VIER Live online performance
Grace did a live online performance on the Norwegian startup live music streaming service VIER. The show had originally been scheduled for May 1, but was postponed because Grace was ill. VIER is a paid service. In addition to access to the show (and to watch a recording of it afterwards), you could buy access to a "Mystery Box" (which contained a lot of behind-the-scenes photos), and access to a "spectator stream" following the preparations for the show live during the day. There was also a free "Curtain call" where Grace would talk about the show, which was postponed twice and took place on May 23rd, the day before the show. The show itself was shot on a dark and apparently wet stage, so dark that at times it was almost impossible to see Grace. The sound, however, was brilliant. The set consisted of five songs and lasted only 18 minutes. As she often does, Grace did slightly different renditions of the songs than at the previous shows, whether for variations or to spare her voice.
Stills from the "Spectator Stream"
The director and producer of the show, Colby Barrios, posted a set of behind-the-scenes photos to Instagram, writing "Had the opportunity to direct the vier.live livestreamed show for Grace Vanderwaal with songs from her new album Childstar! Grace was so sweet to work with, and I’m especially thankful for her collaboration and excitement; it brought so much to the project. Shooting live was a challenge that took lots of focus, but I can’t give enough props to the team below who killed it!" So did the director of photography Zach Morrison, he wrote: "Live music is a challenge- it’s hard to tell when the light’s low and the room is full of that quiet hum that lives in the spaces between songs, between breaths, waiting there to go live with the whole arc laid out before us like a slow River that picks up speed - winding toward something we couldn’t name but knew by feel, and Grace - eyes half close like she was hearing it already, not the notes but the truth inside them reaching back into each song, tugging out the thread of whatever it was she meant to hold in her hands. For what we had of a plan - we still looked to improv - to embrace the moment and just try and connect with an audience in a way that felt true and intimate, like the best of concerts do. There’s something about shooting live performances that just reminds me how much I love filmmaking. Killer team that came together to make this one sing". Photographer Sandra Jamaleddine posted a set of quite stunning stills from the performance.