll always carry this feeling that nobody loves me or cares about me, even when they try to show me they do. It manifests itself in all of my life – I think my friends hate me and my cat and my boyfriend.

How important is it for you to address mental health within your music?
It’s so important to address it because selfishly I feel like it’s the only way I get to speak about it and not get a bunch of concerned messages. I can just write it all off as creativity. But jokes aside, it really shouldn’t be taboo to open up about our brains – like they’re just these balls of mush and they get messed up sometimes, I don’t think it’s something we should feel bad about discussing. I think it’s nice to see other people feeling comfort or finding inspiration from my openness too, and hearing the stories they’ve overcome.

What were some of the reactions to the track? Do you remember who you first played it to?
I think I probably first played it to my boyfriend who I can only imagine was getting frustrated about how often he has to reassure me that he doesn’t hate me – but I do just remember him being like, ‘oooh come on queen’, and then kinda looking sad so I was like, ‘hmm perfect reaction there’. The reaction on TikTok has been lovely – so many people have felt comfortable enough to share their stories and mental health struggles using the song, and so many amazing musicians have already covered the little snippets that I’ve shared since they connected with the verse already.

What do you hope people will take away from it?
I need people to know that no matter how neglected they feel, they are never alone with all of the rubbish. There is always someone there for you even if you haven’t found them yet – and you can always get through it. Such a cliche but honestly something I have to remind myself of every day.

And finally, what is next for you?
I think the next thing is getting the EP out, really! I feel so close to all of the tracks and it’s been a long time coming so I’m ready!