Country music singer/songwriter says hometown of Orillia holds special place in her heart
Parker Graye has always loved performing and has been pursuing her dream of becoming a musician since she was a little girl.
The 33-year-old Orillia woman started her career in pop music but realized country music was a perfect fit after a Billboard-charting producer in Vancouver approached her and suggested the shift.
"That kind of changed everything. Then it wasn't until 2019 I went down to Nashville and produced 'Do Over,' which was the debut single, and 'Before you Leave,' which was the second single, and the rest has been history," she said.
Her latest single, 'Good at Getting Gone' passed one million streams across Apple Music, Spotify and Amazon Music.
"It's Bananas. I can't even wrap my head around the concept that people have listened to my songs that much," Graye said.
She was recently featured on the cover of Apple Music's Canada Country playlist.
She writes all of her music herself, drawing inspiration from her personal experiences.
"I don't think there's anything more genuine than just pulling from your own stuff, which is probably relevant to somebody in the world," she said.
Graye splits her time between Vancouver, working as a marketing consultant, and Nashville, recording music.
Her goal is to find a record label and move to Nashville full-time.
However, she said she'll never forget her Sunshine City hometown and has even written a song about it.
"It's got this place in my heart that I can't shake," Graye said. "There's something so special about that place."
The country singer-songwriter has plans for the future, including more concerts, with hopes of hitting the stage at her dream venue, Boots and Hearts at Burl's Creek in Oro-Medonte.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Invasive and toxic hammerhead worms make themselves at home in Ontario
Ontario is now home to an invasive and toxic worm species that can grow up to three feet long and can be dangerous to small animals and pets.
Opinion I just don't get Taylor Swift
It's one thing to say you like Taylor Swift and her music, but don't blame CNN's AJ Willingham's when she says she just 'doesn't get' the global phenomenon.
An emergency slide falls off a Delta Air Lines plane, forcing pilots to return to JFK in New York
An emergency slide fell off a Delta Air Lines jetliner shortly after takeoff Friday from New York, and pilots who felt a vibration in the plane circled back to land safely at JFK Airport.
Britney Spears settles long-running legal dispute with estranged father, finally bringing ultimate end to conservatorship
Britney Spears has reached a settlement with her estranged father more than two years after the court-ordered termination of a conservatorship that had given him control of her life, their attorneys said.
Last letters of pioneering climber who died on Everest reveal dark side of mountaineering
George Mallory is renowned for being one of the first British mountaineers to attempt to scale the dizzying heights of Mount Everest during the 1920s. Nearly a century later, newly digitized letters shed light on Mallory’s hopes and fears about ascending Everest.
opinion RFK Jr.'s presidential candidacy and its potential threat to Biden and Trump
Although it's still unclear how much damage Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s candidacy can do to either Joe Biden or Donald Trump this election, Washington political columnist Eric Ham says what is clear is both sides recognize the potential threat.
Haida elder suing Catholic Church and priest, hopes for 'healing and reconciliation'
The lawyer for a residential school survivor leading a proposed class-action defamation lawsuit against the Catholic Church over residential schools says the court action is a last resort.
It's 30 years since apartheid ended. South Africa's celebrations are set against growing discontent
South Africa marked 30 years since the end of apartheid and the birth of its democracy with a ceremony in the capital Saturday that included a 21-gun salute and the waving of the nation's multicolored flag.
From pop to politics, what to know as Sweden prepares for the 2024 Eurovision Song Contest
Taking place in May in Malmo, Sweden, the 68th annual competition will see acts from 37 countries vie for the continent’s pop crown in a feelgood extravaganza that strives — not always successfully – to banish international strife and division. And you don’t have to be in Europe to watch, or to help pick the winner.