Chrissy Metz on Writing an Album in Four Days, Working to End the Stigma That Actors Can’t Become Musicians
Chrissy Metz is not just a hard worker — she’s a fast worker.
So fast that after co-writing her children’s book, “When I Talk to God, I Talk About You,” she got right to work on the companion album, “Prayed for This Day.” The album is Grammy-eligible and co-written by Bradley Collins.
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“I don’t think if I was with a label, I would be able to do this and do it so quickly. We wrote 10 songs in four days and tracked everything in less than 30 days. In less than a month, we had an entire album, which is sort of crazy,” Metz tells Variety. “When Bradley and I wrote the book, my manager was like, ‘Oh, maybe we should write like a lullaby or something.’ I come from a big family. I taught preschool, so it’s not so far-fetched that I would write a children’s book and then write a children’s album.”
She didn’t expect, however, they’d write a full album. The themes in the book — making and maintaing friends, having bravery, etc. — all came through loud and clear. But she “never expected” her first full-length album would be a children’s one.
“There are these throughlines that we sort of forget as adults but are still reminded of. So many adults come up to me and say, ‘I’m still learning to be brave.’ I’m like, ‘Yes, I think we all are, forever.’ We’re still learning how to navigate friendships in an adult world,” she says. “I believe children are the future — as cheesy as it sounds. I really believe that and if we treat the soil, that’s really what it’s about. Let’s bolster kids with confidence and self-esteem. How different could our world look if we did that?”
Now, she and Collins continue to work together, working on their second book together — and it could turn into an anthology series. She’s also continuously working on new music, in which faith will continue to be a theme.
“My grandma always instilled faith in my life, and thank goodness she did because I don’t know where I’d be without prayer. I really don’t,” says Metz. “When we don’t have anywhere else to go and we want to speak to God or our higher power in private, it just allows there to be space for imperfection or privacy of the things that you desire or you want. I think that’s really important to have — a conscious contact with whatever your higher power is.”
Metz, best known for her role as Kate Pearson on “This Is Us,” says people didn’t even know she sang until it became part of the character. While music was her “first love,” an early manager advised her to put that on the back burner and focus on acting.
“I’m so grateful it did because I feel like it allowed me to come into people’s lives in a way and now I just get to sort of enlighten them about the other avenues and the other loves that I have,” she says, admitting it’s “tricky” because some mock actors who want to become musicians.
“I’m like, ‘Can’t they do both? What about stage actors? Aren’t they both singers and actors? Can’t recording artists also be actors? It’s interesting that it’s easier to go from a singer to an actor than an actor to a singer. There’s a stigma for some reason, so I think I just am educating people that I actually do want to sing and write music. I love that process. It’s hard because when you love something, and then you have to fight for it, you’re like, is it worth it? It’s worth it. It’s just challenging!”
Grammys voting wraps Friday, Oct. 20.
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