Back when she was six or seven, Grace Kelly was Grace Chung — and every Friday night, her father would surprise her with another cinematic classic. In one, she saw who she'd become.

"We would go to our favorite Chinese restaurant in Brookline, Massachusetts, and then we would go to Blockbuster right after and we'd pick out a DVD for that night," Kelly — not a stage name, but her government — tells GRAMMY.com. "So, he picked out High Society one night, and that's the first time I saw Princess Grace Kelly in a movie."

The 1956 musical rom-com was Kelly's last before she became Princess of Monaco at 26. The saxophonist was floored. "I was so in love with her — and just her beauty, her elegance," she adds, aglow. So, I went to kindergarten the next day and I told my teachers, 'I'm Princess Grace Kelly,' and I would sign my name like that."

In High Society, the future Princess memorably sang Cole Porter's "True Love." Today, at 31, Kelly took up her own scepter of sorts. She sings "True Love" on Grace Kelly With Strings: At The Movies, her new album of cinematic bangers from across the decades.

Out March 1, At the Movies features selections from Kelly's own lifetime, like Pirates of the Caribbean and Mission: Impossible; near it, like E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial and Back to the Future; and her parents' generation, like The Good, the Bad and the Ugly.

What ties it all together is Kelly's sparkling charisma, and contributions from a consortium of heavy hitters: producer Bryan Carter, arrangers Charlie Rosen and Steven Feifke, special guests in trumpeter Sean Jones and guitarist Cory Wong.

Whether or not you're a jazz or film buff, there's plenty to glean from the following conversation with Kelly about the movies, social media, keeping her cool amid logistical insanity, and much more.

This interview has been edited for clarity.

E.T., Pirates of the Caribbean, Mission: Impossible — your album reflects the millennial cinematic canon.

Right? I mean, there's so many memories there.

And Bryan Carter — who co-arranged [the play] Some Like It Hot with Charlie Rosen and produced this album — we are both such Disney kids. Working on this album, we were both so excited. Because these movies, like you said, hold a really special place in our hearts.

I guess I didn't really realize that, but for a lot of the cuts, it's like going down a millennial memory lane. We had a blast just sending memes of Back to the Future and working on the music.

Tell me more about your relationship with these tunes.

It was very hard to pick the songs, because there are so many great songs from the cinema. ut I did pick ones that either had a very personal touch to me. For example, "True Love" is the only song that Princess Grace Kelly sang on screen [in 1956's High Society]. So, we covered that one; it's a beautiful Cole Porter song.

And then a song like "Soul Bossa Nova" — I mean, I love Austin Powers, and I'm also a really big fan of Quincy Jones. So I was like, That's going to be a bop. And then Charlie Rosen arranged that one.

Back to the Future is one of my favorite movies — so I was like, "Well, we have to do 'The Power of Love.'" I've been really lucky to join Huey Lewis on stage a couple of times and he's been a supporter of mine. So, that felt extra special, to pick that one.

And, again, I'm such a Disney kid, and Bryan is as well. So, that was tough because, I mean, the Disney medley's already 15 minutes long. We had to cut two songs from the original one, because it would've been, like, 25 minutes.

When did it become clear that this was the kind of project you wanted to pursue?

I've actually had this idea in the back of my head for a while. I really wanted to do a project covering some of my favorite movie music.

This idea was born years ago when I was talking to a great radio personality, Ron Della Chiesa. He said, "There are so many great songs from movies, and you've got the name Grace Kelly." He didn't know my love for the princess, but of course, when he was even bringing up this idea, I was like, "Yeah, I know Grace Kelly, and I love Grace Kelly."

And the album basically came to be because I was approached by the Barclay Theater in Irvine, California, to put on a debut performance of something that I've never performed before. So that was a great opportunity to be like, "Well, I have this idea about presenting movie music" — and they loved it.

I've also always wanted to do an album that featured strings. One of my favorite jazz albums of all time is Charlie Parker With Strings; it was a really important album for me in my development of playing the saxophone.

So, we brought those two concepts together, the movie music and then strings — which I feel like fits so perfectly musically. And that was the impetus for creating the album.

Charlie Parker with Strings is a masterpiece, and it's so accessible. I feel like sometimes there's this perception of Bird where it's like, "The recordings are too rough," or "I respect it more than I listen to it." But that's just plain beautiful music.

I know what you mean. Because when people say a similar thing to me about bebop or jazz, I tell them, "OK, but listen, this album is, it could be a good entry point for some people who don't feel like they can listen to jazz, because it's just so beautiful."

And it's interesting that at the time when he released it, some of the people were saying it's too much of a commercial project, the jazz community did not embrace it in the way that I feel like we talk about it and embrace it now. Because it's just such a piece of art. It's so beautiful.

At what point did it feel like the project was truly taking shape?

I think when we had the arrangements in hand. Bryan Carter brought on an incredible cast of young arrangers — GRAMMY- and Tony-winning arrangers.

Charlie Rosen created a couple of charts for us — Steven Feifke, Kyle Gordon, a few recent graduates from the Juilliard School of Music who are doing amazing stuff.

So, I think it started to come really clearly into the picture for me when I was having conversations with each arranger, and Bryan figured out which songs each arranger would take on, and what would fit best stylistically.

The next step of that was giving my ideas of what I thought musically should be highlighted. So, I made little videos for each arranger, and I would play my saxophone part, or I would play something on the keys, and then they'd integrate those ideas into the arrangement. 

And then, Bryan and I co-arranged the Disney medley. That was just the moment that I was like, Oh my gosh.

Getting even the MIDI files back, and listening to the arrangement, it was like, Holy crap, this is going to be epic.

Can you expound on the importance of Bryan and Steven, and anybody else who was critical to getting this project going?

As our producer — and he arranged a couple of the songs as well — Bryan has really brought this record to new heights. I mean, his ears, his knowledge, his taste is just of the highest caliber — and he will not quit until something is right.

He had spent so many hours even on just one measure of the recording and doing post-production on it. I think him and our mixing and mastering team member, Dave Darlington, who's multi GRAMMY-winning — must have spent at least five full-day sessions just going in and every detail. So, he has absolutely just made this album what it is and the quality of what it is.

All along the way, too, if I was having trouble recording my part, we'd jump onto Zoom sessions and he'd be coaching me through some of the vocal production stuff, getting the best takes out of me. He flew in to L.A. to do our three days, our performance and studio work, and then took a red-eye the next night to be a special guest on Seth Meyers' late night show playing drums.

Our associate producer, Kyle Gordon, also was just so helpful in the studio working with us, and brought a couple of really magical arrangements to the table. The other person who is just such an MVP is Eli Bishop, our co-producer. Eli put together the entire string section for the album. And he recorded, I think, more than a thousand tracks of himself playing violin, viola, cello, guitar, mandolin.

I mean, he plays everything. And he really took the project from the few songs that we were able to record live with the 15 piece string section, he then went home and then did post-production and turned that into a symphony orchestra version with his post-production on it.

**Can you talk about the moment where you realized, Holy crap, we did it?**

Well, to be honest with you, when we initially did the first recording session, it was such a crazy time. We did the live debut performance at the Barclays Theater in Irvine, California on, I think it was a Thursday or a Friday night.

The next day, we were in the studio recording it. And the afternoon before the live show, we were rehearsing it. And we only had those three days with Bryan because he flew in for that, and he was working on the "Some Like it Hot" Broadway musical.

It was putting people through it. It was a crazy vigorous schedule, and we had so much music to get through.

But that was a huge, huge win for us to then do the show, go into the studio. And then it took about a year — not a consecutive year — but we were working on the post-production for this album after that initial session, we're chipping away at it. And we had some fantastic special guests in Sean Jones and Cory Wong: they recorded their parts as finishing touches.

When I finally had the final master recordings, and I was able to listen to the album from top down in the car, I think that was the moment that it was like, holy s—, this sounds incredible. 

I remember FaceTiming Bryan that day, when we sent in our final masters. That moment was just so exciting. We'd call each other and just talk about how proud of the album we were.

**How do you keep your head on straight amid such intensity? The jazz world's extremely intense as it is.
**
I would say that deadlines are a frenemy, because thank goodness we had it. That would allow us to just keep doing the next steps and keep getting the next recording in.

I was also going through a move in Los Angeles, and then I was tracking during the day and moving boxes at night, and it was just this very chaotic time. I mean, it's already so busy working on an album, but I wasn't even settled in a place.

But even then I was like, I've got to get this stuff done. I got to get my parts done. And there's something that a deadline just kind of makes you get at it. There was certainly a lot of relief on the other end of being like, Wow, we can breathe and we got it done.

But it's definitely a period of pushing and of stress. And I don't think stress is not always bad. I think it's very essential.

There were moments when we actually had to push back deadlines of things because our distributor wanted certain files and things done, and the music just wasn't there. And I did not want to sacrifice the quality of our music.

Ultimately, we were like, "We've worked so hard on this. It is like 99.5% there. Let's just get it right."

Before we go: you're on the most visible, social media-fueled end of jazz, where the lines between musicians and "content creators" are blurred. How do you negotiate that territory?

I think of creating content as a different bucket than making an album of this quality. I think it is a really powerful tool, to be able to have social media to connect to my fans and to get the word out.

But I also see it for what it is. I like to make content that will be able to reach more people. There's different ways to approach social media, whether it's just to update your fans or are you going for a growth type of trajectory.

And there's always going to be the trolls, getting to the psychological side of it. There's always going to be the haters. Luckily, there are a lot of supporters, and there's a lot of love as well.

It can be really tough. I've had plenty of challenges of getting the haters out of my head, and I try and disassociate a bit from Grace Kelly and go a little bit more third party with it, especially when I'm having a hard time with the hate and the comments, and be like, OK, let me step away. I'm going to turn off all the devices. How do I really feel about this? And am I proud of the music that I'm creating?

And remembering that for every hater, there's so many more supporters and people who are just wanting to see me continue on my path and have said really supportive things.

So, it's a fine balance, but I also try to keep enough time to not be online.So I've been getting a lot better at just kind of spending only a certain amount of time on socials or working on my email to fans.

And then otherwise just turning off, going for a hike, being with friends, working on music, so that it doesn't feel like it's just all-encompassing — a never-ending series of notifications.

11 Essential Compositions & Arrangements By Steven Feifke, The Youngest GRAMMY Winner For Best Large Jazz Ensemble Album

Since Mike Piacentini’s switch from computer science to audio engineering in college, his family has been his biggest champions. So, when he received his nomination for Best Immersive Album for Madison Beer's pop album Silence Between Songs, at the 2024 GRAMMYs, it was a no-brainer to invite his parents and wife.

“He’s always been into music. He had his own band, so [the shift] wasn’t surprising at all,” Piacentini’s mother says in the newest episode of Family Matters. “He’s very talented. I knew one day he would be here. It’s great to see it actually happen.”

In homage to his parents’ support, Piacentini offered to let his father write a short but simple acceptance in case he won: “Thank you, Mom and Dad,” he jokes.

Alongside his blood relatives, Piacentini also had support from his colleague Sean Brennan. "It's a tremendous honor, especially to be here with [Piacentini]. We work day in and day out in the studio," Brennan explains. "He's someone who's always there."

Press play on the video above to learn more about Mike Piacentini's support system, and remember to check back to GRAMMY.com for more new episodes of Family Matters.

How Madison Beer Broke Free From Pressures Of Internet Fame & Created Her New Album 'Silence Between Songs'

It's fair to say that the 1980s hadn't been particularly kind to country legend Johnny Cash. Once considered the Don of the Nashville scene, the singer/songwriter suddenly found himself dropped by Columbia Records, recording terrible parody songs (remember "The Chicken in Black"?), and addicted to painkillers after a bizarre accident in which he was kicked by an ostrich.

But as the new decade approached, Cash's reputation gradually started to recover. A 1988 tribute album, 'Til Things Are Brighter, alerted a much younger indie generation of his catalog of classics. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1992. And then arguably the biggest band in the world at the time, U2, invited him to take lead vocals on Zooropa's post-apocalyptic closer "The Wanderer." The scene was set for a triumphant comeback, and on 1994's American Recordings, the Man in Black duly obliged.

The Rick Rubin-produced album was far from a one-off. Cash delivered three American follow-ups in his lifetime (1996's Unchained, 2000's Solitary Man, and 2002's The Man Comes Around). And two posthumous volumes (2006's A Hundred Highways, 2010's Ain't No Grave)  further bridged the gap between his statuses as country outlaw and elder statesman — and helped further his legacy as one of country's all-time greats.

As the first American Recordings installment celebrates its 30th anniversary, here's a look at how the series deservedly rejuvenated the career of an American recording legend.

It United Him With A New Muse 

Best known for his pioneering work with Run-D.M.C., Beastie Boys, and Public Enemy, Rick Rubin seemed an unusual fit for a sixty-something country singer whose glory days were considered decades behind him. But left spellbound by Cash's performance at a Bob Dylan anniversary gig in 1992, the superproducer offered to make the Nashville legend a superstar once more.

Cash took some persuading, but eventually agreed to join forces on the assurance he'd be in the creative driving seat, and a new unlikely dream team was born. Rubin lent his talents to all six volumes of American Recordings — co-producing the middle two with Cash's son John Carter Cash – and won the first GRAMMY of his career for his efforts. The Def Jam co-founder would also later work his magic with several other '60s heroes including Neil Diamond, Yusuf and Neil Young.

It Saw Cash Lean Into Contemporary Music More Than Ever

Cash had never been averse to tackling contemporary material. He covered Bruce Springsteen's "Highway Patrolman" in 1983, just a year after it appeared on The Boss' Nebraska. But the American Recordings series saw the Man in Black embrace the sounds du jour like never before, whether the grunge of Soundgarden's "Rusty Cage," electro-blues of Depeche Mode's "Personal Jesus," or most famously, industrial rock of Nine Inch Nails' "Hurt."

On paper, this could have been nothing short of a disaster, the sign of an aging artist desperately latching onto a much younger musical generation in a transparent bid for relevancy. But instead, Cash elevates the Gen X classics into modern hymns, his sonorous voice injecting a sense of gravitas and Rubin's production stripping things back to their bare but compelling essentials. Far from an embarrassing grandad act, this was the sound of a man respectfully making the source material his own.

It Returned Cash To The Charts 

Cash had reached the lower end of the Billboard 200 in the '80s as part of supergroups The Highwaymen and Class of '55. But you had to go all the way back to 1976's One Piece at a Time to find his last entry as a solo artist. The American Recordings series, however, slowly but surely restored the Man in Black to his former chart glories.

Indeed, while its first two volumes charted at numbers 110 and 170 respectively, the third peaked at a slightly more impressive 88 and the fourth at 22, his highest position since 1970's Hello, I'm Johnny Cash. The posthumous fifth entry, meanwhile, went all the way to No. 1, remarkably the first time ever the country legend had achieved such a feat with a studio effort (live album At San Quentin had previously topped the charts in 1971).

"Hurt" also became Cash's first solo US country hit in 14 years in 2003. And while it only landed at No. 56 on Billboard's Hot Country Songs chart, it remains Cash's most-streamed song to date with over 600 million streams on Spotify alone.

It Included Masterful Collaborators 

As well as handing over the producer reins to Rubin, Cash also surrounded himself with some of the rock world's finest musicians. Tom Petty, Red Hot Chili Peppers' Flea, and Fleetwood Mac's Lindsey Buckingham and Mick Fleetwood all lent their considerable talents to Unchained. Sheryl Crow and Will Oldham did the same on Solitary Man, while Nick Cave, Fiona Apple and Don Henley joined him in the studio on The Man Comes Around.

But Cash also kept things more traditional by recruiting fellow country legend Merle Haggard, 'fifth Beatle'Billy Preston, and "Ballad of a Teenage Queen" songwriter Jack Clement, while the presence of wifeJune Carter Cash and son John made the third American Recordings something of a family affair.

It Went Back To Basics 

While American Recordings was, in many respects, Cash's most forward-thinking album, it wasn't afraid to keep one foot in the past, either. For one, the star recorded most of its first volume in his Tennessee cabin armed with only a guitar, a throwback to his 1950s beginnings with first producer Sam Phillips.

Cash also trawled through his own back catalog for inspiration, re-recording several tracks he believed had unfairly gone under the radar including 1955 single "Mean Eyed Cat," murder ballad "Delia's Gone" from 1962's The Sound of Johnny Cash, and "I'm Leaving Now" from 1985's Rainbow.

It Proved He Was Still A Masterful Songwriter…

Although Cash's unlikely covers grabbed most of the attention, the American Recordings series showed that his stellar songwriting skills remained intact throughout his later years, too. "Meet Me in Heaven," for example, is a beautifully poignant tribute to the older brother who died at just 15, while the folksy "Let the Train Blow the Whistle" added to Cash's arsenal of railroad anthems.

"Drive On," meanwhile, is worthy of gracing any Best Of compilation, a powerful lament to those who came back from the Vietnam War with both emotional and physical scars ("And even now, every time I dream/ I hear the men and the monkeys in the jungle scream").

…And Still A Master Interpreter 

As well as putting new spins on his own songs and various contemporary rock favorites, Cash further displayed both his interpretive and curatorial skills by covering a variety of spirituals, standards and pop hits first released during his commercial heyday.

The likes of early 19th century gospel "Wayfaring Stranger," wartime favorite "We'll Meet Again," and Simon and Garfunkel's "Bridge Over Troubled Water" may have been firmly in Cash's wheelhouse. But more leftfield choices such as Loudon Wainwright III's offbeat morality tale "The Man Who Couldn't Cry" proved that even when outside his comfort zone, he could stamp his own identity with aplomb.

It Made Him An Unlikely MTV Star 

Cash was 62 years old when American Recordings hit the shelves — not exactly a prime age for MTV play. Yet thanks to some inspired creative decisions, the career-reviving series spawned two videos that received regular rotation on the network. Firstly, "Delia's Gone" caught attention for two major reasons: it was directed by Anton Corbijn, the man renowned for his long-running creative partnership with Depeche Mode, and it starred Kate Moss, the world's biggest supermodel at the time, as the titular victim.  

Then nine years later, Cash picked up six nominations — winning Best Cinematography — at the MTV Video Music Awards thanks to Mark Romanek's emotionally devastating treatment for "Hurt." Interspersing clips of the clearly fragile country singer at the rundown Museum of Cash with footage from his earlier days and artistic shots of decaying fruits and flowers, the promo perfectly embodied the transient nature of life. And it had the capacity to reduce even the hardest of hearts to tears.

It Added To His GRAMMY Haul 

Cash won almost as many GRAMMYs with his American Recordings series as he had during the previous 40 years of his career. The Man in Black first added to his trophy collection in 1995 when the first volume won Best Contemporary Folk Album. This was the first time he'd been recognized at the ceremony for his musical talents since the June Carter Cash duet "If I Were A Carpenter" won Best Country Performance for a Duo or Group with Vocal back in 1971  

Three years later, Unchained was crowned Best Country Album. And after picking up a Lifetime Achievement Award in 1999, Cash won 2001's Best Male Country Vocal Performance for "Solitary Man," then again in the same Category for "Give My Love to Rose"in 2003. He posthumously won two more GRAMMYs for Best Short Form Video, in 2004 for "Hurt" and in 2008 for "God's Gonna Cut You Down." In total, the American Recordings series won Cash six more GRAMMYs, bringing his overall count to 13. 

It Was A Powerful Epitaph

In 1997, Cash was told he'd just 18 months to live after being misdiagnosed with neurodegenerative condition Shy-Drager syndrome (later changed to autonomic neuropathy). He ended up outliving this prognosis by a good four years, but during this period, he lost the love of his life and was forced to record his swansong in-between lengthy stints in the hospital.  

Little wonder, therefore, that the American Recordings series is defined by the theme of mortality: see "The Man Comes Around," a biblical ode to the Grim Reaper ("And I looked, and behold a pale horse/ And his name that sat on him was death, and hell followed with him"), Death Row anthem "The Mercy Seat," and funeral favorite "Danny Boy." As with David Bowie's Blackstar, Cash was able to reflect on his impermanence in his own terms in a sobering, yet compelling manner that continues to resonate decades on. 

8 Artists Bringing Traditional Country Music Back: Zach Top, Randall King, Emily Nenni & More On Why "What's Old Becomes Beloved Again"

Jon Batiste walked into the 2022 GRAMMYs with a whopping 11 nominations, making him the most recognized artist of the evening. By the end of the night, he received five GRAMMYs for Best American Roots Performance, Best American Roots Song, Best Score Soundtrack For Visual Media, Best Music Video, and the highly coveted Album Of The Year.

In this episode of GRAMMY Rewind, watch Batiste take the stage to accept the award for Album Of The Year for his sixth studio album, We Are

Batiste began his praises by acknowledging God: "I just put my head down and work on the craft every day. I love music, he said. "I've been playing since I was a little boy. It's more than entertainment for me — it's a spiritual practice." He also thanked the "many people that went into making this album," including his grandfather, nephew, father, and executive producer, Ryan Lynn.

"This [award] is for real artists, real musicians. Let's just keep going. Be you! That's it. I love you even if I don't know you," Batiste cheered.

Press play on the video above to hear Jon Batiste's complete acceptance speech and check back to GRAMMY.com for more new episodes of GRAMMY Rewind.

Watch: Jon Batiste Delivers A Heartfelt Performance Of “Ain’t No Sunshine” & “Lean On Me” | 2024 GRAMMYs Performance

When Wyatt Flores released his second EP, Half Life, on April 19, he ended his celebratory Instagram post with one simple wish: "I hope these songs make you feel something."

That's been Flores' mantra since the rising country singer first began releasing music just three years ago. Hailed as one of the genre's most honest new stars, Flores speaks his truth in his red dirt music, on stage, and on social media. As Half Life showcases, he's unafraid to broach life's toughest topics, from suicidal thoughts on "Devil" to a complicated relationship with religion on "I Believe In God."

"I like to keep it very based on what I felt, and just try and go for that emotion," Flores says of his music. "If you can somehow captivate [listeners] in the story and make them feel the emotion through the song, then you've done your job. I guess that's all I'm after."

His unabashed vulnerability has made his music resonate widely — and fast. In 2023, Flores went from playing for hundreds to thousands in a matter of months, garnering more than 325 million global streams and more than 13 million TikTok likes along the way. He consistently uses his rapidly growing platform to champion self-care and mental health, even taking a brief tour hiatus in February to get himself back on track.

Two months later, Flores assures that he's feeling rejuvenated and healthier than ever, sparking some happier tunes that even caught him by surprise (more on that later). He'll spend the summer playing a mix of headlining shows, festival stages and a few supporting slots for Mitski, first kicking things off with his debut at Stagecoach on April 26.

As Flores gears up for tour, he sat down with GRAMMY.com during some time off in his native Oklahoma to chat about his remarkable rise, the complexities of being so vulnerable, and how he feels like he's getting the "best of both worlds."

Do you remember the first show that you were like, "What is happening?"

Yeah, it was Asheville, North Carolina. It was either the last week of April last year or the first week of May, I can't quite remember. But that was my first ever sold-out headline show. I think the venue cap was like 550, and they were screaming so loud that I got off stage and I was like, "Did anyone feel like there was a trash can going off in their ear?" And then my bass player, Bill, was like, "No, that's the last time you'll hear that frequency." 

That was where everything changed. It kind of started making me realize how real this was getting. Then, everywhere we went, [it was a] sold-out crowd, and they're excited as all get out. I literally thought that I was living a dream. 

I played at, you know, the s—iest hole in the walls you could ever imagine. I just thought I was gonna be there forever. Honestly, I was still having fun doing that. But I just couldn't believe the dramatic change that happened.

At what point did it actually feel real?

It was probably when we played Dallas [in December of] last year. That was the biggest room that we'd ever played. I was like, 3,000 people bought tickets to show up to my show. And then I just kind of had to kind of process like what was actually going on. I kept questioning it for the longest time, but that night it was just different.

We had just played in Fort Worth, like, three months [before that], and that was 600 people. So when we played Dallas, that was when I just looked at the crowd and I was like, Okay, this is it.

That's interesting, because you had to cancel a stretch of shows not long after that. Was that kind of all correlating — taking it in, but being overwhelmed from all of it?

Yeah, because there's a lot of things that went on in my life that I never took the time to process, and that was one of the first things — being like, This is my life from now on. And I think that's what I liked about the Life Lessons project so much, was giving listeners an inside view on what it looks like to be on this side of the fence. Because everyone thinks that it's gotta be the most wild thing to be an artist, but I don't think they realize what comes with it. 

I'm still sitting here going, I shouldn't be on this interview with you. I don't deserve it. Like, I don't have the cool style, I show up in sweatshirts and s—ty Adidas shoes. I don't put myself on a pedestal.

I've never wanted to become something I'm not, and that's kind of been the hard point. Because, you know, you got folks from the hometown [saying], "Don't forget who you are!" And then all of a sudden you get lost in all of it. And then you're sitting there going, Do I even know who I am? 

Making some healthier changes kind of opened up some other wounds that I bottled up. I never processed my grandpa's death, and at the same time that that was all going down, I was also firing management — which, they say in Nashville, the manager should be the one person that you do trust. 

I took one week off so I could come back for [my grandpa's] funeral, and had to delay some shows there. And then I was homeless for two weeks from another situation. But I was like, Nope, I'm just gonna work my ass off. I'm just gonna show up, do what I need to do. And I never took the time to actually look at anything that had happened. And that's kind of where the falloff went, because I was just trying to survive the chaos.

I'm sure it's hard being in the spotlight period while  going through so much  at the same time.

For a while, there were certain things that I did not like about myself. [I felt like I was] changing personalities. I know most people can't see it, but that was something that I was struggling with. Everyone was seeing how happy I was through social media — because I'm not afraid to post the silly s— that goes down on the road; me being a jackass in the van or something like that — but then people expected that from me. 

I had to fully come to terms with, wherever I am in my heart, that's who I am right there in that moment. I don't have to portray this image that people see just because we post it on social media.

I also think it's amazing to have the platform you do and be so honest about how you're feeling. Because it's probably healing for you, but also going to be healing for the people who see it — even if it's challenging and really personal to admit.

I put down my phone for a really long time, which was one of the best things ever. [Laughs.] I came back and I went through my DMs. People were like, "Thank you for saying something because I finally had the encouragement to say something to my wife" or something else. I'm glad that it gave people the encouragement to speak up, because if I don't, then how will they? 

I look at my fans, and I'm blessed. There's no better fan base, they're the sweetest people ever. They are diehard fans, but they talk to me like I'm their friend, like they've known me forever. For them to trust someone enough to say something [about] how they feel or what's going on in their lives, that means the absolute world to me.

Clearly that means that what you bring to the table is what your fans are also going to bring to the table for you.

One of the things that I've been trying to work through, is realizing that I can listen to their problems, but I can't take their problems with me. And that was something that I had to learn. I was like, I can't do that to myself, or I'm gonna plummet.

There was a time when we were in Colorado, and someone had sent me these messages [about this girl], and I ended up looking [her] up. She was an eighth grade girl, and the last video she had posted on TikTok was of "Please Don't Go." She'd committed suicide a month after she had posted that. Her mom was trying to raise attention towards bullying and things like that. 

It was hard for us. But we had to look at it through a new perspective. And it's like, we can't change someone's decision, as badly as you want to. And we try and look at it from this perspective of, How long did that song keep them here? Time is valuable, and even if it was for another month, at least it kept them here just a little bit longer, kept them through the fight. Even though you don't always win.

We're not just out here playing music. I still love the party songs. "West of Tulsa" is always fun to look out in the crowd, and they're having a great time. But we're not just playing music because we're here to distract people from their problems. We're lucky enough that we do get to save lives, and we get to do it through music. But it's also one of those things where I'm sitting there going, I'm a 22-year-old kid from Oklahoma, and I have this power. Am I going to use it correctly?

Now that you know that your music is so powerful to so many people, has it changed the way that you approach your songwriting?

A little bit. You know, the songs that I write are songs that I feel. I'm ADHD as all get out, so when I show up to write, it's whatever I'm feeling that day. But yeah, there's a little bit in the back of my head that says, Watch out for something like this, you don't want to say the wrong message here. 

I want to write these songs that are sad, that are very dark, and lost is kind of the feeling. Because I want people to see that I've gone through it, so that way, they can get a better understanding that they're not the only one. 

My inspiration was to be the artist that had those songs that kind of pulled me through my stuff. There's all sorts of jokes and like memes about when the song doesn't hit you hard enough the first time so you play it again, or, like, when you're sitting in a vehicle after you've already gotten home but you sit there until the song ends. That was always kind of a goal for me. I was like, I want to be that song that kind of helps them get through the next day. 

That's the way I kind of look at it when I play these shows. And I sit back and I look at the crowd, and I'm like, I get to be a part of y'all's lives every single day, and that is the coolest thing that I've ever done.

It's funny, there's always that interview question like, "What are your goals?" but it sounds like you've already accomplished the main one. 

Oh, absolutely. I've been having to find new goals because I've lived my dream. Like, if I died tomorrow, I'd hang my hat proudly. I've helped people, I've played all the venues — well, I guess I haven't played Red Rocks yet. That's coming up, though.

I'm still thinking, because it's just now finally hit me that, like, You've kind of done the damn thing. So it's like, What do you want to do now? I have all these wild ideas. I usually throw out some out of pocket s— and then I let someone else come up with if it's gonna work or not. My business manager hates me. [Laughs.]

Were you raised to be so connected with your feelings, or was it just kind of an innate thing for you?

I think I always felt out of place wherever I was. I was always kind of the weird kid. My friends hated me because I started talking about sappy s—. I'd want to have deep, meaningful conversations and sometimes they'd be like, "Would you just shut up?" [Laughs.]

But what I realized is that I'm very big on connection. At some point, not fitting in and being different kind of all changed for me. I was like, I can't change it, so I might as well be it.

Have you ever questioned how honest you're being in your music? 

For the most part, I don't try and hold back. In some ways, it is scary, but in other ways, it's kind of just telling your truth so people don't get shocked by something that you do.

For the first time, I'm writing happier songs. And I'm skeptical to see how people take that. I mean, I've had Life Lessons and stuff like that, but yeah, this is definitely a weird time in my life where I'm like, I'm writing happy songs, and I don't even know how to feel about it. Now, I'm like, How do I share happiness? How do I contain that idea, and that emotion, and put it into a song so it comes out to the listener and they feel it?

You're allowed to be happy! And with everything that's been happening for you lately, I'm not surprised you're happy.

[Fans] always say "We made the right person famous." It's been two short years of really doing this thing. And we're blessed.

I freakin' love playing live, I just had other things going on in the background that I never took time [to process]. For a while, I wanted to blame a lot of things that wasn't it. And then, I went to Onsite [Workshops, a therapy, counseling and wellness retreat center in Tennessee] for like a week and got my head back to normal. 

Playing live is what makes it all worth it. I knew that I was going to have to work for this, and I'm getting to see the fruits of my labor. I'm finally getting some time off. I'm getting to actually spend some quality time, but I at least now know how to have quality time in the healthiest way. Because for a while, I couldn't shut the other brain off. I'd come home and I was still somewhere else. 

I can't believe that I get the best of both worlds. That usually doesn't happen where you get your cake and eat it too. S—, I might go fishing later! I get to be on the road, play to thousands of people, and then I get to go fishing? I think the only thing that's missing is I don't have a boat. Man, I just might have to weld me one.  

Meet Charles Wesley Godwin, The Rising Country Singer Who's Turning "A Very Human Story" Into Stardom