Frankie Grande’s debut album “Hotel Rock Bottom,” which released last Friday, June 27, as well as the song track of the same title, conceptualizes the hotel where Frankie decided to turn his life around and get sober after experiencing one of the darkest nights of his entire life, shortly after the 2017 Manchester bombing incident at his sister’s concert. 

“I can see the hotel in my head,” Grande recalled. “It was cold, and it was dark, and it was someplace I did not want to f----- die.”

Since that pivotal night, Grande has celebrated eight years sober and would continue his career on Broadway and off-Broadway, as well as making several sitcom and reality TV appearances. Another major change in his life includes his marriage to actor and model Hale Leon. The couple tied the knot in 2022 and the couple now live together with their puppy Appa, splitting their time between his New York penthouse and Beverly Hills home. 

While “Hotel Rock Bottom” explores one of the darkest periods of Grande’s life,the album serves as an exploration of his entire life, which means the album is far from one-note. Club-bangers, joyful ballads and celebrations of queer love are all found throughout the album. 

“I run the gambit of the past twenty years of my life,” Grande said. “So we start in the club and it’s fun and ferocious and there’s no consequences. Because there was an entire period of my life where I could drink and use with no consequences. Then, you see the struggle in ‘Hotel Rock Bottom’ and the sobriety angle. But then there’s songs about my husband and my puppy and life as a married man.”

During an 1824 press conference, Grande teased two unreleased tracks on the album, “Cognitive Dissonance” and “Sex Shop,” which perfectly demonstrate the wide spectrum of his debut. From deeply personal and emotional with still an undeniably dancy kick, to unapologetically queer, sexually-liberated club bangers. 

“‘Cognitive Dissonance’ represents a time in my life where I got sober but had to go through a mourning period for the old Frankie and the old life I left behind, and it was hard, and sticky, and sad,” Grande said. 

While Grande knew the story he wanted to tell, his previous experience working as a performer on theater stages and in reality shows was a far cry from the popstar image he’s now cultivated. However, working alongside producer Prince Fox, Grande was deeply inspired by the musicality in order to tell his story authentically, saying that the music often “sonically dictated” his story. 

“Discovering my sound as a recording artist (was) very different from (being) a stage artist, which I’ve trained for my entire life.” Grande said. “As far as the creative process, I would just start with a beat and it would warp me somewhere and wherever it would take me to, that’s where we would go.” 

Inspired by the likes of pop greats like Madonna and Michael Jackson, Frankie Grande knew making detailed and creative visuals his music would be a major part of his artistic brand. 

Sonically, Grande drew inspiration from the likes of David Bowie, Cher, Donna Summers, and Whitney Houston, with a slight hint of the euphoric scores of Disney World’s “Epcot”, to create “Hotel Rock Bottom,” which has a sound Grande describes as a “70s, 80s, 90s space-dance-rock-pop album.”

Choosing the lead single for the album, which ultimately was “Rhythm of Love,” took “a lot of deliberation,” including turning to advice from A&R executive Wendy Goldstein and plenty of conversations with younger sister Ariana. Ultimately, Grande felt that “Rhythm of Love” best represented the image he wanted to present to the world not only of his album, but of his artistry. 

“(Rhythm of Love) is about a time of my life where I knew sobriety existed but I wasn’t ready to make that choice yet,” Grande said. “It’s flirting with the idea. And sonically, it’s in line with the rest of the album.” 

His single, “Boys,” is a celebration of gay love and sex, embracing both masculinity and femininity. The music video, which features Grande in full glam dancing with shirtless men and appearance by Rupaul's Drag Race star Salina EsTitties, was a romanticized take on a real-life experience of his.

“I was doing my makeup in the locker room of Equinox,” Grande recalls. “And I was looking at all these masculine-presenting guys, and guys are like ‘that’s not masculine’ and I’m like ‘f— you, yes it is’ so I’m reclaiming it.”

The “Boys” video takes effort to show love to the transgender and gender-fluid community, with trans model and actor Laith Ashley playing a love interest for Grande in the video.

“My entire pride this year is dedicated toward my trans siblings,” Grande said. “The LGB community needs to support our T siblings. We are one community; if it happens to one of us, it happens to all of us.” 

However, while advocacy is a big part of what inspires Grande’s artistry, making joyful music that provides queer escapism is equally as important to Grande. This is the inspiration for the larger-than-life, dynamic sound and tongue-in-cheek twist on Cyndi Lauper’s “Girls Just Wanna Have Fun” lyrics behind “Boys.” 

“I want to be in the club or car or shower and escape for two-and-a-half minutes, and then I can go back to life,” Grande said. 

While the album still has a few weeks before its release, the singles have gotten a lot of positive feedback, especially from fans and critics. As far as the rest of the album, Frankie mentioned his sister has been one of the biggest champions for “Hotel Rock Bottom.”

“Every day, I pinch myself when Ariana tells me that this is the best project she’s ever heard,” Grande said. “She’s so unbelievably enthusiastic and it means so much to me because obviously I think she’s the greatest artist on Earth, and this is her realm, so any feedback she has to give me, I am like ‘give me notes.’” 

Additionally, Grande has been promoting the album through a series of Pride festival performances, including stops at West Hollywood’s OUTLOUD Music Festival (where he performed a fully-choreographed mash-up of “Sex Shop” and will.i.am and Britney Spear’s “Scream and Shout”)  as well as the Boston edition.  He has called the live performances one of the most rewarding parts of releasing the album so far.

“I thrive off of live audiences; that is the Broadway artist in me,” Grande said. “(People) know me a certain way, so to make that transition and to have it received so well live was everything to me.” 

Grande hopes that the album “Hotel Rock Bottom” will bring people joy and encourage them to find joy, safety, and community, whether out on a club dance floor or blasting it in their AirPods. As an artist, he hopes he can serve as a hopeful reminder for LGBTQ+ individuals of the power of embracing yourself for who you are and being open in your sexuality and gender. 

“I didn’t come out until I was 21. Drugs, alcohol, and escapism had such a big presence in my life,” Grande said. “I want to use my platform to make as many queer, confused kids less confused about the fact that they are perfect exactly the way they are.”