Grace Kay & Kirsten Izer Spiral Beautifully on “WHY AM I LIKE THIS” - 20 February, 2026

Grace Kay and Kirsten Izer release their new collaborative single “WHY AM I LIKE THIS,” available February 20, 2026 on digital formats via Trailing Twelve.

Los Angeles-based art-pop artist Grace Kay joins forces with indie storyteller Kirsten Izer on “WHY AM I LIKE THIS,” a sharply self-aware pop confession that turns spiraling self-criticism into something darkly funny, cathartic, and strangely danceable. Cool, minimalist production carries the verses with restraint before cracking open into a chorus that drops the composure entirely, letting the song’s anxious honesty spill out in full.

“WHY AM I LIKE THIS is about getting caught in a cycle of habits that don’t serve you,” says Kay. “It’s that feeling of knowing what you should be doing, but instead watching yourself spiral - fighting your inner critic, wasting time, and sitting in this purgatory of anxiety and insecurity.”

Built on sleek synth textures, weighty low end, and intricately layered vocals, the track explores self-destructive thought patterns with humor rather than heaviness. The title itself becomes a recurring punchline - a shorthand for moments of personal collapse, from emotional oversharing to chronic lateness and missed cues. “We both use self-deprecating humor to lighten the mood around these feelings,” Kay explains. “Did you leave your coffee on top of your car and drive off? WHY AM I LIKE THIS. Did you get too deep at a networking event? WAILT.”

The collaboration was born after Kay and Izer shared a bill at The Virgil in Los Angeles in March 2025. Mutual admiration quickly turned into a writing session, where the song took shape almost immediately. “When I showed up, I was honestly an anxious mess about writing,” Izer recalls. “I wasn’t sure I was going to contribute anything good that day. All I had in my notes was ‘WHY AM I LIKE THIS’ in all caps.” Once producer Austin Foley laid down the initial beat, the chorus melody and refrain emerged instinctively, becoming the emotional anchor of the song.

Co-written and co-produced by Kay, Izer, and Foley, the track was recorded between May and November 2025 in Foley’s Glendale, CA home studio. The production balances restraint with flashes of chaos, including a single unfiltered scream buried near the song’s close.

Grace Kay, known for her refined, vocal-forward synth-pop, has received support from outlets including Under the Radar, Ones To Watch, LADYGUNN, and METAL Magazine, alongside airplay from KCRW and sync placements on ABC’s A Million Little Things, CBS’s True Lies, and MTV’s West Coast Hustle.

Kirsten Izer, whose critically acclaimed debut EP The Perfect Hire unpacked toxic power dynamics with unflinching clarity, adds a rawer edge to the song’s emotional arc. Praised by SPIN for having “very powerfully, and thrillingly, her own sound,” Izer’s writing has been recognized for its emotional specificity and fearless honesty, transforming deeply personal moments into collective experience.

“WHY AM I LIKE THIS” balances polish with vulnerability, control with chaos - a reminder that even the most composed exterior eventually cracks.

“WHY AM I LIKE THIS” is out February 20, 2026 on digital formats via Trailing Twelve.

Performed by Grace Kay and Kirsten Izer
Written and Produced by Grace Korkunis, Kirsten Spruch, and Austin Foley
Mixed and Mastered by Austin Foley

Press Contact: info@trailingtwelve.com

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Release Date: 20 February 2026
Release Title: “WHY AM I LIKE THIS”
Artist: Grace Kay, Kirsten Izer

Follow Grace:
https://www.instagram.com/gracekaymusic/ https://www.tiktok.com/@gracekaymusic

Follow Kirsten:
https://www.instagram.com/thekirstenizer/
https://www.tiktok.com/@thekirstenizer

GRACE KAY BIO

Born and raised in Los Angeles, Grace Kay spent her teenage years attending an all-girls high school where she was imbued with a keen desire to empower other women. Bringing that passion into her music, Kay’s songwriting tends to center around the women in her life and the influences they’ve had on her.

After graduating from the University of Southern California with a degree in acting, Kay went on to star in various short films and mini-series, which, she explains, taught her the importance of story in songwriting.

Grace Kay’s sound consists of refined and punchy synth-pop production, syncopated rhythms, and lush vocal textures that will please fans of MUNA, The Japanese House, Imogen Heap, and Caroline Polachek.

Kay’s music has received widespread fan support, garnering press coverage from Celebmix, Sheesh, Under the Radar, Atwood, Ones To Watch, and KCRW, official playlist features on Spotify’s Fresh Finds and Fresh Finds: Pop, and sync placements on ABC’s A Million Little Things, CBS’s True Lies, and MTV’s West Coast Hustle.

Casting swaying shades of singular art-pop and R&B, Grace Kay’s debut album Grace’s Gospel is an earnest ode to sisterhood, role models, and stepping out on your own, written across ten dazzling synth-laden compositions.

PRESS & FEATURES

2025 Artist to Watch via LADYGUNN and Sweety High

“Kay is already well on her way to conquering the electropop world with the upbeat syncopation of her previous singles “play” and “fool” (plus one hell of a slowed and contemplative take on ABBA’s “Dancing Queen”). With “Here,” she trades the playful tones and club-ready production for hazy, nostalgic soundscapes reminiscent of M83 at their deepest rearview-gazing.” - Atwood Magazine

“Kay balances the dancefloor ready gloss with a sincere emotive core, offering words of gentle encouragement with warm lyricism and poetic imagery.” - Under the Radar

“Between enlightened metaphors and a glowing delivery, "renaissance" pushes listeners to adopt even a touch of the idealism that the rising artist displays so confidently.” - Sheesh

KIRSTEN IZER BIO

Kirsten Izer has been making a name for herself in the indie music scene. Born in New Jersey to visual artist parents, Izer always felt a deep need to tell stories. After working as a music journalist and publicist in NYC for outlets like Billboard, Izer relocated to Los Angeles to begin telling her own story as an artist. She soon met Randall Belculfine (Tones And I, Tanerélle), and the pair began working on a collection of breakup songs inspired by a toxic workplace relationship riddled with complicated power dynamics, which would later become her critically acclaimed debut EP, The Perfect Hire. A genre bender, Izer followed up her EP with a haunting indie folk single called "Anyone But Me," which has garnered widespread support from fans and press outlets, including LADYGUNN Magazine, EARMILK, Atwood Magazine and Get Some Magazine. Izer has been compared to the likes of Hayley Williams, Alanis Morisette and Kate Bush, and with good reason. She crafts stories with intention and with a sound uniquely her own, transforming specific memories or situations into authentic emotional experiences for the masses.

PRESS & FEATURES

“[Izer] has, very powerfully, and thrillingly, her own sound,” - SPIN Magazine

“Her lyrical ability is matched perfectly by her vocal technique, which knows when to hold back and when to let loose. Much of Izer’s writing is instinctive, but she is a storyteller.”- Get Some Magazine

“The song is an unflinching reflection on body image, identity, and self-perception. With dense harmonies and restrained production, it transforms pain into something quietly powerful, an anthem for those learning to live with the parts of themselves they struggle to see. Through honesty and emotional precision, Izer turns discomfort into connection and confession into art.” - LADYGUNN

““Anyone But Me” is special, and so is Kirsten Izer. It’s the kind of track that makes you feel a little less alone in a world obsessed with attention and comparison.” - EARMILK