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Beautiful Thing (Original)

Type: Official
Writers: Grace Vanderwaal, Greg Wells
Times Performed: 25
Play on Spotify
Play Official Video

Notes

When Grace first sang this song with the title "I'll hold your hand". She did not want to explain what it was about: "I'd like it to just relate to you and not have my description of it impact the way you look at it".

When she posted this first video of the song, Grace wrote in the comments: "I hope you all enjoyed and could relate to this song! Me and my big sister are very close, and I realised that I have never written a song about/for her so I pulled out my uke and let it all out". Before the AGT audition aired, there were only 121 views on the video. (at the time of writing this, in March 2023, the video has more than 3,8 million views)

Olivia didn't know about it, as Grace later told USA Today: "When I posted it to YouTube, (Olivia) told me she went to school, (and) everyone said, 'Did you see that song that your sister made for you?' She listened and started crying." There's a good chance that the tears returned a few weeks ago when Vanderwaal played the song for her sister... and a live Dolby Theatre audience. (USA Today Sep 13, 2016) It was then performed as "Beautiful Thing".

"That’s a song I like wrote in my room. The original video on my YouTube channel was the day that I wrote that song. When we are making this in the studio, it changed a lot, but it wasn’t a forced change. It's kind of like how I always pictured the song, but I don’t play the piano and I don’t know how to write on the piano, so I was there with the Ukulele, and it was that version, and I was like, I feel like making this a slow and beautiful song, and it developed into what it is on the EP. (Interview at the Perfectly Imperfect Launch Party 5-Dec-2016)

"If Grace VanderWaal wasn’t 13 years old, this song might be too sappy to handle. But she is 13, so the tween’s original love song is just a pure delight, devoid of cynicism and complication. “You think that you know my heart. And you probably do. That’s why I’m always with you,” sings VanderWaal, with a voice that sounds like it should belong to a wistful 33-year-old. It’s not a string of elaborate metaphors. It’s not a story. It’s just a thank-you note or a birthday card from your best friend or significant other — or, more likely, the person who’s both at the same time. VanderWaal debuted this song on America’s Got Talent earlier this summer, and now she’s got a sweet little EP out, filled with unself-conscious sentiment and acoustic instruments. May we all be lucky enough to find the person who tells us simply: “Without you, I am boring.” (Vulture.com 8 Best New Songs of the Week dec 6 2016)





Performances

2016.06.05 At home
2016.08.23 AGT Quarterfinals (Dolby Theatre) AGT incl. Planet Hollywood
2016.09.17 Celebrity Fan Festival Pre-Emmys party (Hollywood American Legion Post)
2016.10.27 AGT Live Concert (The PH Showroom at Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino) AGT incl. Planet Hollywood First performance of the EP version of the song
2016.10.28 AGT Live Concert (The PH Showroom at Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino) AGT incl. Planet Hollywood
2016.10.29 AGT Live Concert (The PH Showroom at Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino) AGT incl. Planet Hollywood
2016.10.30 AGT Live Concert (The PH Showroom at Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino) AGT incl. Planet Hollywood
2017.05.21 Valley Hospital Benefit Concert (Ramapo High School)
2017.07.06 Shops At Nanuet Concert Series (Shops At Nanuet )
2017.11.05 The Troubadour Just the Beginning Tour
2017.11.13 Irving Plaza Just the Beginning Tour
2017.11.15 Park West Just the Beginning Tour
2018.01.20 Private Acoustic Concert (Bean Runner Cafe)
2018.02.05 The Sinclair Just the Beginning Tour
2018.02.07 9:30 Club Just the Beginning Tour First and last few seconds missing
2018.02.09 Cannery Ballroom Just the Beginning Tour
2018.02.10 Terminal West Just the Beginning Tour
2018.02.12 Warehouse Live Just the Beginning Tour
2018.02.13 Trees Just the Beginning Tour
2018.02.16 Bluebird Theatre Just the Beginning Tour
2018.02.20 Slim's Just the Beginning Tour
2018.02.22 Hawthorn Theatre Just the Beginning Tour
2018.02.23 Neumos Just the Beginning Tour
2018.04.21 MVCC Cultural Series (Mohawk Valley Community College) Just the Beginning Tour
2018.12.14 SC Johnson (Windex) Holiday Party (private) (SC Johnson Golden Rondelle)

Reviews, Reactions etc.

Type Comment Link
Song reviewShort "review" of the song about one third down the page
Reaction to songSaWD - Rock Musicians Reaction to song as used in "The Story of Lucy"
CommercialsAdd for Sony BRAVA TV
CommercialsPurported US Army comercial (is not an official one, see the comments for the video)
Use in movies, TV-shows etc, The story of Lucy (Commercial for Windex)
Use in movies, TV-shows etc, The Australian TV Series "The Fosters"

Releases

Release Date Record Type Track
2016-12-02Perfectly ImperfectEP4
2016-12-02Perfectly Imperfect (Walmart Version)EP4
2017-05-24Perfectly Imperfect (Japanese version)EP4

Lyrics

You think that you know my heart
And you probably do
So I’m always with you
I could stay with you for hours
In an empty room
And never get bored
Never have nothing to do

You’re my other half
You’re what makes me me
What makes me smile
When I fall down and can’t get back, get back, get back up
On my feet
Without you here I am boring
Something inside you is triggering
It makes me myself
Makes me funny

You’re a beautiful thing
We’re a beautiful thing together
Even when the weather is low
You’re a beautiful thing
We’re a beautiful thing together
Even when the weather is low
We can find the rainbow
Up in the sky
You’d say don’t you cry, it’s all gonna be alright

If we ever gone through a fight oh that would be bad
‘Cause you know all of my secrets
But I know all of yours

We make hours turn into seconds together
The weight of the world feel like a feather
‘Cause we’re holding it right in our hands
You’re my other half
You’re what makes me me
What makes me smile
When I fall down and can’t get back up, get back, get back up
On my feet
Without you here I am boring
Something inside you is triggering
It makes me myself
Makes me funny

You’re a beautiful thing
We’re a beautiful thing together
Even when the weather is low
You’re a beautiful thing
We’re a beautiful thing together
Even when the weather is low

You and me
Together, we’ll forget what we have been told
We’ll live in our own dream world
You and me, forever
We’ll forget what we have been told
We will take on the whole world

Without you here I am boring
Something inside you is triggering
It makes me myself,
makes me funny

You’re a beautiful thing
We’re a beautiful thing together
Even when the weather is low
And that’s a beautiful thing

© SME (on behalf of Columbia); Sony ATV Publishing

For non-commercial use only.

Covers and Remixes

Type Comment Link
Cover and Remixes of Grace's songs by other artistsUsed in Estonian music competition for young singers