When a musician tells you their earliest inspirations, they don’t often mention the songwriting chops of Friends’ Phoebe Buffay. But for Hannah Grae, the fictional character helped her learn the power of genuine and playful lyricism from a young age — something that, though her sound is perhaps more refined than her role model, has seeped its way into the essence of her work. Her newest project, Nothing Lasts Forever holds onto that candid spirit, with further 90’s influences of Green Day, Weezer, and Paramore sprinkled in. But ultimately, it’s undeniably Hannah — an intimate story of embracing change and living in the moment that only she could have written. The follow up to her debut body of work, Hell Is A Teenage Girl, it is more personal than anything she had written prior. And if her first headline show is any indication, it is also undeniably universal.

“To have so many people in one room screaming your songs at you, crying, smiling, hugging their friends, meeting new friends, it was just such a good environment,” she shares with Wonderland about her show at The Grace. “I love playing live more than anything, it feels like home for me, so having people actually coming to see you just makes that so much better. I never want to stop doing it!”

Keep scrolling to see some exclusive photographs of Grae at The Grace, and read more about her journey thus far…

Hey Hannah! How are you doing?
Hi! I’m doing very well thank you.

When did you first start writing music? Do you remember the first song you ever wrote?
I first started writing music when I was probably like seven. I was really obsessed with Friends growing up, I started watching Friends when I was about six, and I just loved Phoebe Buffay so much! I basically based my whole personality on her when I was a child, and I just loved her songwriting. It was just so free, and she couldn’t really play the guitar… so I kind of blame her for my lack of guitar skills. But I basically took her on as my biggest inspiration. I do remember the first song I ever wrote, this may not have been the first song actually, but it was one of the earlier compositions, it was called “The Chicken Song”. I wrote it on a pink acoustic guitar that wasn’t tuned and I wrote it about how much I love chicken, apparently. My dad put it on YouTube, and he still has the video (but it’s not on YouTube anymore because when I was at school some people found it and I was really embarrassed)…

How has your sound evolved to where it is today?
I think my sound has evolved just by listening to different music and as my songwriting has developed, my music taste has developed as well. I go through, like everyone, eras of loving different artists and 2/3 years ago my favourite artists were Taylor Swift and Paramore and now I’m in a phase of loving Chappell Roan and Alanis Morissette! I think it will just keep developing and as it does, I’ll take things probably from each artist.

Congratulations on Nothing Lasts Forever! When did you start working on this and what were your main sources of inspiration? What did you set out to say?
Thank you! Nothing Lasts Forever I started in the beginning of 2022, which is obviously over 2 years ago now. I guess before I wrote it, I didn’t really know what I wanted to say. I was kind of writing as I was living. I had just moved to London so I just wanted to write about what I was feeling in those moments and that’s kinda what I did. The message of it overall was basically that nothing lasts forever in the sense that nothing bad lasts forever, and nothing good, and that things will change. That was the biggest thing I learnt that year and what I’m still learning now. Change is so inevitable and it’s so good! I was so scared of it; for years change was my biggest fear. I’ve become so much more adaptable now, I really accept change and I embrace it. I’m really proud of that. My main sources of inspiration at the time musically were Green Day, Weezer, Paramore, and all the big bands from the 90s. I’m glad that I fulfilled that love that I had at the time, but since then my inspirations have changed a lot.

What did you learn from your debut body of work, Hell Is A Teenage Girl, that you took with you to create this new project?
I learnt a lot about myself when writing Hell Is A Teenage Girl. That was the first time I’d ever really written from my own perspective (apart from “The Chicken Song”!) and it was a huge learning curve to try and unlock a part of me that I was kind of uncomfortable unlocking. I listen back to Hell Is A Teenage Girl now and I am so vague in my feelings! The lyrics tell a story, and it’s based on me, but it’s not specific. So I think when I wrote Nothing Lasts Forever I wanted it to be slightly more specific. But then when I listen to that now I’ve come even further with being comfortable with being honest and vulnerable. So, I think I learned how to unlock parts of me that I was scared to unlock. I also learned basic things like how to sing into a microphone! I grew up singing on musical theatre stages, and singing in those scenarios are so different to singing in a microphone. It’s such a different skillset. Singing to a camera for YouTube is very different to singing into a recording studio microphone. So writing skills, studio skills, how to stand up for myself, how to fight for what I want in a studio, how to listen to people in the studio… I think it’s one of those things that keeps evolving!

Is there a song you’re most proud of?
Yes, there is a song I’m most proud of and it’s a song that hasn’t been released yet… but if we’re talking about Nothing Lasts Forever, I think “When I Had Hope I Had It All’ is definitely a song that I’ll always be proud of. I was really passionate about it when I first wrote it and so proud that I was able to put those feelings into such a different song for me. I guess it sits in my world, but at that time it was such a huge change. It’s a ballad but it’s also a full band sound – I’m really proud of that song.

One that’s your favourite to perform live?
“Who Dunnit?” is my favourite song to perform live. It’s just so different to the rest of the set and I think my fans love it as well. It’s just such a ridiculous song and it goes so hard live. When I played my headline show, I went into the crowd for this song — it just has so much energy I love it!

Talk to us about your show at The Grace! How did it feel to play your first headline show?
Ah, it felt so good! It’s something that I have dreamed of doing since I stepped into the studio for the first time three years ago. I have watched so many headline shows from artists that are at this stage of their career and I just really wanted to do it myself! I think my first milestone was releasing a song that I’d written and then the next was probably doing a headline show, and when I did it I just felt like such a huge thing ticked off my bucket list. To have so many people in one room screaming your songs at you, crying, smiling, hugging their friends, meeting new friends, it was just such a good environment. I love playing live more than anything, it feels like home for me, so having people actually coming to see you just makes that so much better. I never want to stop doing it!

Is there anything you’re looking forward to this summer?
I am looking forward to so much! I have so many things up my sleeve and I can’t wait to share them with you. It’s gonna be exciting and fun!

Listen to Hannah Grae’s Nothing Lasts Forever…