Sara Bareilles on the song that "arrived" in a moment of despair

One of my favorite singers, Sara Bareilles, is our guest this episode. Sara's released five top 10 albums, written the music and lyrics for the hit Broadway show "Waitress," and starred in a Sondheim musical. She's back with her first new studio album in seven years, "Good Grief," and it's a beauty. 00:00 Intro 01:03 Juggling an album, a tour, a film and a musical 03:24 "Good Grief": an album born from loss 05:20 How "Forever" became a song for Gavin Creel 07:12 Morning pages and The Artist's Way 09:33 How writing Waitress changed her songwriting 12:42 Asking big questions without answers 14:17 "Capsize Me": a letter to God 16:41 "Wind Is The Weather" and feeling out at sea 19:05 Letting go of control in the studio 22:06 Finding herself in the music industry 26:05 Why being "somewhere in the middle" served her 27:41 A word from The FLAG Art Foundation 28:50 Jennifer Nettles and the musical that never was 31:01 Adapting "The Interestings" for the stage 33:58 Saying yes to Girls5eva 36:43 Working through anxiety 37:42 Grief is love 42:48 Putting lost friends into songs 44:13 Staying on the growth edge 46:36 Her first time on a Broadway stage 49:20 The chimney video that went viral 🎧 Listen to Sara's album: https://sarabareilles.lnk.to/GoodGrief ——— New episodes of Alchemy every Wednesday. 🟠 Sign up for our newsletter: https://www.alchemy.show/ 🟡 Stay connected with Anthony Mason: YouTube:    / @alchemywithanthonymason   Instagram:   / alchemywithanthony   &   / anthonymasoncbs   TikTok:   / alchemywithanthony   🟢 If you’re interested in sponsoring Alchemy: partnerships@collective.media 🔵 For press inquiries: dawn@thepresshouse.com 🟣 For bookings: rebecca@alchemy.show About our Founding Sponsor, The FLAG Art Foundation: Alchemy with Anthony Mason is presented by our founding sponsor, the FLAG Art Foundation. It is a nonprofit contemporary art exhibition space in New York's Chelsea Arts District. Since 2008, FLAG has staged more than 100 exhibitions celebrating nearly 1,000 artists, with innovative partnerships including the Parrish Art Museum, the Serpentine Galleries in London, and the Harlem Children's Zone. FLAG is free and open to the public. In this episode, I’m highlighting two exhibits: 🖼️ Sable Elyse Smith: Clockwork “Clockwork,” a solo exhibition of Sable Elyse Smith, recipient of the 2026 Suzanne Deal Booth / FLAG Art Foundation Prize, has made its way to FLAG in New York following its presentation at The Contemporary Austin in Texas. The exhibition consists of minimalist sculpture, video installation, photography, and neon works, which Smith uses to interrogate systems of power, racial violence, and institutional biases. On view through February 13, 2027 📍The FLAG Art Foundation More info → https://www.flagartfoundation.org/exh... Work featured in this video: 🔸 Sable Elyse Smith, BARRICADE, 2023. Courtesy Regen Projects, Los Angeles 🔹 Sable Elyse Smith, skin suit, 2026. Courtesy Regen Projects, Los Angeles 🎨Taryn Simon: Father Country I Do Love You The Guggenheim’s "Taryn Simon: Father Country I Do Love You” is now on view in New York’s Upper East Side. Premiering a never-before-seen body of work, Simon fills the museum’s famous rotunda, designed by Frank Lloyd Wright, with photographs, video, sculpture, and text-based works. The exploratory, immersive exhibition illustrates Simon’s keen ability for story telling through art and object. As the artist’s first ever incorporation of personal stories into her work and practice, the exhibition is dedicated to and inspired by Simon’s father, and narrates “the mechanics of justice.” On view through March 14, 2027 📍 Guggenheim Check it out → https://www.guggenheim.org/exhibition... Learn more about the FLAG Art Foundation → https://www.flagartfoundation.org 📍 545 W 25th Street, 9th Floor, New York, NY 10001 | Wed–Sat, 11AM–5PM 📸 Follow FLAG on Instagram →   / flagartfoundation   About Anthony Mason: Anthony Mason, the host of Alchemy, is also a Special Correspondent with CBS News. One of the most versatile and experienced television journalists, Anthony co-hosted CBS This Morning: Saturday for seven years (2012-2019), and then the weekday CBS This Morning broadcast for two more. But he may be best known for his interviews with artists like Bruce Springsteen, Aretha Franklin, Dolly Parton, Annie Leibovitz, Judi Dench, David Hockney, and André 3000. He has won a dozen Emmy Awards. In 2023, the Songwriters Hall of Fame presented him their Patron of the Arts Award. And for the past three years he has hosted the GRAMMY Hall of Fame Gala.