“If it’s your passion and you love it, keep going and things will fall into place”
At just twelve years old, Texas-born Grant Knoche was performing for over 10,000 fans a night as part of the musical group Kidz Bop. And it never would have happened if he’d given up after not making the group in his first audition, one year prior. Or if he’d listened to the bullies at school who teased him for being a dancer. “I don’t take those things to heart,” he says. “You don’t really care what other people think when you love doing something.”
And Grant loves music. “I’m crazily obsessed,” he laughs. “I live and breathe it.” He discovered his passion after studying lyrical dance, a style that takes audiences on an emotional journey. So at nine years old, Grant taught himself how to play piano on YouTube and began singing as well.
But his first-ever performance wouldn’t be at a school talent show or family reunion; it happened after watching his big brother, Hunter, a drummer, play with his band at a music venue in Dallas, Texas. “When they finished, my dad was like, ‘Grant, you should go up there,’ just joking with me,” he laughs. “And I was like, ‘okay!’ So I went up there, started playing piano, and did three or four songs. I guess it was just a natural performance – going up there and doing what I love.”
In addition to music, Grant also loves acting. Over the past couple of years, he’s come thisclose to lead roles in blockbuster films, only to make it to the final rounds and get rejected. Most recently, Grant was up for a major part in highly-anticipated West Side Story reboot. “I did two auditions in Los Angeles and they flew me to New York for a week to work with Steven Spielberg,” says Grant. “It was so cool to work with him.”
Unfortunately, just two days prior to the prom photo shoot, he learned that the role had gone to someone else. However, Grant speaks positively about the entire experience. “It makes me want to keep going even more,” he shares. “I could be like, ‘Dang I didn’t get the movie. I’m just gonna quit and be done with it.’ But for me, becuase it’s my passion and it’s what I love doing every day, I’m just gonna keep going for it.”
And so that’s what he’s doing. Whether he’s in acting class, at the dance complex, or hunkered down in his home studio, writing and producing his original music. “It’s all about perspective,” says Grant. “If you get told no or get rejected, it’s not the end of the world. You’ve just gotta keep going no matter what. Because if it’s your passion and you love doing it, things will fall into place.”
CREDITS:
Photos by Joe Magnani
Interview/Story/Video by Colleen Broomall
Styling by Robiat Balogun
Hair by Matilde Campos & Sabrina Porsche
Grooming by Anton Khachaturian using JORDANA Cosmetics exclusively
Grant’s suit by Tuxedo by Sarno, with shoes from The Black Tux
