Vodka Cranberry (song)

Last updated
"Vodka Cranberry"
Single by Conan Gray
from the album Wishbone
ReleasedJuly 11, 2025
Genre
Length4:05
Label Republic
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s) Dan Nigro
Conan Gray singles chronology
"This Song"
(2025)
"Vodka Cranberry"
(2025)
"Caramel"
(2025)
Music video
"Vodka Cranberry" on YouTube

"Vodka Cranberry" is a song by American singer-songwriter Conan Gray. It was released through Republic Records on July 11, 2025, as the second single from his fourth studio album Wishbone . Written by Gray and Dan Nigro, the latter of whom also produced the track, the song explores the disorienting emotions associated with an extended breakup and subsequent reunions with an ex. The accompanying music video is the second chapter of a story that began in previous single "This Song" and concludes with the following single "Caramel" starring Gray and Corey Fogelmanis.

Contents

Background

Gray announced his fourth studio album Wishbone on May 22, 2025, revealing that he had been slowly working on new music over the previous two years while on tour. [1] "Vodka Cranberry" features as the third track on the album. [2]

Lyrics and composition

"Vodka Cranberry" is a pop song, [3] and the last track that was written for the album, and Gray expressed that he feels it is the track that best represents the overall themes of Wishbone. Gray stated that rejection is the main focus of the song, explaining that “being rejected is the most freeing, incredible thing ever, like continual rejection in life. As you get older, you start to realize that like every rejection ever, whether it’s a person or something you wanted to do that didn’t happen, or anything. It’s so scary to be rejected. It’s so scary to fail, and then you do it a bunch of times and you’re like, ‘wait, this is awesome,’ and it's always pushing you to the right place in life.”

In a track-by-track breadown of the album with Capital , Gray stated of "Vodka Cranberry": "It's one of those songs where I think it's more indicative of my irrational fear of people leaving me. I think I was so afraid of what was going on, so confused, that there was always this instinct of me of like, 'Oh I should just cut it off so that I'm the one who gets to have a say in whether I'm being dumped or not'." [4]

Live performances

Gray's debut live performance of the song was at the Open'er Festival in Poland on July 5, 2025. Gray performed the song on The Today Show on August 15 alongside four other Wishbone tracks and "Heather" from his debut album Kid Krow . [5]

It was also included in his set at the Reading and Leeds Festivals on 23 and 24 August. "Vodka Cranberry" featured as part of the setlist for his sixth concert tour, The Wishbone Pajama Show.

Music video

The video for "Vodka Cranberry" was released alongside the song itself on July 11, 2025. It was directed by Danica Kleinknecht, who shot it on Kodak 35 film in Gray's home state of Texas. As with the other music videos from Wishbone, the video explores the relationship between two boys, Wilson (Gray) and Brando (Corey Fogelmanis). [6] Following on from "This Song", which depicts the beginning of Wilson and Brando's love story, Vodka Cranberry opens with Wilson contemplating whether his feelings for Brando may no longer be reciprocated, which is then reflected during the rest of the video featuring the pair on an end of summer road trip. The video ends with Wilson waking up alone in a motel to find that Brando has seemingly driven off and left him. [7]

Charts

Chart performance for "Vodka Cranberry"
Chart (2025)Peak
position
Ireland (IRMA) [8] 93
New Zealand Hot Singles (RMNZ) [9] 17
UK Singles (OCC) [10] 93
US Bubbling Under Hot 100 ( Billboard ) [11] 11

References

  1. Spanos, Brittany (May 22, 2025). "Conan Gray Announces New Album Wishbone". Rolling Stone . Retrieved May 26, 2025.
  2. "Conan Gray confirms new album 'Wishbone'". DIY . May 23, 2025. Retrieved May 23, 2025.
  3. Wandermurem, Isabella (July 15, 2025). "Conan Gray – Vodka Cranberry". Euphoria Zine.
  4. Prance, Sam (August 15, 2025). "Conan Gray breaks down every song on Wishbone | Making The Album". Capital . Retrieved August 15, 2025.
  5. "Conan Gray Performs 'Vodka Cranberry' Live on Today". Today . August 15, 2025.
  6. Murray, Robin (July 11, 2025). "Conan Gray Shares Gentle Hymn 'Vodka Cranberry'". Clash . Retrieved July 11, 2025.
  7. Mier, Tomás (July 11, 2025). "Conan Gray Gets His Heart Broken in 'Vodka Cranberry' Video". Rolling Stone . Retrieved July 11, 2025.
  8. "Irish-charts.com – Discography Conan Gray". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved July 24, 2025.
  9. "NZ Hot Singles Chart". Recorded Music NZ. July 18, 2025. Retrieved August 27, 2025.
  10. "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved July 24, 2025.
  11. "Conan Gray Chart History (Bubbling Under Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved August 27, 2025.