Actor and musician Mckenna Grace first met Olivia Rodrigo on the set of Bizaardvark back in 2016. Since then, she’s been following Rodrigo’s career closely, and tells Rolling Stone AU/NZ it would be a dream to collaborate with the “drivers license” singer.
“Who wouldn’t want to collaborate with Olivia Rodrigo? Honestly, since she’s put out this album [You Seem Pretty Sad For A Girl So In Love], it is all I have listened to on repeat,” Grace says.
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“I’ve shown [the album to] everybody [who] hasn’t listened to it, it’s incredible. I would be so honoured to just be in her presence again.”
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Just like Rodrigo, Grace got her start as a child actor, but has an affinity for songwriting and music. In 2020, the star signed with Photo Finish Records and released “Haunted House”, a track that was later used in her film Ghostbusters: Afterlife.
The singer then released two EPs: Bittersweet 16 in March 2023, and Autumn Leaves in October 2023.
Her first-ever Billboard chart entry came in the form of a feature after collaborating with Ice Nine Kills on “Twisting the Knife” for the Scream 7 soundtrack. The song hit number one on the Hot Hard Rock Songs chart and opened the door for more collaborations with the metal band.
Grace’s latest single, “Ugly and Rotten”, delves a bit deeper into the metal and rock influences she grew up listening to. “I love metal and rock and those heavier tones and so I was really excited,” she says.”I worked with some of the guys from Ice Nine Kills, and we also had an amazing co-writer renforshort… we just had a blast in the studio.”
The group were originally working on other music when Grace pulled out an old diary, and magic was made at the end of the studio session.
“After reading one of my old diaries, we were like, maybe we should keep writing. Then we wrote a completely other song and ended up in the studio until two in the morning,” Grace recalls. “It was really fun for me to play with some heavier tones, because that’s always been a dream of mine in music.
While Grace grew up listening to Ice Nine Kills, Slipknot, Evanescence and Flyleaf with her dad, she loved listening to Taylor Swift and Britney Spears with her mum.
Considering Rodrigo’s ability to walk the line between punk rock, pop and Swift-esque lyrics, perhaps a collaboration with Grace would be a match made in heaven.
