15-year-old talent Mckenna Grace reveals debut single “Haunted House” featured along with an official music video
The 15 year old’s impressive debut single comes timed to the theatrical release of Ghostbusters: Afterlife – in which she stars as a whip smart young ghostbuster in what critics have already called a ‘revelatory, star-making performance.’ “Haunted House”, while not initially written or recorded for the film, is so powerfully affecting that when Ghostbusters’ director Jason Reitman heard it he immediately asked to use it for the movie’s closing credits.
Says Mckenna of her first released track, “Over the pandemic I went through a rough time in my personal life, and I wanted to write a song about how even after someone’s not in your life anymore, their memory never really leaves you. You could take it as a breakup song, but it could also be about a friend or a family member or any kind of relationship that’s ended.”
Behind the scenes, Mckenna has been nurturing her passion for songwriting. Since teaching herself ukulele at the age of 11 she has spent much of her time, on set and off, writing music. During the pandemic, Mckenna immersed herself in songwriting to cope with the isolation of lockdown, teasing out songs piano and guitar.
As she generated more and more material, Mckenna also began collaborating with co-writers, constantly sharpening her process to create songs both intensely specific and undeniably resonant. Once the world opened back up, and her acting resumed, she used every moment of free time on set to work on her music, eventually inking a deal with Photo Finish Records in 2020
For “Haunted House,” she worked with producer/3OH!3 member Nathaniel Motte to infuse the track with a gorgeous collision of sonic elements: otherworldly textures, soul-stirring piano melodies, a wildly jarring drop at the chorus.