People Watching (Conan Gray song)

In 2017, Gray posted a tweet on Twitter stating "i love people watching so much".^[1] He later released his debut album, Kid Krow, in 2020 on which he also collaborated with Dan Nigro.^[2][3] The following year Gray released two singles: "Overdrive" and "Astronomy".^[4] Gray began teasing a third single,^[5] later revealed to be "People Watching", which was released by Republic Records on July 15, 2021.^[6][7] The song was featured as the second track on Gray's second studio album Superache in 2022.^[8] "Astronomy" was also released on the album while "Overdrive", and Gray's following single, "Telepath", were featured as bonus tracks on Superache's Japanese CD release.^[9]

"People Watching"

A brief sample of the chorus from "People Watching" which highlights the jealousy experienced by Gray while he is people-watching but longing for a romantic relationship that he has seen others experience.

---

Problems playing this file? See media help.

"People Watching" is an indie pop up-tempo ballad that explores the activity of people-watching.^[10][11][12] For the song, Gray collaborated with Julia Michaels and his producer Dan Nigro; the three share a writing credit on the single.^[13] Gray said he obtained the idea for the lyrics from eavesdropping on couples and wanting to share true romantic feelings with someone.^[14] He also explained that he had never dated anyone prior to writing the song,^[15] which is representative through lyrics in the chorus which states, "I wanna feel all that love and emotion; be that attached to the person I'm holding".^[16]

The overall concept of the song expands on Gray's view of romantic relationships which he previously explored in "Crush Culture" from his 2018 extended play, Sunset Season.^[17] "People Watching" opens with a steady guitar; the song slowly builds cumulating in a swell at the chorus.^[18] The bridge features steadily increasing bass, piano, and drums over the lyrics "Cut people out like tags on my clothing", followed by Gray describing life as being monotone.^[11][19]

Robin Murray with Clash said the song "balances a longing for love with an awareness of loneliness" and noted Gray's ability to write from the perspective of an outsider.^[20] Ones to Watch writer Maxamillion Polo mentions the "emotional depth" that Gray harnesses in the track by highlighting the significance behind the lyrics.^[21] Uproxx's Caitlin White described the song as "vulnerable" and mentioned how the song is told from a position where the subject is safe from relationship turmoil but at the same time, lacks intimacy.^[22] Sofie Hernandez from NPR Music stated that Gray "has an acute ability to pick up on the intimate intricacies of love" and wrote that the song romanticizes relationships.^[10] Writing for Affinity Magazine, Helen Ehrlich opined that Gray used the song to separate himself from the emotional baggage of his previous works.^[18]

"People Watching" placed number 22 on the New Zealand Hot Singles Chart and number 25 on the Singaporean chart.^[23][24] It was certified platinum in Canada,^[25] gold in Australia,^[26] Brazil,^[27] and New Zealand,^[28] and silver in the United Kingdom.^[29]

A music video for the song, directed by Joe Mischo, was shared on the day after its release.^[30] In the video, Gray is featured working in a café and jealously observes various couples drinking coffee and eating pastries.^[31] In the process of people-watching, he falls behind in performing his job duties causing a croissant to catch fire and allowing a coffee mug to fall to the ground and break. As the other employees deal with mishap, the café fills with smoke while Gray appears unfazed and continues to people-watch.^[32][33] Gray attributed the concept of the video to his time in college when he would regularly people-watch in a similar café on campus.^[31] He also stated he would joke about being terrible at working in a café with his best friend Ashley who appeared in the video.^[34][35]

Gray performed "People Watching", along with "Disaster" and "Memories" from Superache and "Heather" from Kid Krow on The Today Show as part of their "Citi Concert Series".^[36] It was also performed on the Superache Tour.^[37] "People Watching" was featured along with "Crush Culture" in the Heartstopper season two episode, "Sorry".^[38] The song was also used on Gray's following tour for his third studio album, Found Heaven (2024), as well as the associated tour for Wishbone (2025), his fourth studio album.^[39][40]

Adapted from Tidal.^[13]

• Conan Gray – composer, lyricist, associated performer, background vocalist, vocals
• Dan Nigro – producer, composer, lyricist, associated performer, background vocalist, bass, drum programming, percussion, piano, synthesizer
• Julia Michaels – composer, lyricist, associated performer, background vocalist
• Ryan Linvill – associated performer
• Sterling Laws – associated performer, drums
• Randy Merrill – mastering engineer, studio personnel
• Serban Ghenea – mixer, studio personnel