Kid Krow

Kid Krow is the debut studio album by American singer-songwriter Conan Gray. It was released on March 20, 2020 through Republic Records.

The record is a "coming of age" album, being inspired by Gray's tough childhood, and growing up in Texas.

Background

“	With Sunset Season, my main intention was to write about my senior year of high school, but with Kid Krow, I felt like I had so much to say because my life changed so much since I was a high schooler. Since Kid Krow is my debut album, I felt like I needed to tell my life story. The album covers my childhood and my current life...which is in a weird space right now because I’m right on the cusp of being a kid but also not being a kid. With any transition, you’re gonna fail, make mistakes, and then try to figure it out—that’s what your 20s are all about. More than anything, my album talks about adolescent confusion and finding out what it’s like to grow up. It’s about falling in love for the first time, getting your heart broken for the first time, and thinking back to your youth with a newfound perspective now that you’re a little older.	”
–Conan Gray, "Please Allow Me to Introduce You to Conan Gray, Your Next Music Obsession" - Cosmopolitan, March 27, 2020[1]

Release

On June 3, 2019, Conan announced The Comfort Crowd Tour - his first world tour, slated to begin on October 29. During the announcement, he recalled he'd "sing a shit ton of songs u [fans] ain't even heard yet".^[2]

On June 22, Gray posted on Instagram with a caption "i have a secret. tomorrow." As promised, a day later Conan announced "Checkmate", released on June 26.^[3] It is a fast paced pop song with rock elements. This was a new direction the artist hadn't previously explored. On July 24, a music video for the song would be released, becoming his first provided by Vevo.

On September 3, Conan announced a new song, "Comfort Crowd", and its music video being slated to release two days later.^[4] It was a much slower, relaxed song inspired by themes of loneliness.

On October 5, Gray posted on Instagram with a caption "can we be friends?". This would later be revealed to be a hint at one of the upcoming album tracks.^[5] On October 20, Conan posted with a caption "new song this week. hints in story."^[6] Two days later, "Maniac" was announced to be released three days later alongside a music video.^[7] The song featured a much more classic pop song structure.

For the rest of the year, Conan focused more on The Comfort Crowd Tour, and no singles were being put out. Meanwhile he'd casually post on Instagram, and on December 24, 2019, Conan joined TikTok, initially under @youryeeyeecousin, but later changed to @conangray.^[8] A day prior, on December 23 Conan starred on his first Zach Sang Show interview, where he initially confirmed his album is completed.^[9]

As the new decade approached, on January 4, 2020 Conan announced "my debut album is coming. hints in story."^[10] He then began to tease the album by posting photos everyday the week, that had blank spaces with certain letters filled in, hinting to the album title. These posts were later deleted as on the last day of the week, January 9, 2020 Conan officially announced Kid Krow - his debut album, slated for a March 20 release date. Additionally, the new single, "The Story" would be announced to be released at midnight everywhere.^[11] On the following day, Gray confirmed "The Story" is the closing track on the album.^[12]

On February 10, 2020, Conan announced he would embark on the Kid Krow World Tour, then-meant to begin in April and finish in May. The tickets would go on sale on February 14.^[13] For the upcoming weeks, Gray would post more on Instagram, alongside a couple pictures from tour rehearsals.^[14]

For the time being, as many other artists did, Gray entered quarantine due to the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. However, this didn't affect the album promotion for the time being.

On March 10, 2020 the official Kid Krow merch was released.^[15] On March 18, 2020 Conan announced "Wish You Were Sober", which would be released on March 20 alongside the album.^[16] Finally, on March 20, 2020 Conan Gray simultaneously released Kid Krow and "Wish You Were Sober" to the world.^[17] The new single was a modern pop song, comparable to Taylor Swift's "Cruel Summer".

“	my debut album “kid krow” is out everywhere now. this is everything i’ve ever wanted to say but didn’t. every secret and insane thought i’ve kept for my closest friends. welcome to kid krow’s chaos, link in bio.	”
–Conan Gray, Instagram, March 20, 2020[17]

In the following weeks, some more promotion for the album would take place, mainly through Gray's social media. Conan would post acoustic covers of namely "Heather", "The Story" or "(Online Love)".^[18][19][20]

As one might guess, as many other artists did, on April 14, 2020 Gray announced on Facebook he'd postpone the entire Kid Krow World Tour due to the then-not-stopping pandemic.^[21] Unfortunately, the tour never saw the light of day and was ultimately cancelled.

“	i am heartbroken, but we gotta take care of each other. so sorry. stay safe.	”
–Conan Gray, Facebook, April 14, 2020[21]

In July, Conan began the promotion for his next single, "Heather". On July 15 he posted an acoustic cover of the song, followed by the iconic photo of Gray in a skirt two days later.^[22][23] On August 6, Conan released the first "Heather" sweater. Since then, a new "Heather" sweater would be released annually on December 3 of each year, referring to the lyric "I still remember, third of december".^[24] On August 19, the music video for "Heather" was announced to be released a day later.^[25] On September 4, the song would see a single release, and another, exclusive version of the "Heather" sweater was released five days later.^[26]

The "Heather" single was the last bit of Kid Krow's promotion. For the rest of the year, Conan would make appearances at talkshows, interviews and other, one-off performances.^[27] On October 13, 2020 a collaboration with Lauv, "Fake" was released.^[28] It became Gray's first and only duet to this date. Afterwards, the singer put out some more casual Instagram posts, up until February 2021, as he began gearing up to begin promotion for the next release.^[29]

Artwork

The cover features Gray in a purely white, empty setting, while he sits in the middle with a crow flying behind him. Conan wears a black tank top, and blue jeans.

Singles

Out of all the released singles, "Wish You Were Sober", "Maniac" and "Heather" undoubtedly became the biggest hits. While the former two became successful thanks to their promotion, "Heather" saw the rise in its popularity thanks to TikTok, becoming one of the classic audios on the app.

Kid Krow, Decomposed

Kid Krow, Decomposed is a 5th anniversary reissue of Kid Krow, released on March 20, 2025. It was surprise dropped and announced on Gray's and Coneworld's Instagram around 8PM ET, alongside some new merch, including the vinyl, hoodies, a shirt and bandages. The re-release itself features a previously unreleased song "Bed Rest", and the live recordings of "The Cut That Always Bleeds" and "Heather" from Found Heaven On Tour. The entire tracklist switched places as well, with "Comfort Crowd" now at the near bottom, "The Cut That Always Bleeds" as the second track etc. The reissue also features a completely new artwork, now with a handdrawn crow.

“	Words cannot express how grateful I feel to everybody who welcomed me into their worlds because of these songs. Of all the 200+ songs I wrote for this album, Bed Rest felt like the perfect way to celebrate the 5 year anniversary; because not only does it perfectly encapsulate how I felt about life then, it somehow also speaks so perfectly to how I feel about life now, five years later (sometimes you have to go a little crazy before you can come back to your senses).	”
–Conan Gray, Instagram, March 20, 2025[30]

Track list

Standard edition
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
1.	"Comfort Crowd"	Conan Gray	Dan Nigro	2:54
2.	"Wish You Were Sober"	Gray	Nigro	2:48
3.	"Maniac"	Gray	Nigro	3:05
4.	"(Online Love)"	Gray	Gray	0:37
5.	"Checkmate"	Gray	Nigro	2:28
6.	"The Cut That Always Bleeds"	Gray	Nigro	3:51
7.	"Fight or Flight"	Gray	Nigro	2:51
8.	"Affluenza"	Gray	Nigro	3:19
9.	"(Can We Be Friends?)"	Gray	Nigro	0:57
10.	"Heather"	Gray	Nigro, Jam City	3:18
11.	"Little League"	Benjamin Berger, Ryan McMahon, Ryan Rabin, Gray	Captain Cuts	3:14
12.	"The Story"	Gray	Nigro	4:05
Total length:				33:33

Kid Krow, Decomposed
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
1.	"Bed Rest"	Gray	Nigro	4:08
2.	"The Cut That Always Bleeds"	Gray	Nigro	3:51
3.	"Wish You Were Sober"	Gray, Nigro	Nigro	2:48
4.	"Heather"	Gray	Nigro	3:18
5.	"(Online Love)"	Gray	Gray	0:37
6.	"Fight or Flight"	Gray	Nigro	2:51
7.	"Maniac"	Gray, Nigro	Nigro	3:05
8.	"Affluenza"	Gray, Nigro	Nigro	3:19
9.	"Checkmate"	Gray	Nigro	2:28
10.	"(Can We Be Friends?)"	Gray	Nigro	0:57
11.	"Little League"	Berger, Gray, McMahon, Rabin	Captain Cuts	3:14
12.	"Comfort Crowd"	Gray, Nigro	Nigro	2:54
13.	"The Story"	Gray	Nigro	4:05
14.	"The Cut That Always Bleeds (Live)"	Gray	Gray	3:58
15.	"Heather (Lost Verse Version) [Live]"	Gray	Gray	3:59
Total length:				45:39

Cut songs

• "Great Escape"
• "Guilty"
• "I Saw You Crying"
• "In My Mind"
• "Sick"
• Unknown Kid Krow Outtakes (songs Gray wrote for the album that didn't make it on the record, confirmed in the Kid Krow, Decomposed announcement post)^[30]

Gallery

Physical copies

"Who else will take that picture for you just to get revenge?" To view the Kid Krow gallery, click here.

Trivia

• "The Cut That Always Bleeds" saw rise in popularity after going viral on TikTok in late 2023. Conan picked up on the trend as well, recording a couple of videos under the audio.^[31][32][33] This is most likely what led to the release of the live version featured on Kid Krow, Decomposed.

References

Navbox

v • e
Standard Tracks	"Comfort Crowd" • "Wish You Were Sober" • "Maniac" • "(Online Love)" • "Checkmate" • "The Cut That Always Bleeds" • "Fight or Flight" • "Affluenza" • "(Can We Be Friends?)" • "Heather" • "Little League" • "The Story"
Kid Krow, Decomposed	"Bed Rest" • "The Cut That Always Bleeds (Live)" • "Heather (Lost Verse Version) [Live]"
Artist	Conan Gray
Tours	Comfort Crowd Tour • Kid Krow World Tour
Gallery	Kid Krow Gallery