Wishbone

Background and release

In 2024, Conan Gray released his third studio album, Found Heaven, and embarked on his fifth headlining concert tour, Found Heaven On Tour. On May 22, 2025, Gray announced his fourth studio album, Wishbone, revealing that he had been slowly working on new music over the previous two years while on tour. He also discussed the writing process, stating that "before [he] knew it [he] was surrounded by an album" that he had not initially planned to release. The lead single of Wishbone, titled "This Song", was released on May 30. Wishbone is the first album that Gray owns the rights to. To support the album, Gray is set to embark on the Wishbone Pajama Show in September and October 2025. The second single, "Vodka Cranberry", which appears as the album's third track, was released on July 11, 2025. The third single, "Caramel", was released with the album. The music videos for "This Song", "Vodka Cranberry", and "Caramel" were released together as a short film titled The Wishbone Trilogy on August 28, 2025.

The 12-track record sees him reuniting with producer Dan Nigro, whom he enlisted as executive producer. Additionally, he collaborated with Ethan Gruska, Noah Conrad, Elvira Anderfjärd and Luka Kloser. Gray further revealed that there was no real incentive for him to record; he "just was." Initially, he kept the songs he recorded away from friends or his label but later realized that he "needed" the music. Gray started to see himself "in full picture" with songs he had always seen himself writing before but never did. He referred to the set of tracks as "an egregiously niche soundtrack to our own lives in real time". The album, described by Gray as his "wet dream album", goes on a journey of his relationship as he goes through heartbreak, grief, anger, and realization. Gray explains his assignment when creating the album was to do anything he wanted visually as long as it felt real to him. He says he knew very early on that he wanted to be in a sailor costume jumping in the air with a huge wishbone to symbolize jumping right into the center of the heartbreak. In his interview with People Magazine, Gray shares the beginning of the writing process. He explains that it was

"really naturally manifested", with each song relieving and freeing him. Gray says he wrote this album "to draw in people who've been heartbroken. No matter who you are, where you're from, whether you've dated someone or never dated anybody [...] that feeling of rejection and having to redefine yourself after losing someone is one of the most unanimous feelings of being a human being".

Composition

Wishbone has primarily been described as a pop and pop rock record, pulling notable influences from styles like 90's pop, classic pop, alternative rock, and grunge.

The album opening track is "Actor", where Gray compares love to someone hiding behind a mask. "This Song" explores hope and yearning towards someone. In "Vodka Cranberry", Gray explores the detachment of a straining relationship.

In "Romeo", Gray accepts the frustration and pain of realizing someone undeserving of your love, and turns it into a powerful release of anger. "My World" further explores the release of pain and adds a further contrast from the first three songs of the album. "Class Clown" reflect someone hiding pain behind a mask of laughter while feeling like everyone is watching and laughing at you. Gray describes this song as one of his favorites on the album "Nauseous" explores how trauma can develop after a toxic relationship.

In "Caramel", Gray captures the yearning of a past relationship while also understanding the toxicity present. "Connell" explores the lesson learned from an exhausting heartbreak. The title references one of the main characters of Sally Rooney's novel, Normal People "Sunset Tower" explores the dynamics between wishing a past partner the best but also feeling bittersweet about them moving on. On "Eleven Eleven", Gray yearns for what once was as he connects superstition to his heartbreak. The album closes with "Care", whereby Gray accepts his grief and heartbreak while embracing the idea that moving on does not mean forgetting about the past.

Tours

A week from the album's announcement, on May 29, Gray announced the Wishbone Pajama Show to support the album, featuring nineteen dates in North America. It marked his sixth headlining concert tour. The tour began on September 11, 2025, in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio, and concluded on October 19, 2025, in Monterrey, Mexico. Hemlocke Springs is serving as the opening act in the United States, while the opening act for Mexico has yet to be announced.

Act I of the tour begins with Gray riding on stage with a bicycle in a sailor outfit. The act is set in a field with a windmill, mailbox and tall mounds of grass. In the second act, Gray takes his sailor coat off, revealing a sparkly blue and white striped pajamas. Here, the set shifts to a dreamy ambiance with red lighting and big clouds while Gray lies on a bed set center stage. Act III changes with the set of a large lake. Here, Gray adds a surprise song not featured on the setlist, one of the most anticipated parts of the show. He picks an audience member to break a wishbone with him, and whoever gets the larger half gets to pick between two songs. The last act of the show focuses on moving past the grief of the last two acts. Before the encore, Gray teases his departure as he leaves while the audience yells his name to come back. He returns in a sparkly suit and sings his last two songs of the night. All of the costumes are done by stylist Katie Qian.

In Gray's tour announcement post on his Instagram May 29, he notes that pajamas are encouraged but not required. This has led fans to show up in pajama sets and sailor hats, specifically in light blue and white, similar to one of Gray's tour costumes.

On October 20, 2025, Conan took to Instagram to announce the "Wishbone World Tour" after mailboxes started to pop up at different event centers around the world. The tour started on February 19, 2026, in Minneapolis, MN and is set to conclude on October 8 in Perth, Australia.

Critical reception

Wishbone was met with widespread acclaim from music critics after its release. On Metacritic, which assigns a normalized score out of 100 to ratings from publications, the album received a score of 82 based on 4 reviews, indicating "universal acclaim".

Melvin Boateng of Clash gave the album an eight out of ten, and wrote "'Wishbone' stands as a confident pop statement, pairing Gray's impressive vocal prowess with sleek, polished production". Matt Collar of AllMusic wrote "Wishbone is a complete arc, capturing both the elated, tidal-wave euphoria of falling in love and the bittersweet comedown off that wave. And it's not just the feelings of love, but the tastes, the smells, and the thrilling sweaty intimacy of being close to another person in every sense that Gray embodies". Brittany Spanos of Rolling Stone wrote: "For as vulnerable as much of the music feels, Gray wears his heart proudly on his sleeve. He's never sounded more confident or comfortable, a thrilling promise of what's to come from him in the future". Bella Martin of DIY wrote "If he's trying things on for size still, then most of Wishbone fits Conan Gray rather well, his not-quite-angst meeting its musical equivalent in its not-quite-alternative sound". Anlin Wei of The Observer critiques some songs, calling the processing of "This Song" "overly compressed and reminiscent of the sound quality of tinny laptop speakers" and comparing "My World" to Benson Boone's "Mystical Magical" with its "excessive falsetto". Wei writes that listening to the album multiple times gives the best experience, as many minor details may be missed the first time around. Overall, the general critical opinion of Wishbone is positive with critiques mainly for repetitive topics and unusual production.

Conan Gray's Video Music Awards (VMAs) 2025 performance went viral for his set, special cameo, and vocals.

Commercial performance

Wishbone debuted at number three on the Billboard 200 chart with 71,000 album-equivalent units, including 53,000 album sales and 18,000 streaming-equivalent units. It marked Gray’s largest week by both equivalent units and album sales, his third top-ten album, and his highest-charting album in the United States. The album also debuted at number one on the Billboard Top Album Sales chart, becoming Gray’s first number-one album on the chart. It additionally became his second number-one on the Vinyl Albums chart, selling more than 30,000 vinyl copies during its opening week.

In the United Kingdom, Wishbone debuted at number two in the UK Albums Chart, becoming Gray’s highest-charting album there and his third consecutive top-ten album. In Australia, Wishbone reached number two on the ARIA Album Charts, eclipsing Gray’s previous peak of number eight with Superache.

Track listing

Note

^[a] signifies an additional producer

^[b] signifies a co-producer

Track lengths of "Eleven Eleven" and "Care" differ on the CD releases.

Personnel

Credits adapted from Tidal.