Perhaps one of humanity’s most meaningful forms of expression is music — an art so full of soul, intimacy and creativity that all the world becomes a stage. Performing center spotlight on that expansive stage is Joshua Grossman, better known by his stage name: Moray.

Grossman, a sophomore majoring in popular music performance, chose “Moray” as his stage name for multiple reasons. “Josh Moray” slips off the tongue easier than “Josh Grossman,” and his great-grandfather’s name was Moray. “Moray” was a way for the sophomore to include his family in his art.

Moray’s grandmother, Grandma Mimi, is his best friend and biggest supporter, so much so that Grandma Mimi is featured on his song “The Ladder (Interlude).” Moray wanted to ensure he had an homage to her as an artist, and what better way to immortalize her love than in his artist name honoring her father.

Moray’s musical fingerprint is inspired by the musical icons who surrounded his life, including Lady Gaga, Beyoncé, Adele and Ariana Grande. His debut single, “Visions,” released June 11, 2021, pays homage to these pop icons while paving a path for his own musical signature. Moray knew that he wanted to start off his musical career influenced by the people who inspired it in the first place. He gathered his friends who were dancers, and one of them choreographed the video while he did visuals.

Following his single “Visions,” Moray released his first album “MIRROR MIRROR,” which embodied the young singer-songwriter figuring out who he was as a person, creating a relationship with himself and being there for himself when no one else was.

“I was literally envisioning a clone of myself and talking to that other version of myself,” Moray said. “I was writing what I needed to hear when I was going through whatever the song was about.”

He then pivots to his 2022 single “Moving On,” which Moray credits as the “first happy song” he put out. “Moving On” was a next step for his music career, which Moray thought was a necessity to diversify his music style in contrast to his previous album. “MIRROR MIRROR” was all the lyrics he couldn’t express to other people, the darker parts of himself that he needed to get out. If the album was a tribute to the wounds of his past, “Moving On” unwraps the bandages of healed scars to reveal a glowing, new person underneath.

Moray’s latest release, “Want Me or You Don’t,” released June 30, 2023, is a declaration of confidence and self-love. He views the song as a descendant of “Moving On” and “YOUR LOSS” that was inspired by a specific situation in his own life.

“It’s something I wanted to write to myself and to anyone who’s willing to listen,” Moray said. “I don’t need to change for a man to like me. I’m here. I know that I’m amazing. I know my worth and I don’t want to be with someone who doesn’t love and celebrate that.”

Moray also acknowledges in “Want Me or You Don’t” the pressure within the LGBTQIA+  community to fit the “super skinny or muscular” stereotype and his struggles to fit into that.

“I deserve someone who is going to love me and celebrate me for who I am,” Moray said.

“Want Me or You Don’t” goes out to anyone who has struggled with similar body image struggles. As Moray highlights, “there is a special place for any queer person who has felt that they didn’t deserve love just because they didn’t fit that stereotype.”

Discussing the music video production for “Want Me or You Don’t,” Moray explained that the first thing he thought about was the choreography. Along with Beyoncé and Lady Gaga, pop performance icons such as BLACKPINK inspire him to keep choreography and music mashed together. 

“As artists, you’re always constantly judging yourself,” Moray said. “Everyone gets a little bit of anxiety … Even just dancing, I still get that same feeling of, ‘I’m just so happy I’m able to express myself in my truest form and feel confident in my own body.’”

Hannah Stettler, a sophomore majoring in business of cinematic arts, was a producer and videographer for the “Want Me or You Don’t” music video.

“Josh is so passionate about dancing and music,” Stettler said. “I feel like it also just adds his energy to it … I hope we keep working together for a really long time.”

Moray has danced with nearly the same group of dancers for every music video, and he credits them with being his support system and family along his musical journey.

He recognizes, also, that the music industry’s unstable and cutthroat qualities make it so easy to get swept into comparison.

“I’m guilty of that, but I think what keeps me motivated is that I know when I’m performing and expressing myself, all of that other stuff falls away,” Moray said. “What I’m here to do is perform. That’s it. Being able to express myself, that’s what it’s about for me.”

Sadie Duca, a sophomore majoring in music production who is working with Moray on his unreleased music projects, posited that the power of music is that songwriters like Moray can unite experiences into a collective community.

“I love working with Josh,” Duca said. “He bounces off the walls. He’s also a producer, so he’s thinking about songwriting, vocals and production all at once … [His lyrics] are always very authentic to how he feels, which I really admire.”

With his music, Moray hopes to be the songwriter he wished he was able to listen to as a kid.

“[I just hope] that there’s a gay teenager out there who’s able to listen to my songs and relate,” Moray said. “Not even a gay teenager, just someone who feels like they got their confidence taken away … If I was able to empower [someone with one song], then that means everything to me.”