“Affluenza” by Conan Gray

Although to some degree the lyrics of “Affluenza” are meant to be whimsical, Conan Gray was inspired to write the song via his actual interactions with rich people’s kids. And it is quite obvious, even without reading his explanation of the lyrics, that these people were dealing with some serious issues. Indeed in analyzing the song we can determine that affluenza, a well-known yet unverified mental condition, is characterized by the following:

• Domestic and social issues
• Drug abuse
• Something like a vain spending of vast amounts of cash

Or another way of looking at it is that all of the money these people possessed was still not able to buy them contentment and happiness. And at the end of the day, this is not meant to be a critique of materialism per se. Rather the intended sentiment behind “Affluenza” is to highlight how rich kids tend to have the same general issues growing up as those in lower-economic classes.

Facts about “Affluenza”

“Affluenza” was written by Conan Gray and produced by his regular musical partner, Dan Nigro.

This song came out via Republic Records as part of Conan Gray’s “Kid Krow” on 20 March 2020.

Gray said that he personally grew up in a financially-challenged household.  However, upon moving to L.A., he started hanging out with “these kids who grew up insanely rich”. And upon doing so, he came to realize that they were “absolutely miserable”. And this line of reasoning ultimately brought him to the conclusion that “we all have a lot of the same problems”.

Conan also classified “Affluenza” as one of his two favorite songs from “Kid Krow” that he likes to perform on stage.

Did Conan Gray release this is a single?

No. There were actually 5 singles from “Kid Krow”. These singles are listed below:

• “Wish You Were Sober“
• “The Story”
• “Maniac”
• “Comfort Crowd”
•  “Checkmate“