Greyson Chance Hopes to Start His New Chapter in Music on a High Note With 'Low': Premiere

Greyson Chance is busy majoring in history at the University of Tulsa. When he spoke on the phone with Billboard on Dec. 6, he was hyped up on caffeine and knee-deep in finals. 

So, in other words, he is a normal 20-year-old college student. "A lot of artists are going out to the club and having fun, and like, let me tell you, I'm going (crazy) on some Roman history books in the library," he says. Of course, Chance is also a successful performing artist -- one still widely associated with Ellen DeGeneres -- and is premiering new track "Low" today (Dec. 7) exclusively through Billboard. 

Chance admits that when he made the decision to attend college, he wasn't sure how much music he'd be able to write anymore, "and I think that was a sad point for me." But he has found the right balance. "Low" was written over the summer in Los Angeles.

"It's been really, really interesting," he tells Billboard. "I think [being in college] really, in a way, has greatly contributed to the songwriting, because I've always sort of written about what's going on in my life and the people around me. This new journey I've had has given me so many great experiences, and a whole new cast of characters to work with."

In the video -- which Chance says wasn't anything elaborate, but rather just him and his friends showcasing their home in Tulsa, Okla. -- we start with Chance smoking a cigarette outside of a desolate gas station. Chance eventually hops in the car, and the footage is from the view of someone driving empty roads under overcast skies. He sings, "I see a dark reflection in my dashboard/ Don't even know where I'm trying to anymore/ I think about us back together someday/ What you doin' Sunday?"

"For me, personally, I'm just really excited about this next chapter of my life as an artist," Chance tells Billboard. "I think I've kind of found a very unique balance in everything I'm doing. My thing is is I just think this record is a bit more mature, a bit more adult than what I've released in the past. I'm hoping people enjoy it... it is kind of a sad song, but people should be enthused by the fact that the next song is going to be very happy and very uplifting."

"Low" (LOWLY records) will be available everywhere on Friday (Dec. 8) and comes after Chance's 2016 EP Somewhere Over My Head. 

Watch the "Low" video, directed by Sarah Parker and edited by Timo Helgert, below: