On “CHILDSTAR”, Grace VanderWaal reckons with her past and reclaims her story in a bold artistic statement.
Grace VanderWaal releases her most revealing work to date with CHILDSTAR, out now via PULSE Records. Equal parts cathartic and cinematic, the album reflects her personal journey from child star to self-possessed artist reclaiming her narrative on her own terms.
The accompanying short film, CHILDSTAR: Final Act, co-directed and choreographed by VanderWaal, Luca Renzi, and Jacob Boehme, features emotional performances of five key tracks. The visuals underscore the themes of each song—grief, identity, objectification, nostalgia—and serve as a continuation of the album’s emotional arc.
“Don’t take up space. You don’t have a voice yet,” she sings on “Proud,” a haunting depiction of the “golden child” archetype. “You’re choosing to be strong, only because it’s your responsibility to be strong.”
In “Brand New,” she unpacks her experience with being sexualized too young, questioning agency, femininity, and self-worth. On “Homesick,” she mourns a childhood that never felt real: “You’re romanticizing an unattainable memory,” she reflects.
“I felt for a long time I was a walking shadow of myself,” Grace reveals. “While writing CHILDSTAR, I realized, I have something no one can take away, and that’s my story.”
She’ll bring CHILDSTAR on the road in May with her first headline tour in five years.
With this album, Grace VanderWaal reclaims what fame tried to take from her: her voice, her perspective, and her power.
