According to Conan Gray, his entire career has led up to his fourth album, Wishbone.

"When you're in early adulthood, you try on so many versions of yourself," he explains to GRAMMY.com. "My second and third albums were both me trying to figure out exactly who I was. I think I came to a bit of a conclusion of maybe a more true look into who I am with Wishbone."

It's a bold statement considering Gray's music has always been centered around  wearing his heart on his sleeve; raw honesty is the through line of his 2020 debut, Kid Krow, 2022's Superache and 2024's Found Heaven. But however real and open he's been in the past, Wishbone sees Gray unleashing another layer of vulnerability, as the album marks the first that specifically touches on his sexuality.

Wishbone tells a story of the relationship between the album's character's Wilson and Brando on songs like "Vodka Cranberry," "Caramel" and "This Song," all of which serve as a whimsical and viscerally emotional mirror for Gray's own life. It's soundtracked by an alternating sonic backdrop of subtle acoustic guitars and crashing instruments, making the personal tales all the more impactful.

Below, Gray breaks down the inspirations behind Wishbone, from his musical influences like The Chicks and The Cranberries to a night out with Olivia Rodrigo that birthed the album's lead single — and how it all led him to his most vulnerable project yet.

Raised in Texas by a single mom, Gray's upbringing informed much of his artistry and view on life — and it played a pivotal role in the sounds and lyrics of Wishbone.

"I knew I kind of had to revisit my childhood for the album in a huge way, as I think it's an album for my younger self," Gray says, noting he's "as Texan as it gets."

As a result, Gray dove into the music he said his mom blasted during his youth, including 90s-era country artists ranging from The Chicks to Reba McEntire. Wishbone's vivid storytelling mimics the kind of tales both artists spun in their range of early hits; Gray specifically cites McEntire's "Fancy," as well as Deanna Carter's emotive 1996 single "Strawberry Wine," and the country classic "Delta Dawn."

"Music was always my reprieve from life; it was always my escape," he says. "When I hear these songs, they remind me of escaping."

If one listens to Gray's third album Found Heaven and Wishbone back-to-back, they might get whiplash. The former is pure power-pop, with musical allusions to the likes of Freddie Mercury, Depeche Mode and Michael Jackson, while the latter is vastly subtle and propelled by acoustic guitars instead of electronic synths. However different they sound, working on Found Heaven with A-list pop producer Max Martin forever altered how Gray approached the craft of songwriting.

"I look at Found Heaven as a huge experimental time," says Gray, with the album featuring pop anthems like "Never Ending Song" that boast massive hooks. "I was really learning. It was almost like a pop music bootcamp, just getting to learn with Max Martin how to write a pop song and what a pop song even is."

While working in the studio with the GRAMMY-winning producer, who has been behind countless hits for everyone from Backstreet Boys and Britney Spears to The Weeknd and Ariana Grande, Gray says his biggest takeaway was how to construct a memorable melody.

"He's so conscious of it, and before I worked with him I would just throw whatever melody in there," Gray says. "But now, I ask myself how I can make a melody interesting. How can I make it something that people will remember and won't just be forgotten into nothingness?"

While Martin didn't play a part in Wishbone, the lessons he taught bear fruit on its viral lead single, "Vodka Cranberry." Its catchy and cathartic hook that depicts Conan singing out its earworm chorus, "Speak up, I know you hate me" — which is now making the rounds on TikTok.

Elsewhere, Martin's influence is felt in the driving melody of "My World," an infectious anthem of independence with a relentless clapping beat. Another example lies in album ender "Care," an emotional earworm whose hook is a sing-along-ready admission: "I told myself I'm over you, but I care, I care, I care."

Going Out With Olivia Rodrigo

The close bond between Gray and fellow pop superstar Olivia Rodrigo has been on display since they each shot to fame. While producer Dan Nigro is at the center of both of their creative processes, he wasn't how they connected; rather, it was a direct message Gray sent Rodrigo praising her 2020 "High School Musical: The Musical: The Series" song "All I Want."

It's easy to hear how Gray connected to Rodrigo's sonic landscape, including her songs like "Driver's License," and her knack for ripping lyrics from the actual heartaches of her life. It also quirkily manifested itself in the title for "Vodka Cranberry."

"I was listening to The Cranberries a lot while making the album, but that's not what inspired it," Gray says with a laugh. Coincidentally, the Irish band did influence a few Wishbone tracks, including "Care" and "Caramel." Rodrigo's touch, however, had nothing to do with sound or lyrics.

"'Vodka Cranberry' is a drink my best friend Olivia drinks every once in a while," he says, recalling the two once having a conversation about the cocktail. "I ended up writing the song a week later. So, thank you Olivia Rodrigo for the inspiration."

Aside from its boozy title, the emotional result sees Gray speaking out about a faltering relationship while leaving it all on the table, mimicking the vulnerable creative process for the entire project.

According to Gray, the creative bridge between Found Heaven and Wishbone is closer than one may think: he worked on both simultaneously. "Wishbone came to life accidentally as I had some things to say that I couldn't fit on Found Heaven," he explains.

Interestingly, Dan Nigro — Gray's key collaborator from the beginning — didn't play a role in Found Heaven, but returned for four tracks on Wishbone. And it was the GRAMMY-winning producer who encouraged Gray to go all-in on the intimacy of the album.

"He was like, 'You know, you've written with other people before and you've got a few good songs out of that, but the truth is you write the best by yourself, so just go and write it by yourself," the singer/songwriter says. "That's ultimately what I did, because the things that I had to say, I couldn't have said with anyone else in the room."

As a result, Wishbone features the most solo-written tracks since Kid Krow, with Gray credited as the sole writer on five tracks: "This Song," "My World," "Class Clown," "Connell," and "Eleven Eleven."

While Gray has been coy lyrically as to who he was singing to and about on past albums, Wishbone decisively focuses on two male lovers throughout the saga of its story — emphasized by the music video for "Vodka Cranberry," which stars Gray and actor Corey Fogelmanis. Meanwhile, in the Wishbone ballad "Nauseous," Gray clearly states, "That's why I feel safe with bad guys/ Because when they hurt me I won't be surprised."

"When it comes to music, you do have a little piece of your mind saying, 'Okay, well I'm gonna say something and does it alienate certain people?'" Gray muses. "I think with that song in particular, I had a bad experience with a guy and I had to say it plain, there was no other way to put it."

When it comes to that "Nauseous" lyric, Gray says he "needed" to include it, noting an overarching goal of weaving cathartic lines into his lyricism. "I think everyone, no matter who you are, whether you're a woman or a man or something in between, somebody comes to mind when you hear that line."

Not that the album is full of heartbreak. Wishbone suggests that Gray is not only leaning into the idea of romance, but he's finally vulnerable enough to sing about it, too. On tracks like "This Song," he's plainly emotive with lyrics like, "You know that I love you, and I have a feeling that you love me back." It all sets Gray up for his next era — not only of his career, but his life in general.

"I needed to be brutally honest to a point that's uncomfortable," he asserts, "because that's how I'm gonna make an album that I relate to, and ultimately that hopefully other people will relate to, too."