As GRAMMY weekend approaches, Billboard-charting artist Miist is once again shifting the spotlight away from herself and toward her community. For the second year in a row, she is inviting two fans to attend the GRAMMY Awards as her guests, selecting them based on the personal stories they share and what the experience would mean to them.
The gesture reflects a broader philosophy that has come to define Miist’s work across music, podcasting, and community initiatives. Following the global impact of her 2025 Smile Project, Miist is now entering a new creative chapter with The Love Project, anchored by her upcoming song “Love Will Show Us the Way,” co-written with legendary Italian producer Mauro Malavasi. In the conversation below, Miist reflects on connection over status, the power of small actions, and how music continues to shape her approach to mental health and community building.
This year, you’re again giving two fans the chance to attend the GRAMMYs with you. Why has that gesture become such an important part of how you engage with your audience?After I sent out the invite last year, I received so many touching stories from all over the world telling what it would mean for them to go to the GRAMMYs. I felt honored to hear their stories, so it has become an important way for me to connect with my audiences.
I really enjoyed going with Zoe and Spencer last year. I got to spend time with them and listen to their music. When they told me a year later, “You inspired me more than I could imagine,” it just reassured me that I need to continue doing this because it’s truly meaningful, even though I’m only able to invite two of them each year.
Last year’s fan guests shared deeply personal stories that clearly moved you. What have you learned from those exchanges, and how do they shape the way you think about success and recognition?I have been really touched by a lot of the stories I’m hearing. I feel we are all very similar in that we all have our dreams, we feel similar emotions, have the same limitations and the same basic needs… and I think the reason for that is we were made to be one big family. Reading each of those stories confirmed that thought over and over, and that just keeps reminding me we should really treat each other like we are one family.
For me, success and recognition in the music business means reaching more hearts, making more connections with my music, and being able to inspire others to find what they really love to do and then encourage them to pursue it. When I am able to touch people like that, I feel successful because I get to be connected to the people around me.
As awards season unfolds, many artists focus on visibility and validation. You’ve consistently emphasized connection over status. How do you navigate that contrast during a moment like GRAMMY weekend?As musicians, I understand that all of us would like our music and work to be recognized, and I understand the value of important awards like the GRAMMYs. It literally could change some musicians’ lives. I get it. However, from the inspiration of a song to a finished project, me and my team always keep our goal of the song in mind, which is never the fame.
My goal with each song and each project, like this year’s The Love Project, is to connect to people on the most basic level and for them to receive the message in the song, to touch their heart, and hopefully inspire them to do something that will help them and our world.
Since this is my goal, validation is measured in the amount of hearts I am able to reach with my message. I love writing songs and doing my podcast, but my focus is on how that work can affect others instead of what I will get out of it. That said, I’m very happy to go to the GRAMMYs to support many of my friends who got the nominations they deserve. I’ll be cheering them on from the audience on February 1.
Your upcoming song “Love Will Show Us the Way,” written with Mauro Malavasi, introduces The Love Project era. How does this song reflect where you are emotionally and creatively right now?
My last project was born because of a true story. The song and the call to action were written to encourage everyone around the world to start smiling at each other, thus we called it The Smile Project. That was when I really started leaning heavily toward mental health.
On the journey with The Smile Project, I got such an amazing response from other artists and audiences that I could feel this world wanted meaningful and positive messages in songs like mine. It was during the filming of the lead music video for The Smile Project in Bologna, Italy, that I was introduced to Mauro. He loved the message I wanted to share and expressed that he would like to work with me.
Last year, I found myself at an inflection point in my fledgling music career. I wanted to use my music to support people’s mental health. It is what I do naturally and what I am evidently good at. The support we got on The Smile Project and my podcast has been overwhelming. We are told repeatedly how much it means to so many people around the world.
That encouraged me to write “Love Will Show Us the Way” with Mauro, as I believe, like he does, that in the end it is only love that will get us out of the mess this world is in. The song reflects that conviction. I hope the audience can feel it when they hear it. It is a simple, powerful reminder that love is the most important gift any of us can give or receive.
You’ve invited fans around the world to submit videos of everyday acts of kindness for the upcoming music video. What made you want to turn this release into a shared, global experience?The more I read the stories from my audiences all over the world, the more I’m certain that we are all the same. We suffer the same losses and enjoy the same little joys that warm our hearts.
Whatever we are struggling with here in the U.S., everyone everywhere else in this human family is also struggling with. Therefore, the solution cannot be just local, it has to be global. I’ve been keeping that in mind since The Smile Project. That’s why there were 16 language versions of the song.
“Love Will Show Us the Way” is meant to be a global experience and movement. Part of that is showing small acts of kindness from all over the world so that we can all see we are the same and we can and should help each other. Yesterday we received videos from India and Russia. What I saw was the same thing: smiling acts of kindness are the same everywhere.
Much of your work revolves around what you call “15-second actions.” Why do you believe small, immediate gestures carry more power than big statements or grand solutions?I understand the world has big problems that require big solutions. From wars to environmental or man-made disasters, we would all love to see those solved. But in reality, trying to solve those huge problems as individuals or even groups is not going to happen, and that can make us feel discouraged or cause us to give up.
Getting overwhelmed causes most of us to ignore the problems and pretend they don’t exist. That doesn’t help us or the world.
I didn’t want people to feel overwhelmed and shut down when I asked them to do something. I wanted small actions that were powerful, meaningful, and accessible. I settled on 15 seconds because it’s an amount of time nearly everyone on earth can give.
There are dozens of actions we can do in 15 seconds or less. Did you realize that if you and I smile today, and the two of us smile at two more people tomorrow, then four of us the next day, in a little over a month you would have 8.5 billion people smiling? That only takes about three seconds. That’s what these 15-second actions are. In my podcast, every week I talk about one of them.
The Smile Project became a global movement in 2025. How did that experience reshape your understanding of what music can do beyond charts and streams?
The Smile Project showed me that there’s hope in musicians and in this world. “Could You Lend Me a Smile” is not a commercial song. It doesn’t have a strong beat. I didn’t know if people would patiently listen to the whole song and understand the message.
Then musicians from all different genres started responding strongly, willing to help with translations, global instruments, and connecting us with more artists. They just wanted to help.
When all the language versions were released, the watch time on YouTube was incredibly long and across many countries. The comments told us how needed the message was. If the song had saved just one life, it would have been worth it. But there were millions of viewers, and the impact went far beyond what I expected.
Your podcast, Make Me Smile with Miist, has resonated strongly in the mental health space. How does the podcast inform your songwriting, and how does music inform those conversations?The podcast is my own journey of searching for answers to big questions, like how to let go of resentment, how gratitude helps me live a happier life, or how to process guilt, shame, and grief.
Understanding these concepts transformed me and helped me understand where other people’s pain comes from. Since emotions are the inspiration for my songwriting, the podcast has absolutely changed my songwriting. It deepened it and gave me more topics I needed to write about.
On the other hand, songs originate from strong emotions. Being aware of why I feel something often brings up new questions, which turn into new podcast episodes.
Looking ahead to 2026, how do you decide what deserves your energy as you balance music, a book, nonprofit work, and community engagement?I’m deeply grateful for my husband, who is also my co-writer and manager. He keeps everything on track on the business side, which would overwhelm me on my own. We are not perfect, but we respect and support each other.
Our goal is always to serve the message, whether through music, the podcast, the upcoming book, or community engagement. If we have to choose between entering an award competition or doing community work, we almost always choose the community work.
We also practice what we preach. The most important relationships are with our daughter and family. Those always come first.
For someone discovering your work for the first time through this GRAMMY moment, what do you hope they take away?I hope they feel that my message is refreshing and meaningful. I would love for them to try the 15-second actions and experience how powerful a smile or an act of kindness can be, for themselves and for the world around them.
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YouTubePhoto credit: Andrew Ficke
