London-based singer Griff performed in the Philippines for the first time in Warner Music Philippines’ “We Play Here” school tour. As one of the show headliners, Griff, the only international act, expressed her excitement and gratitude for the opportunity to deliver her music alongside rising local acts in the country, such as Arthur Miguel, Stell, and Dilaw.
“I love that we’re in a university — it means we’re performing to young people, people that love music, and I’m excited about all the talent coming up on the stage,” Griff said.
Since debuting in 2019, Griff, or Sarah Faith Griffiths, gained fame for the songs “Walk,” “Miss Me Too,” “One Night,” “Good Stuff,” and “Black Hole.”
Griff revealed that she found her love for music in her early teens after attending school. She’d explore which chords or instruments work in music, adding, “I don’t have any technical training. I never studied it in school; I went to the school of YouTube, and that was it.”
Surprisingly, the singer-songwriter first studied textiles in school before delving into music, “I love to perform, and I love that clothes can help my performance, and they tell the story with all my movements,” sharing her interest in fashion.
Griff admitted she fundamentally was a songwriter before she became an artist, “I love songwriting; it feels natural to be in the studio and to write honestly. I wish I wrote ‘Chandelier’ by Sia, ‘I Wanna Dance with Somebody’ by Whitney Houston, and ‘It’s All Coming Back to Me Now’ by Celine Dion.”
In times of doubt, she noted that the raw emotions in a song she’s hesitant to include may be significant enough for listeners who need to hear it. For this reason, she encourages artists not to hold back from showing vulnerability when writing.
Along with this, her confidence in writing shifts every time from feeling the worst to feeling to feeling the best songwriter in the world.
The singer regards music as a universal language that enables her to connect with different cultures while enjoying music, adding, “It’s beautiful and such a service to the world.”
Recently, Griff released her 14-track album “Vertigo,” which she prepared amid support tours.
“Over the last two years, I’ve collected these songs. They’re all personal, and I’ve been finishing it on the road. The fun thing about music now is you don’t need to play it by the rulebook.”
Besides the title track of her album, she selected “Everlasting” and “Astronaut” as standout b-side tracks.
Gladly, she further shared about “Astronaut,” stating that it initially sounded busier with various elements until she went on tour with Coldplay and frontman Chris Martin suggested stripping it back down, adding, “It feels surreal that Chris Martin agreed to finish it with me and play the piano on it.”
Meanwhile, the album’s cover has Griff’s hair as the focal point. She mentioned how the spiral became a symbol of her album and an extension of her heritage. Having Jamaican and Chinese descent, the artist commented that there was a lack of representation of girls with Afro hair. Despite this, she claimed that her hair texture uniquely enables her to be artistic and expressive.
The singer-songwriter then disclosed that being mix-raced made her feel excluded from her communities, “It’s the reason why I love music and why I turned to music; I felt like I could belong in music and create my own safe space.”
The musician found her audience as her album entered the charts’ top three, a remarkable feat for her debut album.
Notably, the London-based singer also toured with the greatest artists of this generation, such as Dua Lipa, Ed Sheeran, Taylor Swift, and Coldplay. Consequently, Griff expressed how fortunate she is to be part of these shows.
Likewise, this motivates her to continue pursuing music, “There’s so much self-doubt that comes every single day that having artists like Taylor Swift or Dua Lipa want to take me on tour is a nice, quiet affirmation that I might be doing something right.”
Soon, Griff will join Sabrina Carpenter’s tour in the last quarter of the year.
