Grace VanderWaal Reclaims Her Story on Striking New Album “CHILDSTAR”
“CHILDSTAR“ marks a fearless reinvention for Grace VanderWaal, chronicling growth, grief, and personal power.
Grace VanderWaal delivers her most personal and striking work to date with CHILDSTAR, released today via PULSE Records. The new album reintroduces VanderWaal not only as an artist, but as an author of her own story—one shaped by vulnerability, defiance, and truth.
The cinematic CHILDSTAR: Final Act, a performance film co-directed by VanderWaal, Luca Renzi, and Jacob Boehme, brings five songs to life: “Proud,” “Brand New,” “Homesick,” “Behavioral Problems,” and “Fade.” The visual captures the tension of growing up under constant gaze—and the catharsis of finally breaking free.
Tracks like “Proud” and “Brand New” address childhood objectification, validation-seeking, and patriarchal expectations. “As a kid, you have an undying need for validation,” Grace says. “You’re adopting strength when it’s not appropriate.”
“Brand New” dives even deeper. “It’s about me being widely sexualized and objectified at a young age,” she explains. “It’s a love-hate relationship and a commentary on the patriarchy.”
“Homesick” captures the bittersweet longing for an idealized past that never really existed. “Nostalgia is painful,” she adds. “But was it ever real?”
Having starred in Megalopolis, opened for Florence + the Machine, and earned recognition from Forbes and Billboard, VanderWaal is no stranger to success. But CHILDSTAR is her true triumph—a return to self.
“This album gifted me something I’m eternally grateful for, and that’s my power,” she concludes. “I hope this album grants you a gift as it did to me.”