Grace VanderWaal - Lion's Den

Grace VanderWaal - Lion's Den (Official Video)
134,114 views Jul 15, 2022 Official Video for “Lion’s Den” by Grace VanderWaal

Listen & Download “Lion’s Den” out now: gracevanderwaal.lnk.to/LionsDen

At the beginning of the year, Grace VanderWaal was in New York City, trying to condense what was a whirlwind couple of years into one all-embracing track. Letting all those formative experiences flow over her, she started penning, what is now known as, “Lion’s Den”–an emotional ballad that’s both relatable and poignant. And while it was released today, it’s already a resounding cry for her generation. Not only does it touch on the struggle to find yourself in a digital age, but it also delves into Grace’s own experience growing up in the spotlight. It's a powerful, unfiltered story of someone coming into their own, told with unflinching honesty and candidness.



“I was getting really trapped in a vicious cycle that I think a lot of people have experienced before,” she shares on a Zoom call, a week before the song dropped. “I was just chasing happiness instead of finding it within myself.”

This time around, we catch up with Grace from her bedroom in Georgia as she recounts her experience trying to rediscover and reinvent herself since ascending to fame. Bedrooms loom large in the creative life of the 18-year-old singer and songwriter. Grace began making music in hers when she was just three years old, infatuated by the way it made her feel. Fast forward a few years, and Grace expanded her audience from just friends and family to all of America–auditioning for America’s Got Talent when she was just 12 years old. The young musician who originally hails from Suffern, New York was catapulted to the mainstream when she performed an original song, “I Don’t Know My Name,” on the hit television show. Currently, Grace's performance, with nothing more than her beloved ukulele, has earned more than six million views. The songstress later went on to win the 11th season, and a year later, at just 13 years old, she wrote her debut studio album, Just the Beginning.

Today, after many years spent in the public eye, Grace is priming up to release some of her most personal and vulnerable music to date. And while the burgeoning artist has never been a stranger to big, infectious bangers, the release of “Lion’s Den” ushers in something new–a young woman coming to terms with adulthood. Expect going out until 3 AM, lots of inner work, and pursuing happiness from within. Nowadays, Grace has swapped her ukulele in favor of other musical instruments that probe at different genres. This song specifically features electrifying guitar riffs and propulsive drumming on tracks. Fueled by an addictive baseline and Grace’s raw, growling vocals, this new single, “Lion’s Den,” continues her exploration into a more experimental sound and features her newfound love for alternative pop.

At the beginning of the three minute-track, Grace sings–in her signature exuberant voice–a line that could easily be the mission statement for not only the track but also the stage of life she’s in right now: “I’m human and I’m falling.” And with that single line, she embodies a sentiment that many in her generation can relate to. Despite all the singer has and the gratitude she has for it, she candidly tells V that there are times when she struggles, too.

“I'm young and I'm able to do art for a living, but I'm also struggling a lot of the time like a lot of people around me," she shares. "So with [Lion’s Den], I just hope that people don't feel alone. I feel more unfiltered and vulnerable than ever been before. I feel like I’m at a point where I really want to invite my fans into my world of stories that I’ve never talked about before.”