Frankie Grande has always been a performer, but now he’s stepping into the spotlight as his authentic self with his debut album, Hotel Rock Bottom. However, the journey to get to this moment was turbulent.
“The Hotel Rock Bottom was a real hotel. It was in London, and it’s where I locked myself after the One Love Manchester concert,” Frankie emotionally revealed, reflecting on the days following the benefit concert organized by his sister, Ariana Grande, for the families affected by the devastating terrorist attack. “It was definitely one of the darkest and worst moments of my whole life,” he told ECHO and 1824 in a press conference.
It was a pivotal point, one that forced him to face an unimaginable decision, captured in the lyrics of the album’s title track: “…If I’m checking out tomorrow.” Frankie explained, “There’s a double entendre there. That was that hotel, that was that moment where I decided either I’m going to check out of life and be done and this is where I end, or I’m gonna check out of this hotel and I’m gonna go straight to rehab.”
Frankie admits he doesn’t remember the hotel’s name or location, and he’s okay with that. What he does want to remember is how that decision changed his life, a transformation that unfolds across the album’s deeply personal timeline.
“I run the gamut of the past 20 years of my life on this album. We start in the club, and it’s fun and it’s ferocious. I’m stomping in my heels and being a disaster, and it’s great, it’s wonderful, and there’s no consequences because there was a whole time in my life where I could just drink and use with no consequences. Then you see the struggle in “Hotel Rock Bottom,” and then you see the sobriety angle as well, which also has light and dark on it, right?”
As a lifelong Disney World fan, he brought a unique vision to the studio. “I walked into every single session and said it needs to sound more like Epcot because Epcot is my favorite theme park in the world and I spent my entire childhood in Epcot,” he said.
To bring that vision to life, Frankie and his executive producer, Prince Fox, “Imogen Heaped it,” recording real sounds from the park. If you listen closely to the track “Cognitive Dissonance,” you might catch the syncopated “bloops” of Epcot hidden in the melody.
Throughout the album, you’ll also hear sonic influences from icons like George Michael, Madonna, Cher, Whitney Houston, and Donna Summer, what Frankie calls “a 70s, 80s, 90s space dance rock pop album.”
One of Frankie’s favorite songs on the album is “Oasis,” a tribute to his husband, Hale, and it also happens to be Hale’s favorite track, too. “He sent me the longest, actually, the whole family, the longest voice note of all time yesterday that was like, if this is not your next single, you’re an idiot,” Frankie shared, laughing. “It’s so funny. He feels very personally connected because it’s about him, it is, he’s my oasis, that’s the whole point of the song…It’s in bed with him and my puppy watching The West Wing.”
Whether it’s in bed or on the dance floor, for Frankie, a song can’t exist without the visuals. “I’m a visual girly girl,” Frankie admitted as he reminisced about his MTV upbringing. “I remember music videos so vividly from when I was young, from when I was a kid. I can tell you pretty much everything that Madonna has worn in any one of her music videos… I think that when you marry music and visuals effectively, that’s what makes it stand the test of time, which is why I am really dedicated to making sure you all get visuals for all my singles. Like, it has been top priority for me.”
Frankie poured everything those iconic ‘80s videos taught him into the visual for his single “Boys.” The video, which celebrates queerness and reclaims society’s definition of masculinity, was inspired by Frankie’s own lived experience. “I was actually doing my makeup in the bathroom, the locker room at Equinox, and I was giving a full beat, like mascara and lashes. I was looking at all these very masculine-presenting guys that are all being like bros, and I’m beating my face for the gods.”
For “Boys,” Frankie had the unique opportunity to collaborate with MISTR, the largest LGBTQ+ telehealth platform for sexual health. “When I pitched [my concept] to MISTR, they were like, we have been waiting to make this video. This is exactly the video that we’ve been trying to make for a long time, and we just didn’t have the right artist to do it with.”
Frankie emphasized how important it was to partner with an organization like MISTR, one that prioritizes sexual health. “I think it’s really important to also partner with someone like MISTR who is so sexually health-conscious because, like, yes, we are celebrating our bodies and our sexuality, but also, like, we don’t want to be stupid. We don’t want to be idiots about it. You know? We want to make sure that we’re taking care of our health. We know our status and that we’re sharing that with our partners, and taking the stigma away from STDs and STIs. Let’s be open about it so that we don’t spread it unnecessarily,” Frankie said.
For Frankie, Hotel Rock Bottom isn’t just an album, it’s a declaration. “When it comes to art or activism, especially in the month of June, I don’t think I can actually separate the two,” he explained. “It’s like just existing these days as an out, proud, queer, extremely, extremely flamboyant homosexual in music is in and of itself a protest.”
As Frankie hits the road to play Pride festivals across the country, he hopes to bring this energy and to be an example of what it looks like to fully embrace who you are. “I didn’t know that I was gay for like forever and ever and ever. Like, I didn’t come out until I was 21. It was very confusing. So I think that like, since I have worked so hard on owning who I am,” Frankie shared, “I would like to use my platform to make as many queer, confused kids in this world a little bit less confused about the fact that they’re perfect exactly as they are.”
Frankie has come a long way from “Rock Bottom.” He’s now eight years sober, with a loving husband, Hale, an incredible family, an adorable puppy, and an album that’s sure to be on rotation all summer long.
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