Rock Pop from Bailey Grey

New Jersey-based singer-songwriter Bailey Grey has a knack for pairing pop with indie rock, blues and jazz influences, resulting in songs that bring listeners into stories that are profoundly human in their emotion and detail. The comparisons to artists such as Amy Winehouse, Sara Bareilles, Dodie, Joni Mitchell and Fiona Apple make sense, but ultimately, Bailey strength comes from the way she filters those inspirations through her own experiences and unique perspective.

Her recording journey began in 2021 with the debut EP The Reason I Smile, created alongside producer Sam Cook-Stuntz at Homespun Audio. After spending several years in the UK performing original live shows across London, she returned with the sophomore EP Oh, Mother the next year, continuing to develop a voice that moved between intimacy and theatrical flair.

Her output expanded dramatically with her 2025 full-length album Love It All, which ran across indie pop, acoustic folk, electronic textures and cinematic ambience, taking a clear snapshot of an artist creating original and thoroughly engaging music. It also marked an important moment in her growing profile, with Bailey appearing on the cover of Indie Boulevard Magazine and being deservedly dubbed “Pop’s most promising new visionary.” Her creative expression extends beyond music too; her poetry has appeared in both the her house poetry series and the Women’s Poetry Anthology and this month she became a member of the Recording Academy.

Now Grey returns with “Unfortunately (I’m in Love with You),” a single that may be her most infectious release thus far. Having started life as a folk pop song, the track bloomed in the studio to form a dramatic pop rock anthem, recorded once again with Sam Cook-Stuntz at Homespun Audio in Seattle. Distilling the spirit of an early-2000s pop throwback while still fitting naturally within her own artistic vision, the song serves up a stunning display of Bailey’s thoughtful songwriting and performance panache.

The song’s emotional context is drawn from a very specific moment when, after moving back to her hometown following years abroad, Bailey found herself surrounded by places that no longer felt entirely familiar. Old friends had moved away, the landscape of her life had shifted and that sense of dislocation led her to reflect on a close friendship that had lasted for more than half her life. From there arose a question that became the song’s conceptual spark, asking what if Cinderella and Prince Charming had been childhood best friends?

That fairytale framing gives the track its rom-com glow, but Bailey deliberately complicates the fantasy to captures the overlap between desire and resistance, between believing in a storybook romance and recognising that real life is messier than any fairytale. One of the song’s most charming details arrives in the arrangement itself where, hidden beneath the pre-chorus leading into the final chorus are twelve clock tower chimes, a subtle nod to the Cinderella myth as the song approaches its emotional midnight.

Opened by the soft plucks of guitar and flutter of bright instrumental notes, the steady patter of drums holds a smooth groove as Bailey’s elegant voice glides into spin bouncy melodic leads above. Gliding with delightful melodic flickers and pulsing bass tones, the track gathers energy as it rolls into an anthemic pop rock chorus that shakes with dazzling hooks and rousing guitar-driven instrumentation, offering a superb showcase of Bailey’s original and instantly catchy sound.

With “Unfortunately (I’m in Love with You),” Bailey Grey turns nostalgia, anxiety and romantic hope into something exhilarating and highly enjoyable. It is dramatic, invigorating and built for singalongs, presenting a magical musical moment that’s sure to win over new and existing listeners all over the world.

Listen to Unfortunately (I’m in Love with You) below

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