Moray, the stage name of popular music performance senior Joshua Moray Grossman, has come a long way from teaching himself to produce music on GarageBand as a kid. 

He’s written and self-produced his first EP, “RADIOSILENCE,” set to release in the summer of 2026. The first song, “I’m So Addicted to Male Validation,” was released Feb. 13. 

Grossman said the song came to him in the shower, while he was trying to wash off the feeling of obsession he felt while scrolling on dating apps for hours. While writing, the song evolved into a message about the pressure and self-doubt that follow seeking male validation.

“As I wrote it, I realized that each different section or part of the song could kind of get into a different facet, or a different kind of viewpoint of this bigger issue,” Grossman said. “I had to do a lot of soul searching to write that. I think it’s all connected — body image, self-esteem, the need for validation.”

Kyson Kai, who choreographed the “I’m So Addicted to Male Validation” music video, said the song spoke to common experiences.

“As a queer artist, I feel like he does a lot for the queer community, the gay male community,” said Kai, a senior majoring in dance who is also pursuing a master’s degree in integrated design, business and technology. “It’s really refreshing to have someone speaking on things that we’ve all experienced, but [have] not necessarily vocalized a lot.”

Chloé-EloÏse Mallet, a senior majoring in cinematic arts, film and television production, directed the music video for the new single. She said the song’s relatability can create unity.

“Listening to the lyrics, I feel like I could relate to it in a lot of ways. Growing up as a woman, you’re raised to cry for a man’s attention, and that can be a victory, and you kind of have to snap out of it. But it can also hurt you,” Mallet said. “He can really bring people together.”

Thomas Fitzgerald, a senior majoring in cinematic arts, film and television production, produced the music video and said the song differs from Grossman’s previous singles, such as “BACK TO LIFE” or “Want Me or You Don’t,” in its honesty.

“It’s kind of a departure from some of his other stuff that’s a lot more about self-empowerment,” Fitzgerald said. “He has a lot of songs that are very positive, that are about him finding himself. And in its way, this is about him finding himself as well. But it’s kind of a more frank look at what he’s feeling.”

It is this frankness that Grossman has learned to embrace as he’s grown his brand and identity as an artist.

“I used to think that Moray almost had to be my alter ego, where I’m my most confident and [the] most bad version of myself,” Grossman said. “I’ve realized that the most important thing that you can do as an artist is be honest and vulnerable.”

Grossman said that the EP as a whole will lyrically speak on some of the same themes of vulnerability and addiction as “I’m So Addicted to Male Validation,” but they’ll each differ sonically as he aims to showcase both his versatility as a producer and the various artistic influences he grew up with. 

“I’m kind of inspired by the way that I fell in love with pop music, [which] was through hearing the radio in my parents’ car growing up, so there is kind of a streamlined inspiration and use of different samples of the radio throughout the EP,” Grossman said. “I kind of wanted to show my inspiration from each of these different artists. I would say my next single is definitely more inspired by the Ariana [Grande] and Troye Sivan of it all.”  

Since the EP is being released close to Grossman’s graduation, he said he wants to slowly grow an audience that he can eventually take with him beyond USC, and use this release as his “introduction into the music industry.” 

One of the ways he has built his audience is through his social media, where he makes videos to both promote his music and videos about USC. Some of his most popular TikTok videos have been about USC, such as a clip of the semesterly final performance for pop music majors and a “worst day ever at USC” video. 

“As much as I love making the USC content, obviously, the hope is that it draws attention to my music in one way or another. At the end of the day, I am trying to build a brand,” Grossman said. “[I’m] taking advantage of the fact that I can make videos about my life here, and people are somewhat interested in that.” 

In addition to social media, Grossman engages with the USC community by collaborating with his peers, both in and out of the pop music program.

“When I’m performing with a band, all people in my cohort are bass, drum, guitar majors, keyboard majors. The cool thing is that so many people do so many different things, so there’s so many multi-instrumentalists,” said Grossman. “I think it’s really cool that we all are kind of going into this same niche sector, the industry, together, and so it’s really nice that we kind of have each other and are able to work together and collaborate and grow from each other.”

With the new EP and his engagement with the USC community, Grossman hopes to gain recognition as an artist and be able to perform for wider audiences.

“I really just want to establish myself as an artist, reach new audiences, be the most authentic I can be to myself and hope that I find people that resonate and relate to what I’m talking about with my music,” Grossman said. “I just want to get out there more and perform for more people.”