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Conan Gray breaks down every song on Wishbone | Making The Album

15 August 2025, 16:20

By Sam Prance

Conan Gray opens up about the meaning behind his Wishbone lyrics on Capital Buzz's Making The Album podcast.

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Wilson + Brando fans assemble! Making The Album is back with Conan Gray breaking down Wishbone track by track.

For any Conan Gray fans who are new here, Making The Album is a Capital Buzz interview series and podcast where we take you inside the recording process of your fave records. To date, Sam Prance (that's me - hiya!) has spoken with incredible artists including Chappell Roan, Victoria Monét, Madison Beer, PinkPantheress and Lola Young.

Now, it's Conan's time to shine. In this episode, Conan opens up about what Dan Nigro means to him, casting Corey Fogelamanis as his on screen love interest and how he feels about fans speculating who is music is about. He also reveals his Top 3 Lorde songs, his favourite bridges and so much more.

Hit play on the video below to learn how Wishbone was made. You can also listen to Conan's full episode on Global Player or wherever you listen to your podcasts.

To give you a little taster, below are some highlights of what Conan had to say about each song.

Conan Gray Breaks Down Every Song On 'Wishbone' | Making The Album

1) Actor

"'Actor' felt like the perfect way to give people a rundown of exactly how I was feeling from top to bottom of the album. In so many ways, that first verse, I think, kind of covers everything. It's like, 'Ok, well, here's what happened, here's what broke my heart, here's how I feel about it.'"

2) This Song

"I felt like, at that point in my life, I really wanted to just give people a breath of fresh air. I wanted the song to feel like you were jumping into a cold creek at six in the morning. I wanted it to feel like, 'Hey, this is something new that I'm doing.'"

Conan Gray - This Song (Official Music Video)

3) Vodka Cranberry

"It's one of those songs where I think it's more indicative of my irrational fear of people leaving me. I think I was so afraid of what was going on, so confused, that there was always this instinct of me of like, 'Oh I should just cut it off so that I'm the one who gets to have a say in whether I'm being dumped or not'."

4) Romeo

"In a breakup, there's always going to be a piece of anger. It's such a small section of what you actually feel in a breakup. It's kind of one of the first emotions you feel in a breakup. I needed there to be one song where I was just immature and stupid and angry because that is a real emotion you feel."

5) My World

"There's a moment where you're like, 'Wait a minute. I have free will. What are we talking about? Why am I losing my... I could literally just go in the mirror and smile and I'd be fine. And so 'My World' was my just moment of like, 'Shut the f--- up Conan. Like, who cares? Just move on.'"

Conan Gray - My World (Official Lyric Video)

6) Class Clown

"Everyone makes versions of themselves for the world. You don't even really know that you're doing it most of the time but you uphold this version of yourself over and over and over for years and years and years and years. And sometimes you get home at the end of the day and you're exhausted because you feel like you've spent all day long, being a jester to the world. And you're like, 'Who even am I? Who am I entertaining? What am I running from?'"

7) Nauseous

"'Nauseous' is just about being afraid of love. It's a very simple one. Sometimes you meet someone who's so great and who you know is gonna love you and not hurt you, and that's much more terrifying than meeting someone who you kind of know is an a--hole. Being vulnerable is scary. That's just a very normal feeling in life."

8) Caramel

"I think, at least for me, I've always reached a point with everyone who's ever left my life, where the pain has kind of dulled, and you can take a moment to step back and be like, 'At the end of the day, I really liked you. You really meant a lot to me. And every time we're in the same city, I kind of wish I could call you, but I can't, which is weird.'"

Conan Gray - Caramel (Official Music Video)

9) Connell

"I always saw so much of myself in the personality of Marianne [in Normal People], the way that she navigated that relationship, and kind of assumed that she had no worth to this person. And I think with Connell, I saw so much of the people that I've dated before or loved before in him. It's so easy to villainize someone, but so much of what happens is projection and miscommunication."

10) Sunset Tower

"'Sunset Tower' is a product of [Elvira and Luka Kloser] already knowing all the lore of my life, like not having to catch them up on anything and us just like banging out the song because we knew everything that happened."

Conan Gray - Sunset Tower (Official Lyric Video)

11) Eleven Eleven

"When you're going through a breakup, you experience unbelievable psychosis and truly start to think that everything is a sign. 'Eleven Eleven' is about me always looking for a little sign that maybe I still matter, that this relationship would still have some kind of life that I don't understand. You always want to believe that there's something in the universe tying you to someone. It's bleak to think that we're just nothing and we decompose when we die. I mean, that is what I believe, but it's a bit bleak."

12) Care

"'Care' is the final track because, at the end of the day, I I do still care, and will always care. I think also sonically, it sounds exactly like the like end slate of a movie. The credits start to roll. It just sounds like the end of something. It's bittersweet. It acknowledges that something hurt you but also you're still losing a friend."

Conan Gray - Care (Official Lyric Video)

How do I listen to Conan Gray's Making The Album episode?

Download the free Global Player app and subscribe to Making The Album via this link to listen to Conan's episode in full. You can also play Conan's episode on Spotify, Apple and all platforms. And if you want to watch the interview, you can head to the Capital Buzz YouTube channel or Global Player.

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