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Interesting facts about Grimes

musician grimes on stage playing keyboard
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Last updated on August 3rd, 2023 at 08:37 am

Maybe you have heard of Canadian musician Grimes, and this isn’t surprising considering the artist has been making music since 2006. You may have also heard her name in connection with the famous CEO of Tesla, Elon Musk.

Although you might have seen some information about this artist in the news, chances are there still is a lot you don’t know about her. Read the following facts to learn all about the musician Grimes. 

Who is Grimes?

Grimes(musician) is a Canadian-born singer and songwriter who also produces her own music. She produces music in various genres such as pop, electronic, R&B, and hip-hop

What is Grimes’ Real Name?

Grimes’ real name is Claire Elise Grimes.

singer grimes on a blue shirt
Image from Shutterstock

Grimes Birth Date

Grimes was born on January 18, 1988, in Vancouver, Canada. Grimes is a Capricorn.

How Old is Grimes?

Grimes age as of February 2022 is 34 years old. 

Where Does Grimes Live?

No one knows for sure where Grimes lives, but it is likely she spends some of her time in Elon Musk’s Austin, Texas home. However, she also owns a home in Pasadena, California, and reports spending most of her time there. 

She Was Bullied For Her Lisp

Grimes had a speech impediment when she was a child. She stuttered and spoke with a lisp. This made her an easy target for bullies at school who would mimic her voice and throw food at her.

Grimes Is Vegan

Grimes is a vegan and has been an animal rights advocate.

She once made a post on Twitter about how she refused to participate in the cruel treatment of animals by the fashion industry, explaining that it wasn’t “okay” for designers to use fur in their collections.

She wrote, “I seriously just wanna go to fashion shows and say NO FUR OR LEATHER YOU FUCKING ANIMAL KILLERS.”

Grimes Boyfriend

Grimes was dating Elon Musk. As of December 2021 it is unclear if the couple is still together.

grimes and elon musk arriving at an event
Image from Shutterstock.

She is a Mom

Grimes and Elon Musk named their child X Æ A-12. He was born on May 4th, 2020.

Grimes Loves Anime

Grimes has stated that her favorite anime is My Neighbor Totoro (1988).

Her most iconic outfit, which she wore during the music video for “Oblivion,” was inspired by the clothing worn in My Neighbor Totoro (1988).

It also featured a blue wig which fans have since mistaken for a reference to another Miyazaki’s masterpiece, Spirited Away (2001).

Controls All Aspects Of Her Music

Grimes is famously involved in all aspects of her music videos.

She has said that she wants to be “involved in every part of the creation” to reflect her ideas and represent her vision as an artist.

Her Album Art is Always Hauntingly Beautiful

Grimes never fails to amaze fans with her album covers.

They are always laden with symbolism, foreshadowing, and metaphors that couldn’t be more perfect for the ensuing music.

Her third studio album, Visions (2012), had an image of Grimes lying on a couch in just underwear with messy hair while covered by green vines originating from her face.

It was also shot in the same photoshoot as her “Oblivion” music video, making them even more connected.

Her fourth studio album, Art Angels (2015), had an image of Grimes holding a guitar with her head turned away from the camera while hiding half of her face with long black hair.

She Collaborates With Other Women

Grimes has stated that working with other women is “a lot easier” because they are not competitive or demanding.

She also said that she prefers to work with female artists rather than male musicians because she feels they are more exciting and creative, especially after working alongside guys for six years.

Some notable collaborations include “Go” (with Blood Diamonds), “Phone Sex” (with Blood Diamonds), and “Venus Fly” (with Janelle Monae).

grimes on the red carpet in a black and red dress
Image from Shutterstock.

She Considers Herself A Songwriter, Producer, and Engineer

Grimes learned to play various instruments before she became a singer, including guitar, drums, and saxophone.

She has also been producing her music since she was fourteen-years-old.

In an interview with The Daily Beast, Grimes stated that she is a major perfectionist and “obsessive” about making sure everything sounds just right.

When asked what the most challenging part of being an artist was, she said, “The fact that you can’t control how people are going to hear your music—the fact that so much of the reaction is out of your hands.”

She Attended Catholic School As A Kid

According to Grimes’s MySpace page, she attended St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic School for Elementary school and then received homeschooling after moving to Montreal.

She has mentioned that her time at the Catholic School was rigorous, but it helped her develop discipline with playing music.

She Used To Be Friends With Katy Perry’s Step-Brother

Grimes used to be friends with Katy Perry‘s step-brother, Josh. Back when they were in junior high, she would play him music she recorded.

Josh later commented that her sound was similar to Bjork’s “post-punk phase.”

Grimes had also mentioned collaborating with Katy Perry before, but said it didn’t work out because they are both stubborn artists who wanted complete control over their songs.

She Dropped Out Of College To Make Her Debut Album Visions

Grimes began working on her debut album in 2010.

She worked with two different artists, Dorian Electra and Luke Million of Teen Daze, to perfect her sound before releasing it.

However, she eventually ditched the entire project because she felt like “the songs sounded too clean.” In an interview with The Guardian, Grimes said, “All of a sudden, I just had this epiphany.

“What if I just made everything shitty and lo-fi and made it all distorted and wrote sincere lyrics about how I feel, like how I was feeling at the time?”

She then dropped out of McGill University, where she was studying neuroscience, to focus on her music.

She Is A Huge Buffy The Vampire Slayer Fan

According to an interview with Fuse, Grimes is a massive fan of “Buffy the Vampire Slayer.” When asked which episode was her favorite, she responded, “Probably any episode with Drusilla in it.

“I think one of my favorite lines ever written on TV is when she says, ‘The thing about chaos is it never feels random. There’s always a pattern.'”

How Did Grimes and Elon Musk Meet?

After tweeting about how Grimes was “waiting for a SpaceX rocket to explode,” Musk ended up following her on Twitter, and eventually, Elon and Grimes started talking to each other privately.

They eventually met at the Met Gala after Grimes said she was “down to hang” with him.

After saying that she would like to go to space one day, Musk replied, “It’s gonna sound pretty ridiculous, but my ambition for the long-term is to retire on Mars.” Too cute!

grimes playing the piano on stage
Image from Shutterstock.

She Is Inspired By Anime and Manga

Grimes has said that her album covers and music videos are heavily inspired by anime and manga series such as FLCL, Evangelion, and Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure.

In a 2012 interview with Complex, she was asked what her favorite anime and manga were, to which she responded, “It’d probably be Neon Genesis Evangelion. I’m not a big anime person, but that one hit me.”

She Paid For Her First Album Through Harajuku Costuming

Grimes’s debut album, Geidi Primes (2010), was recorded using money she earned from making costumes for a friend’s band and selling them online.

She had mentioned that she used to wear wigs and dress up in elaborate clothing when she was younger and even created costumes for her siblings.

She said, “One of my first memories was…making a giant robot costume out of cardboard, and taking it to school for show-and-tell.”

Her Album Visions (2012) Was Inspired By Sylvia Plath And The Virgin Suicides

Grimes’s sophomore album, Visions (2012), was inspired by poets Sylvia Plath and James Joyce, filmmaker Sofia Coppola, and the 1993 novel of the same name.

Grimes has mentioned that she has always struggled with making music, but this album was different because she finally had a moment where she was “glad to be alive.”

She has talked about her struggles with depression, telling NME, “It’s hard when you’re a teenager… It’s a post-traumatic state.”

Grimes Likes To Work With New People

Although she has worked with producers such as Jay Z and Flume, Grimes likes to work with new people for most of her projects.

She said in an interview with Dazed, “I just find it interesting when people are like, ‘Oh, I need my people’ or whatever they say—like you have a main group of people you work with. And often, I have no idea who those people are, but they’re just like people that you know.”

Her “Go” Video Featured A Dance That Was Taken From The Japanese Series Criminal Girls

In 2015, Grimes released her music video for “Go,” which was directed by her and her brother, Mac Boucher.

She posted on Tumblr in 2014, “I wrote and directed the whole thing myself (except for when my brother helped with some of the choreography), and I only made it to satisfy myself.”

Grimes Has Been Interested In Fashion Since The Age Of 8

In a 2011 interview with The Fader, Grimes talked about how she started getting into fashion when she was only eight-years-old.

“I remember at my eighth-grade graduation party, I asked my mom to lend me five dollars so that I could buy a shirt from the flea market that said ‘Don’t trust anyone over 30.'”

grimes on stage in 2012
Image from Shutterstock.

Grimes Has Been Nominated For Seven Different Awards and Won Four

Grimes has been nominated for seven different awards, including the MTV Video Music Award for Best Art Direction in 2015 and 2016, which she won two years in a row.

She was also nominated for four different Juno Awards (Canada’s version of the Grammys) and won in 2011 for Best Alternative Album.

She Is Close With Her Mother

Grimes has mentioned many times in interviews how close her relationship is with her mother.

She told The Guardian, “I’m pretty close to my mom…She’s an artist, and she looks like Grimes. She paints these intense contemporary abstract paintings.”

Grimes Was For A Long Time In A Relationship With Devon Welsh

Grimes and her former boyfriend, Devon Welsh, became a couple in 2011 and broke up in 2014.

Welsh is an indie singer-songwriter who has been part of the music group Majical Cloudz.

Grimes has said that their relationship inspired many songs on her second album.

She Is A Fan Of The Anime Series Neon Genesis Evangelion.

Grimes has been open that she is inspired by Japanese anime, such as Neon Genesis Evangelion.

In an interview with MTV, Grimes explained how it inspired her music video for “Oblivion,” saying, “The setting of the video is an alternate universe where Shinji and Rei were still part of NERV, and they’re trying to fight off all these Angel attacks. It’s pretty weird.”

In 2017, Grimes Joined The Spotify Takeover Of M&M’s To Promote Hershey’s Baking Chips

In March of 2017, Grimes started a takeover on Spotify to promote Hershey’s Baking Chips.

Her playlist included songs by Rihanna and Drake, among many other artists.

The takeover aimed to increase brand awareness for Hershey’s and acquire new fans.

Grimes Music and Rise to Fame

She started uploading her music to Myspace in 2006 then released four EPs before signing with Jay-Z‘s management company Roc Nation.

Her debut album Geidi Primes (2010), and her second studio album, Halfaxa (2010), were released via Arbutus Records.

The third Grimes album, Visions (2012), received widespread critical acclaim. It was hailed as “one of the most impressive albums of the year so far” by The New York Times, and NME placed it on their “Top 100 Albums of the Decade So Far” list.

They first became involved with the underground music scene in Vancouver, Canada, and then relocated to Montreal.

Art Angels (2015) received a Grammy nomination for Best Alternative Music Album.

Grimes Net Worth

As of 2022, Grimes has a net worth of $10 million dollars. 

Grimes Tattoos

At one time, Grimes had 18 tattoos. She has since had some covered up. Some of her tattoos are in another language (Russian), some are astrological symbols, and others are simply geometric in nature. 

Grimes Songs

Grimes top songs are:

Written by Bo Weber

Supporting artists since 2014

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