Q+A: Robert Grace on his new single 'The Hurt You Gave Me'

After skyrocketing to notoriety on video platform Tik Tok, Robert Grace gained rapid recognition for his infectious melodies and relatable lyrics. His breakout single, 'Fake Fine', would go on to be certified platinum in Ireland, and Grace – much to his own surprise – became the third highest charting Irish male artist in the country, hot on the heels of Dermot Kennedy and Niall Horan.

Grace's latest single, 'The Hurt You Gave Me', is looking to perform just as well. Released last month, the track is a genuine, heartfelt post-breakup song –  disguised as an earworm – in true Robert Grace fashion.

We caught up with Grace this week to chat about the new single, his songwriting process, and future plans.

Tell me about the concept for this song. How did you begin writing it? 

It's a funny one, I was in the studio and my wife rang me. She had something she thought would be a good line for a song, that she thought up while watching some story on Instagram. Somebody said something that she developed into this line, and it ended up being the line in the song: 'you don't get to choose what I do with the hurt you gave me'. I thought it was class, and a really good idea. And then, instantly, I had this guitar riff. I knew I wanted that to be the punchline of the song. From there, it was really easy. I basically had a first verse and a chorus done, so I took it into a session with this guy called Kin. We finished the song from there.

Do you prefer writing songs from the perspective of a character?

I like both, to be fair. I think it's hard to write all of your songs that are from your own experiences, I feel like that's a tough thing to do. It's possible, but I like a variation. And at the moment there isn't a lot of variation in my life because we're all stuck at home. I do like hearing about someone else's situation, and writing about it from their perspective. In fairness, 'The Hurt You Gave Me' does stem from personal experience as well. But the details could go anywhere.

Do you have to be in a specific place to write? 

I have a studio in my house. It's just a very small room with a laptop and a few bits, but I do prefer being there, just because I have everything set up the way I like it. And the atmosphere is nice, the lights are good, my chair is comfortable. It's very like acting, in a way, except I'm a terrible actor. It makes it easier to become the person you're trying to write about if you're in a comfortable space. I do prefer being in my own studio, in my own zone.

'The Hurt You Gave Me is a bit of an angry tune lyrically, but it has this upbeat, happy melody. What do you think draws people to that?

People don't want to always feel sad when they're listening to a song. If you're listening to 'The Hurt You Gave Me', but not really paying attention, you could think it's happy. I think people just enjoy uptempo, happy chords, but heartbreak songs are always relatable.

I was speaking to a young artist recently about whether or not you need to have been in a relationship to write a good breakup song. She didn't think that the relationship element wasn't necessary. Do you think that's the case?  

Yeah, 100%. I don't think it needs to be heartbreak from a romantic relationship. Once you know what heartbreak feels like, you know. And you're just making up a story at the end of the day. You don't need to have actually experienced it. It's like Harry Potter – J.K. Rowling wasn't a wizard. Our minds are good at creating stories, and we have so many things, like film and books, that we can look at to base a story on.

Are there any new things we can expect from you in the pipeline? 

There's a load of tracks in the pipeline! We're just trying to figure out which one comes next. Trying to get everything together for the album.

Listen to 'The Hurt You Gave Me' below.