One day, you press play on a song, not knowing the impact it will have over the five years that follow. When Rachel Grae released Outsider on November 5, exactly 5 years ago, she had no idea that it would take on a life of its own and reach so many people around the world. Behind the 51 Million Spotify streams are a bunch of outsiders who finally found a place where they belong.
Rachel wrote the song about feeling like nobody was there for her and nobody cared, and it came from a really sad part of her life. By sharing it with the world, even though it was scary, she not only gave us an anthem we found our own truths in, but with it, she created a space that allowed us to find each other.
As someone who’s been an outsider all her life, being a part of a community full of like-minded people who have felt the same way, is such a blessing in disguise. You don’t have to try so hard to fit in, you don’t have to constantly try to prove yourself or be afraid to be too different to be understood. The comfort it brings to be amongst people who are just as crazy and unhinged as you are, new friends you can vent to and have unserious chats with. It becomes bigger than the music and the artist behind it.
To us, Outsider is more than just a song. It’s an anthem for people who spent their entire lives putting everyone else before themselves. For eldest daughters, mothers, black sheep in families or friend groups and simply empaths who spend their time trying not to be a burden to anyone while being everyone’s emergency contact and first aid kit.
It’s a lot to carry, especially when no one’s seeing your pain, your struggles, your demons and then adds theirs on top of it. Always being the one to help others while sitting alone wherever you are, feeling like nobody cares about how you feel is tough.
Being the one walking in the grass instead of the sidewalk, the one walking behind the group, the punching bag for jokes, and the one who was never invited to anything. Being the friend who gives too much of herself, who shows up wholeheartedly for others, only to be left feeling broken when that effort isn’t reciprocated, and walking away feeling as though your own feelings don’t matter. If this describes your story, you are not alone.
I remember scrolling on TikTok, and a snippet of Outsider showed up out of the blue, making me stop and listen. I have never related to a song more in my life and it wasn’t even released yet. Somehow, Rachel put into words how a lot of us have felt growing up and she didn’t just give us the soundtrack to those chapters, she became a part of our stories.
While everything else felt uncertain and temporary, we could always press play on her music and count on her to be that spark in the dark we needed to keep going. She’s been our constant companion through every season and every chapter and we breathe easier every day because she entered our lives at the exact right time and left a long-lasting imprint.
The incredible community we have built around Rachel is a true reflection of the sweet and caring human she is. The Grae Zone has become a safe place filled with genuinely kind-hearted people who all uplift and support each other while also showing up for Rachel. Coming together to support while also updating each other on our daily lives and struggles has brought us all so much joy and comfort in times when we all needed to feel validated, heard and loved. My favorite part of it? I found a friend like me (pun intended), a best friend I never saw coming but somehow it feels like she’s been there all my life.
Outsider wasn’t just a song we discovered one day, it introduced most of us to our favorite girl, an artist that simply gets it. But she’s more than that. Rachel has been the sun on our darkest days, the safe place we hold onto and the beam of light when life feels heavy. She’s someone we’d choose in every lifetime, and all it took was one song.
We pressed play without knowing what it would unlock, and it was the beginning of something none of us could have anticipated. Looking back at the people we were when we first heard it and who we’ve become since, I wish Rachel could see all the lives her words have touched, all the people who have found comfort in knowing that someone else understands, and all the little ways her music has made a difference. She wrote Outsider from a place of hurt, never knowing how much healing it would bring to others.
Its lyrics might take us back to those moments we felt like we didn’t belong. But they also remind us that the friendships we have today are our reward for making it through those moments. And, Rachel being the reason we became a part of each other’s lives makes it even more special. She has given us friendships we didn’t even know we needed, connections that have grown into something we now couldn’t imagine our lives without.
There’s something incredibly special about finding your people through the music that once helped you feel less alone. And that is the essence of Rachel’s legacy, one that extends far beyond her music and lives on in the people whose hearts feel lighter today because she turned a feeling of loneliness into a lifetime of belonging.
There truly isn’t anyone like her and when someone enters your life and brightens it up for good, they will always hold a special place in your heart. And if you know me, you definitely know Rachel. Writing about her is easy because it comes from a place of pure gratitude for more than she will ever fully understand. Getting to be a part of someone’s journey, watching them grow and make their dreams come true is something really special.
If this isn’t proof that one song, one artist can make the biggest difference, I don’t know what will. If you have felt completely lost, like nothing mattered and there was no way out, Rachel’s music is exactly what you need. It’s like a hand reaching out in the dark. It’s like someone saying: ‘I see you. You don’t have to be okay right now, but please stay’.
Listening to Outsider didn’t just comfort us, it held us together when we couldn’t hold ourselves. But what made it even more powerful was finding this community. We don’t just love the same music, we understand the same healing. We became each other’s reminder that we were never going through it alone. Rachel didn’t just give us great music, she gave us a lifeline, and most importantly, she gave us each other.
