Andy Grammer Hopes New Album 'Naïve' 'Helps Breathe the Light' Back into Fans Who May Be Struggling

Andy Grammer's new album features songs that he hopes will inspire fans to find the beauty even in life's most painful situations

Published on July 26, 2019 09:30 AM

Andy Grammer is determined to find the positive in every situation.

In a new interview with PEOPLE, the 35-five-year old — whose new album Naïvewas released Friday — acknowledges that “there’s kind of a war occurring to stay positive in a tough world like this,” but that he tries his best to stay upbeat.

“If you believe that bad things happen to you to make you stronger, that shifts your perspective. You go to the gym to work out and you’re literally breaking and tearing muscles so that they get stronger. That’s a part of this life,” he says. “To seek good in all the bad is one way that you can really shift perspective.”

Finding the beauty in pain is one of the themes in his new music, and Grammer was inspired to write an emotional track by the devastating loss of his mother Kathy.

“She was incredible. Just a great, great, great mom,” says Grammer, who was just 25 years old when his mother died. “It was horrible, it’s like the biggest wound of my life, but also if my life’s work and life’s purpose is to go around being the guy that sings songs to uplift people, it’s kind of cheesy if you’ve never been through something really bad.”

“You don’t want to hear ‘Keep Your Head Up’ or ‘Don’t Give Up on Me’ from a white man who’s never been through anything. You need to be grounded in pain,” he adds. “So, the good in that horrible thing is ‘Oh man, that really grounded me to go do what I think I’m here to do.’ I think that in my music and my shows I love to go ’round and try to breathe light back into as many people as I can.”

The loss of his mom inspired him to write “She’d Say,” a touching song about what his mom would say to his daughter if she were still alive.

“It’s really sweet, it’s one of my favorites,” he explains, adding that “the whole song is about little pieces of advice, like ‘You’re beautiful, but don’t overplay that card’ or ‘You’re spiritual, so don’t forget that part.’”

And his daughter, Louisiana, who turns 2 on Sunday, also helps him stay optimistic about life: “She’s the light of my life. Those moments in our lives where you’re like ‘Oh my God, my heart is beating so fast’ are rare, but with a little girl they happen all the time.”

andy-grammer-daughter-2 — Andy Grammer/Instagram

Just the other day, Grammer had a sweet moment with the joy of his life.

“I spent the whole day with her, just me and her, and it doesn’t have to be anything crazy, but she just ran around the corner, giggled and looked at me and was like ‘I love you,’ and I’m a puddle,” he recalls. “It’s the best. She’s just started saying ‘I love you’ a lot, and she throws it at me all day long. I can’t even stand up!”