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Notes

"I wrote the song “Fade” after a therapy session where I was like, the hard thing is I don't want to heal. I don't want to forget my sadness or pain because if I do, then it doesn't exist at all. Who's going to feel it? That deserves to be remembered. I never knew how to deal with that. I was just like, no one has the answer to that. I am stuck. I'm literally stuck. No one has the answer.

At the end, I’m experiencing a symbolic death carried out by dancers. I wrote the story of the play, and I liked the storytelling archetype of the progression of birth to death. It symbolised how the public and society, in general, take everything girls have and their youth, and then when they don't have anything left to give, they're dead to them and seen as a used product and discarded away."

(interview with Teen Vogue published April 8, 2025)

In an (interview with Zach Sang in April 2025 Grace described how her ideas were received by her co-writer and producer Eren Cannata when she first presented them to him: "A lot of these things – you either get it or you don’t. We’re making the final song, and I was like – I want to say "mommy" and want to talk about our bones breaking and contorting and then there is cacophony of strings, and it swells … and then there was silence, and I was like – oh God, I went too far again, everyone thinks that I am crazy. And then he turned around in his chair and he was like ‘and just then, there is this toy-box that plays, and there is blood dripping, panning left, right left, right’ and i was like – you – get me!"

In a podcast in early 2026, with her cowriter Eran Cannata and former co-writer Justin Trantor Grace explained that Fade is the song that they feel is most like the two of them together. Grace: "when you listen to fade, that is definitely both of our minds, It's not a Grace song; we definitely composed that together".

Godfrey Furchtgott who did the string-arrangement for Fade, wrote in a SoMe post: spoiler alert..we love a JSBach chaconne style arp; we love tremolo - we love a producer who asks for these things @erencannata

Reception
The music and arts site “Glassefactory” wrote: “Fade’ wraps the album up with a breathtaking fusion of storytelling, lyricism, and production perfectly capturing the emotional and creative essence throughout the project. The song serves as an emotional rollercoaster, as it’s packed with sadness and desperation. Her vocal inflections convey her pain, more intensely than in “What’s Left of Me”. The production lets her vocals shine, drawing you deeper into her story, just like the entire album does. The instrumental adds its own layer of emotional impact, with the synths and chords in the chorus intensifying the power grace already delivers so effectively. “Fade” does an exceptional job closing the album and transitions into the opening track “Proud” almost seamlessly.” (Glassefactory April 22, 2025)
Source: Grace Vanderwaal



Performances

2025.04.03 CHILDSTAR Final Act ()
2025.05.04 Lincoln Hall Childstar Tour
2025.05.07 The Great Hall Childstar Tour
2025.05.09 Atlantis Childstar Tour
2025.05.10 Racket Childstar Tour Full song, shot from center
2025.05.18 The Roxy Childstar Tour Shot from front of stage right
2025.05.21 Brick & Mortar Childstar Tour 36 seconds
2025.05.24 VIER Live (Electric Pony Studios) Childstar Tour

Reviews, Reactions etc.

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Releases

Release Date Record Type Track
2025-04-04Child StarLP9

Lyrics

[Verse 1]
Always been alone, wish I could call my mommy
Wrap me like a doll and just drive me home
Left out in the cold, oh, where is everybody?
Thought that there'd be something at the end of the road

[Pre-Chorus]
If I screamed, would you hear it?
If I bled out, would you feel it?
And I know I should just let go
But sewn in with a red thread
With the grime under my nailbeds
There's nowhere else that I could go

[Chorus]
Oh, hey, I'll celebrate my pain
Like ashеs in a vase, won't let it fade away
And hold my hand and walk mе slow
I'm scared to cross the road, won't let it fade away

[Refrain]
Fade, fade away
Fade, fade away
Fade, fade away

[Verse 2]
I'll get down on my knees, a self-serving religion
Could've spent the night in my childhood home
The sheets would be warm, my feet would hang over
Wouldn't be the same, but at least it'd be close

[Pre-Chorus]
If I screamed, would you hear it?
If I bled out, would you feel it?
And I know I should just let go
Sewn in with a red thread
With the grime under my nailbeds
And there's nowhere else that I could go

[Chorus]
Oh, hey, I'll celebrate my pain
Like ashes in a vase, won't let it fade away
And hold my hand and walk me slow
I'm scared to cross the road, won't let it fade away

[Bridge]
I've run my feet bloody to the bone
Little girl in a woman's coat
She's always there, crying with the door closed

[Refrain]
Fade, fade away
Fade, fade away
Fade, fade away

Covers and Remixes

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