“Maniac,” one of the singles that helped make Conan Gray the major star he is today, has officially crossed a major streaming milestone. The track has officially entered the Spotify Billions Club, becoming Gray’s second song to join the club, after 2020’s “Heather.” Released in 2019 and co-written with Dan Nigro, “Maniac” comes from Gray’s debut album, Kid Krow.
“I wrote maniac in the shower after getting a midnight drunk sob text from my ex,” Gray shared upon the song’s release. “They’d been running all around town telling everyone that I was some freak who wouldn’t leave them alone when in reality, they were the freak. They were the one acting like a maniac — sending strange late-night texts and showing up at my shows unannounced. I thought it was hilarious and all my friends had dealt with the same thing, so I decided to write a cathartic post break-up song dedicated to psychotic exes. that’s how maniac was born.”
Some of “Maniac”’s success can be attributed to its music video. The spooky clip depicts Gray and actor Jessica Barden working at a movie theater on Halloween Eve when Jess’ zombified ex-boyfriends arrive to terrorize them. “[W]ith the “Maniac” video, I wanted everyone’s worst nightmare to come true… ‘Night of the Living Exes,’ if you will,” Gray said of his creative process. Of Barden’s character in the video, Gray said she “reminds me a ton of my own best friend who I’d seen date a slew of different types of people. The jock, the artsy one, the nice one, etc. I thought it’d be fun to showcase all of the stereotypes in a cheesy 80’s horror movie esque video.”
Since “Maniac” and Kid Krow, Gray has stayed plenty busy. He’s released three more albums since, including Superache and Found Heaven. His most recent album Wishbone arrived last August, and became Gray’s highest-charting album on the Billboard 200. In February, Gray is set to embark on the Wishbone World Tour, playing 42 dates across North America, Europe, and Oceania.
