Love Is A Compass

Album: single release only (2020)
Charted: 42
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Songfacts®:

  • Born Sarah Griffiths to Chinese and Jamaican parents in Kings Langley, Hertfordshire, Griff first fell in love with music after being gifted Taylor Swift's Fearless album when she was eight years old. She taught herself to record and produce music by using Logic on her brother's laptop. Griff signed a deal with Warner Music while still at school, and released her debut single, "Mirror Talk," in July 2019, two weeks after she finished her A-Levels.

    Sarah Griffiths kept her musical life private from her classmates, many of whom only found out when BBC Radio 1's Annie Mac played "Mirror Talk." She chose the performing moniker Griff because she thinks her birth name sounds unglamorous and corporate.

    In 2020 Griff started working with some big names, including a collaboration with the German producer Zedd on the song "Inside Out" and co-writing Hailey Steinfeld's "I Love You's." This pop piano song, which she recorded for the Disney Christmas Advert 2020, became her first release to reach the UK singles chart.
  • The song is about treasuring memories of being in a loving family. It uses a metaphor of a journey and compass to express how however far from home you go, your family ties will remain with you.
  • Though Griff normally writes her own material, the LA-based songwriting and production team Parkwild wrote this song. The duo, comprising Justin Thurnstorm and Austin Zudeck, signed with Disney Music Publishing after moving from New York to the West Coast in 2018.
  • Griff recorded the song for Disney's heartwarming "From Our Family To Yours" festive advert in support of the Make-A-Wish charity. The three-minute animated commercial, which tells the story of a Filipino grandmother renewing her holiday traditions with her granddaughter, marks the 40-year partnership between Disney and Make-A-Wish. Proceeds from every download before December 31, 2020, were donated to Make-A-Wish.

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