This year marked an important one for alt-pop singer-songwriter Tei Shi. After five years of releasing music as a signed recording artist, she returned to being a fully independent artist — and her first release, "Grip," gives some seething insight to an experience she had with a former label.
"I'd finished my deal with my last label after a really s—ty experience, and I was trying to get paid my advance, which I'd already been owed and chasing down for almost two years. They were flat out ignoring me, so I ended up resorting to taking down the album from streaming platforms so they'd notice and finally pay me," she told Nylon in 2022. "I wrote 'Grip' a few days after I did this, and still hadn't heard back."
In this episode of Press Play at Home, Shi gives that personal song an equally powerful visual component. She performs the track in a close-up, one-take video, helping keep the emphasis on the song's scathing message: "Think you've got me in the palm of your hand? / What don't you understand? / I need that money."
The straightforward performance is a visual representation of the fact that this song — and the independent output to follow — is perhaps the first time Shi has been able to directly serve and speak to her fans. Unfettered by label requirements, input and red tape, she's free to share her full story directly with the people who consume her music. It's as if she's relaxing at home with her fans, sharing every detail of what she's been through — and above all, regaining control.
Press play on the video above to watch Shi's full performance of "Grip," and keep checking back to GRAMMY.com for more new episodes of Press Play at Home.