Song Spotlight: Grace Kay's When You Wanted (a night at Bar Lubitsch)

Grant Owens threw himself a birthday party at his WFNM showcase at Bar Lubitsch. I've been going to WFNM nights for quiet awhile now. I've had some memorable moments hanging out at his various showcases. The night in 2021 when I came across both King Mala and Halo Kitsch at Bar Lubitsch was top notch amazing. In 2019, which I believe was also a Grant Owens birthday party, Kat from Holy Wars took a ride on the shoulders of fellow photographer Scott Free. Also playing that night were Christina Castle and Fever Joy who I always enjoyed catching live. I've seen numerous favorite new bands and artists for the first time at a WFNM showcase. That applies to King Mala and Halo Kitsch, but also to Lizzy Land (technically I'd seen her prior in Mating Ritual, but WFNM was the first time I caught her on her own project), Ava Maybee, and many many others. 

With all that history, I do try to head out to his birthday parties. One of the highlights on this 2025 edition of his birthday party was Grace Kay (the moniker for Grace Korkunis) who had this to say, "I just want to say thank you so much to We Found New Music and Grant. The first show I ever did as Grace Kay was at We Found New Music." She also mentioned that on that particular night, she released the video for "Open" which is currently her best performing song.  

Grace Kay at Bar Lubitsch

Playing the night with backing tracks, she took the opportunity for self-expressions to the beats of her music. The packed crowd screamed encouragement as she danced around the stage while singing pop tunes. I do enjoy her lyrical writing skills and her tossing in cultural reference points. For the song "Open" she called out various well known bands. "So we sat and we cried with Fleetwood Mac on your stereo . . . With Carole King on your stereo." For "overgrown" there are the lyrics "Feels like we got lost in translation." Maybe those lyrics have no cultural reference points, but her record label bio does say she has an acting degree from USC so maybe that is a reference to the movie Lost in Translation. 

Grace Kay at Bar Lubitsch

The song spotlight is for her most recent release "When You Wanted." It is a song about changing who you are based a relationship. "This song is about doing that times 100. I pretended that I liked beer and sports. I changed my personality. I changed my career. Yeah, that was bad. But to me, I'm like, that's what they want, right? They want my interpretation of the perfect girl. The cool girl." That got screams from the female fan base. 

Grace Kay at Bar Lubitsch

For the song, she took out the props: the cool sunglasses, a black brimmed floppy hat, and a tiara. 

Girl meets boy. 

It's the same every time. 

Fit into your puzzle and you don't fit into mine. 

We play the roles again. 

Hey, what's wrong with faking your love of sports? Ha ha. There is the Allstate commercial where a clueless boyfriend shows up to his girlfriend's house decked out in Duke basketball gear, not realizing that the family was a full on Carolina house. What does that have to do with the point of the song? Maybe nothing other than not knowing when to compromise your values. The other stuff, definitely going a bit too far to change one's personality. You can carry on the facade for only so long. 

Grace Kay at Bar Lubitsch

I will mention that when she tossed the tiara off her head, a female friend was quick to pick it up and put it on her head. That is one point of the song, keep true to yourself and what you enjoy in life.  

Setlist: Actress, Open, Here, overgrown, What You Wanted.