Gracie Abrams is more than her famous father and Taylor Swift

Gracie Abrams reached her first ever number 1 in the official UK album charts with Our secrettheir second LP, which just entered the charts at number 2. Billboard 200. The discourse should be that Abrams and Audrey Hobert, her best friend since fifth grade, have made a brave, intimate and resonant album that invites listeners into their living room and adds authentic layers to Abrams’ public persona. And those conversations are happening. But the headlines are largely about Abrams’ most famous friend, Taylor Swift, her neighbor in the Billboard 200 and UK official album charts with Swift’s The “Tortured Poets” section at number 1 and 2 respectively. Oh, and Abrams has this week Billboard Artist 100 at number 2, only behind Swift.

Abrams, 24, is rightly nicknamed “Nepo Baby” as she is the daughter of acclaimed director and producer JJ Abrams (war of stars, Lost, Alias) and political consultant and producer Katie McGrath. In July 2022, Abrams admitted to iHeartRadio that she felt it was “a privilege” to grow up in the industry, but dismissed any negative connotations as a product of “the internet (which) is a weird place where people can insult anyone.” In 2024, perhaps proximity to Swift is the almighty “nepo baby” subcategory. Case in point: My mom, the anti-pop culture aficionado, only knows Abrams in the context of the viral “Us” backstory in which Swift clumsily puts out an apartment fire.

Every Swiftie knows how manically single-minded Swift is in everything she does, so it would be a misguided assumption that the same doesn’t apply to those who receive an invitation into Swiftian history. If Swift were to split up her co-signs by her favorite film and TV creators, Ellen Pompeo, Mariska Hargitay and Guillermo Del Toro would be storming the pop charts. On Sunday, June 30, Swift used her recent Dublin tour to debut her first single. The Epoch Tour Show to praise in-attendance Stevie Nicks for befriending female artists “just to be a guiding hand,” and Swift is making a concerted effort to pay that forward, regardless of their family crests, as best seen through her diverse cast of The Epoch Tour Opener.

Abrams and Swift debuted “Us” – a rare instance where Swift offered her services as a guest artist and, more importantly, Swift passed her baton to Abrams for track 5. Our secret – while The Epoch Tour in London, a familiar stage for Abrams. Swift empowered Abrams as one of the original The Epoch Tour Openings starting shortly after Abrams fell Goodbye forevertheir debut studio album, released in February 2023, produced by Aaron Dessner, who also Our secretDessner owes his two Grammys to the production of Swift’s sister albums from 2020 folklore And Alwaysand Dessner produced both of Abrams’ albums—for the former, Abrams received her first Grammy nomination for Best New Artist in 2024.

So, yes, Dessner acts as an invisible bond that connects Abrams to Swift. Sure, “We” helped Our secret reach more people. But Swift’s handling of a fire extinguisher in Abrams’ now-viral “Us” video is the least impressive part of the spontaneous birth of their achingly beautiful duet between 2 and 6 a.m. Anyone could use their last name to hang out with an A-lister — and there’s no evidence Abrams ever did, to be clear — but it takes someone special to earn the respect of this generation’s definitive songwriter. Abrams’ pen is her sharpest sword for debunking hollow industry accusations.

“Us” has over 20.5 million streams on Spotify alone. Swift’s name will manage that. But that’s less than what Abrams generated with “Risk” (56.4 million) and “Close To You” (46.3 million). Abrams injected Our secret with organic intrigue weeks before “Us.” “Risk,” co-written with Hobert, immediately impressed as the album’s manic, melodic lead single, which features one of the best scream-singing hooks of the year: “God, I’m actually invested / Haven’t even met him yet / Watch this be the wrong thing, classic.” Abrams and Hobert followed with “Close To You,” another wonderfully extroverted daydream that was Abrams’ first-ever Billboard Hot 100 entry, debuting at number 49 after fans first clamored for its release as a demo seven years ago. (“Us” and “Risk” debuted at numbers 36 and 94 on this week’s Hot 100while “Close To You” peaked at number 60).

But “Risk” and “Close To You” weren’t created in a vacuum either. Over the years, Abrams has built up an organic fan base by sticking to the vow of “saying the quiet part out loud” that every successful songwriter has taken. Abrams laid the foundation with “Mess It Up,” “Feels Like,” and “I Know It Won’t Work” before “Risk,” “Close To You,” and “Us” were able to break into another pop stratosphere.

Ultimately, the proof is always in the fan base. Abrams’ fans are anything but passive. In a few hours, Abrams’ upcoming headliner The Secret of Us Tour Completely sold out, including four nights at the Greek Theater in Los Angeles and three nights at Radio City Music Hall. Buying concert tickets based on six degrees of separation? In this economic climate? Please.

“I don’t really think about how I want to be remembered, but this album shows a different side of me, and I like the idea of ​​being known,” Abrams recently told Uproxx for this profile. “Not far known, but known better. If anything, I would be happy if people got to know me better through this album.”

Beyond the hits, Abrams continues to show a noticeable development as an anecdotal storyteller and vulnerable songwriter Our secretIf that is what they achieved with only 16 months of work between Goodbye forever And Our secretAbrams’ songs should soon be ubiquitous enough – on the radio, in the supermarket, etc. – for my mother and suburban moms everywhere to recognize them as such. Anyone who wants to fully immerse themselves in Abrams’ young but enriching discography should already know her better than reduce her to industry connections. The secret of Gracie Abrams is that there is no secret. She is just damn good.