Conan Gray repeatedly amazes me with the relatability of his songs. 

It’s the forlorn longing for love found in “People Watching” or the relationship where one person expects the other to get back with them whenever the first person wishes for it, like in “The Cut That Always Bleeds.” Maybe it’s “Astronomy,” when a friendship is breaking slowly, piece by piece, as the friends grow apart. It could also be the devotion to one crush for years, similar to Gray’s story in “Heather.”

Gray is only 22 and has been signed to a label for 5 years. He’s not far off from my age and that of my peers. The empathetic nature of his lyrics is rooted in how close he is to the age of his listeners.

His newest single, “Telepath,” stuck to the supportive essence of his music.

“Telepath” sticks to an upbeat backtrack behind his emotional lyrics. I am amazed by music’s ability to make words hit harder when hemmed by a contented beat. This song abides by that theme rigorously. In my mind, I know I remember things better when they are put along with a catchy track. Maybe that’s why I feel so many of Gray’s songs echo my feelings.

As for the meaning behind “Telepath,” it is another relationship like in “The Cut That Always Bleeds.” While the latter was more poignant than the former and about the toxicity of Gray’s written affiliation, “Telepath” is about expecting the outcome of a breakup with a certain individual. Gray sings about how he knows his lover will continue to come back to him. He calls the rebound predictable. He says he might as well be called a telepath with his insight of what will transpire. 

One line that stands out from the rest is “You’ll see me moving on and hate that I’m gone.” Gray goes on to, once again, say his lover will be returning. The content of the line is noxious. There is a certain amount of audacity that one should have to think that they can return to their last significant other when their newest relationship doesn’t work out. No one should be expected to wait around for someone that doesn’t always want them. In the sense of this pernicious relationship, “Telepath” is akin to “The Cut That Always Bleeds.”

In a sense, many of Gray’s songs are similar in their overly simplified nature. Considering Gray’s age, it is completely possible that he could be speaking of the same relationship in many of his songs. He is open with his fans about many relationship aspects. He made a TikTok, saying that he hadn’t had his first kiss yet so I believe it is logical to conclude that his songs could be about a limited accumulation of people. This is a reason for the resemblance and relatability of his music.

A repeated line in “Telepath” says, “You’ll be sendin’ me trash you should’ve left in the drafts,” which I relate to intensely. My TikTok drafts are full of arbitrary videos that will remain in the minuscule drafts box. I’ve personally been sent some TikTok drafts from people that dubiously should have lingered below the drafts button. 

Collectively, Conan Gray embodies the life of teenagers through all of his music and his newest single, “Telepath.”