Moonlight

"Moonlight" is a song by American singer-songwriter Grace VanderWaal. It was written by VanderWaal and Ido Zmishlany, and produced by the latter. The song was released on June 21, 2017, through Syco Music and Columbia Records, and is the lead single from VanderWaal's debut studio album, Just the Beginning. VanderWaal introduced the song live at VidCon in June 2017, and she released a music video of "Moonlight" on her YouTube Vevo channel the following month. The song received largely positive reviews. Background VanderWaal began work on her first studio album, Just the Beginning in early 2017. When she released the first single from the album, "Moonlight", she commented on the song's meaning: Moonlight' is about somebody you know very well changing unnaturally over time right in front of you and pushing you away, so you want to help bring them back to their original self." Critical reception Gil Kaufman of Billboard described the song as "summery". He opined that the song "displays a fun tropical beat making it the perfect summer song", and that it "digs a little deeper" and "displays maturity". Raisa Bruner of Time regarded the song as "a summery, breathy and upbeat summer song", and wrote that it "maintains [VanderWaal's] acoustic flair while layering in a lightly tropical touch". Jon Caramanica of The New York Times felt that the song "sounds like steroidal bluegrass-inflected space-pop", and VanderWaal's vocal "sounds emotionally exhausted, like a singer twice her age, or more." Gabriella Ginsberg of Hollywood Life called the single "infectious" and "amazing", and felt that it has an "awesome beat". She wrote that VanderWaal's "classic ukelele sound shines through". Cayla Bamberger of J-14 wrote: "The track delivers all that we love about VanderWaal: her raspy vocals, a heavy beat, her signature ukulele, and an acoustic sound. ... The track shows VanderWaal's increasing maturity and sophistication as both a wise teenage girl and a singer-songwriter." Maeve McDermott of USA Today referred the song as "an upbeat, wistful pop song". Music video The music video was released on July 21, 2017, and was directed by Blythe Thomas. It is VanderWaal's first official music video. It features VanderWaal wandering along deserted city streets and arriving on a deserted rooftop, intercut with scenes of her singing and playing the ukelele and scenes of an imagined dance party, where she plays the banjo among friends.