Grace Sewell’s grandmother likes to tell a story about how when Grace was four years old, she once climbed out of her stroller in the middle of a London shopping mall and insisted on putting on an impromptu concert. “I was there for an hour and wouldn’t get back in the pram,” Grace says with a laugh. “Apparently things like that used to happen a lot. I was kind of a showoff as a kid.”

Grace’s desire to entertain comes through loud on clear on her debut EP Memo, which will be released by RCA Records in May. Memo is a showcase for the 18-year-old Brisbane, Australia, native’s powerhouse voice, impressive songwriting chops, and youthfully fresh take on pop-soul. Grace’s first single is a cover of Lesley Gore’s 1963 emancipation anthem “You Don’t Own Me,” featuring new verses rapped by G-Eazy and co-produced by Parker Ighile, who brings an electro-hip-hop feel to the track, and its original producer, the legendary Quincy Jones.

“Efe Ogbeni, my manager, has been close with Quincy and Adam Fell, Vice President of Quincy Jones Productions, for a long time,” says Grace of how she teamed up with Jones, who has worked with everyone from Michael Jackson and Frank Sinatra to Aretha Franklin. Jones suggested remaking “You Don’t Own Me” for a new generation and thought Grace’s soulful, dynamic voice would be perfect for it. “He told me how the song came out during the feminist movement and how it was such a strong statement,” Grace says. “Lesley was my age when she recorded it. I loved the song and started researching her and fell in love with her as an artist. I think young women should have a strong idea of who they are and Lesley definitely did. It was a very bold move for her to come out with this song in the ’60s, especially being 17, and that really inspired me.” Released as a tribute to Gore after her passing in February, “You Don’t Own Me” has racked up nearly four million plays on Spotify.

The remainder of Memo is filled with original songs that Grace co-wrote with various collaborators, including Ighile (Nicki Minaj, Rihanna) and Fraser T Smith (Adele, Sam Smith), who have helped Grace harness her influences, which include Gladys Knight, Shirley Bassey, Janis Joplin, and Amy Winehouse, and transcend them to create something entirely her own, both sonically and lyrically.

“The songs are about growing up and finding your place in the world — basically the last five years of my life,” she says. Drawing from her personal experiences, Grace offers up “The Honey” (about having a crush and thinking they might be the one), “Feel Your Love (about “fighting and then making up”), and “Dirty Harry,” which she describes as “a track about doing what you want and having fun.”

Then there’s the deeply emotional ballad “Memo (Boyfriend Jeans),” which Grace wrote at age 16, but which displays a maturity beyond her years. “I don't personally do this, but friends of mine will walk around in their ex-boyfriend's old T-shirts and jeans. I'm like, ‘You are crazy. You have to get over this.’ It's about that idea. It may not even be a boyfriend. It may just be somebody who’s in your life and they still have their stuff around your house. You still use it. You still wear it. It's that awkward in-between phase when you're not over them yet, but you're in denial that it’s over.” As for the EP’s title: “in the rawest sense, the songs are like memos, like little notes you keep on your phone. I’ve been collecting them for the past few years and they’ve turned into songs that are very personal and close to my heart.”

Grace can’t remember a time when she wasn’t singing, having fallen in love with “the old soul and Motown greats, like The Temptations, Aretha Franklin, Gladys Knight, Smokey Robinson, and Ray Charles” that her mom favored. She comes from a musical family, including her father (a singer the press used to call “the Australian Tom Jones”) and her grandparents, Betty and Graham Brewer, who once supported The Bee Gees on tour. Two years ago, Grace wrote “Memo (Boyfriend Jeans)” with a girlfriend and recorded it on her laptop with Apple in-ear headphones. That demo is the version that made it onto her major-label debut EP. “Everyone fell in love with the demo version so we kept it. That’s what got me my deal with RCA,” she marvels. “It opened up a lot of doors.”

As Grace embarks on her artist journey with Memo, she hopes people feel emotionally connected to the songs. “There's no greater feeling than when someone listens to your song and cries, or just starts dancing, or can't stop smiling,” she says. “When I'm able to achieve that, I feel like there's nothing in this world that could make me unhappy.”

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