Gracie Abrams (born September 7, 1999) is an American singer-songwriter from Pacific Palisades, Los Angeles, whose hushed, diaristic style, dubbed “whisperpop” by Pitchfork, made her one of the defining confessional-pop voices to emerge from the early-2020s Instagram-and-SoundCloud generation. Signed to Interscope Records since 2019, she built a three-album creative partnership with producer Aaron Dessner of The National that runs from her 2023 debut Good Riddance through 2024's The Secret of Us to 2026's Daughter from Hell, and scored her commercial breakthrough with the Billboard Hot 100 top-ten hit “That's So True.”
Gracie Madigan Abrams was born September 7, 1999, in Los Angeles County and raised in Pacific Palisades, one of the city's wealthiest and most industry-adjacent neighborhoods. She is the daughter of filmmaker J.J. Abrams, known for Lost and Star Wars: The Force Awakens, and producer Katie McGrath, co-founder of the Hollywood gender-equity initiative Time's Up and co-CEO of the family's production company Bad Robot Productions. She is the granddaughter of producers Gerald W. Abrams and Carol Ann Abrams, and has two brothers, Henry and August. Her paternal lineage is Ashkenazi Jewish and her maternal background is Irish Catholic.
Abrams has described herself as a “sensitive kid with a very tough exterior” who processed emotion through journaling rather than talking to her parents or classmates, a habit she says evolved directly into songwriting. She began drum lessons and started writing her own songs at age eight, later teaching herself piano, guitar and ukulele. Her mother introduced her to Joni Mitchell and Elliott Smith and encouraged the journaling that became the basis of her lyrics. Her first public performance was a cover of Christina Aguilera's “Beautiful” at a fifth-grade talent show. It was also at her fifth-grade graduation that she met Audrey Hobert, who would become her best friend and, more than a decade later, a key co-writer.
Abrams attended the Archer School for Girls, a private all-girls school in West Los Angeles, graduating in 2018, then enrolled at Barnard College, the women's liberal-arts college affiliated with Columbia University, to study international relations. After her freshman year she took a leave of absence to return to Los Angeles and pursue music full time, a decision she has said she still intends to revisit, and one she credits with giving her the confidence to navigate the music industry as a young woman, citing Barnard's status as a women's college.
Abrams has been candid about being labeled a “nepo baby.” In a June 2026 New York Times Popcast interview she said her family's resources gave her a “safety net” that let her focus on music without financial pressure, and that people “appropriately” call her a nepo baby given that background. The discourse traces back at least to New York magazine's December 2022 “nepo babies” cover story, which categorized her as “on the come-up.” Interscope CEO John Janick has repeatedly pushed back on the framing, telling Billboard he had “yet to meet Gracie's parents” at the time of signing and that the label's interest was “purely based on how she was as a person and a songwriter,” adding that “she's accomplished this independently without taking any shortcuts.”
Abrams built her earliest audience the way much of her generational cohort did, by posting covers and original songs to Instagram, YouTube and SoundCloud rather than pursuing a traditional label-showcase path. In August 2017 she premiered a song called “Minor” on Instagram, then posted a fully produced version in March 2018, a version that caught the attention of Lorde, who personally messaged Abrams asking for the MP3. The Cut had already dubbed the then-18-year-old the “Lorde-Approved Instagram Songwriter” in 2018. Billie Eilish was also an early public fan, reportedly circulating MP3s of Abrams's songs among friends. Phoebe Bridgers, a formative influence Abrams discovered on SoundCloud at age 13, became a fan and eventual friend during this same pre-label period, saying she'd followed Abrams's music “since she started posting songs online.”
This organic groundswell led to a 2019 signing with Interscope Records, the Universal Music Group imprint. Her debut single, “Mean It,” followed in October 2019, offering gentle vocals and a heartfelt chorus that previewed her eventual sound. During the COVID-19 lockdowns, with touring impossible, Abrams livestreamed a series of “Bedroom Shows” from her home, doubling down on the same intimate, unpolished aesthetic that had built her following in the first place.
Minor, her debut EP, arrived July 14, 2020, via Interscope. Built on bedroom pop, electropop and indie-folk textures centered on the end of a relationship, it was co-written entirely by Abrams, with then-boyfriend Blake Slatkin serving as executive producer. The EP directly inspired Olivia Rodrigo to write “Drivers License,” her breakout single: Rodrigo has said Abrams was one of her favorite artists and that she felt she'd “evaporate” if forced to meet her in person before the two became labelmates. “I Miss You, I'm Sorry” from Minor remains, by some measures, Abrams's most-streamed song, with well over 133 million Spotify streams cited as of 2023.
Her second EP, This Is What It Feels Like, followed in November 2021, featuring the singles “Feels Like” and “Rockland” alongside “Block Me Out.” The project marked her first collaboration with Aaron Dessner of The National, who co-wrote and produced four tracks, alongside continued work with Lorde and Taylor Swift producer Joel Little. She supported the EP with a headlining tour and opening dates on Olivia Rodrigo's Sour Tour.
Good Riddance, Abrams's debut studio album, arrived February 24, 2023, as a 12-track record written and produced entirely by Abrams and Aaron Dessner and recorded at Dessner's Long Pond Studio in New York's Hudson Valley. Lead single “Difficult” arrived in October 2022; other key tracks include “I Know It Won't Work,” “Where Do We Go Now?,” “The Best” and closer “Right Now,” which also credits Brian Eno. The album peaked at No. 52 on the Billboard 200 and earned Abrams a nomination for the Grammy Award for Best New Artist. A deluxe edition with four bonus tracks followed on June 16, 2023.
The Secret of Us, Abrams's second studio album, arrived June 21, 2024, co-produced by Abrams and Dessner and co-written extensively, for the first time at scale, with childhood best friend Audrey Hobert. Tracklist highlights include “Risk,” “Close to You,” “I Love You, I'm Sorry,” “us. (feat. Taylor Swift),” “Blowing Smoke,” “Let It Happen” and “Tough Love.” The album debuted at No. 2 on the Billboard 200, her career high, trailing only Taylor Swift's The Tortured Poets Department that week, and hit No. 1 in the UK, Australia and the Netherlands. A deluxe edition arrived October 18, 2024, adding seven tracks including the breakout single “That's So True.”
“us.” was co-written by Abrams and Swift, who Abrams has said gave her “some of the most fun” she's ever had writing a song. According to Vogue's account of the session, the track began from an instrumental sketch Dessner had sent; Abrams and Swift reacted to it over dinner and wrote the finished song at the piano until 5 a.m. It debuted on the Billboard Hot 100 at No. 36 in July 2024, becoming Abrams's highest-charting song at the time, and earned both artists a nomination for the Grammy Award for Best Pop Duo/Group Performance at the 67th Annual Grammy Awards.
Abrams announced her third studio album, Daughter from Hell, on May 11, 2026, again written and produced with Aaron Dessner and described as a darker, more cinematic 16-track “new era” following two years after The Secret of Us. Lead single “Hit the Wall” released May 14, 2026, followed by second single “Look at My Life” on June 25, 2026. The album is set for release July 17, 2026, and reportedly includes “Imaginary Friend,” a co-write with Abrams's boyfriend, actor Paul Mescal.
Aaron Dessner, guitarist of The National and producer of Taylor Swift's folklore and evermore, is Abrams's most important collaborator and the connective tissue running through her entire post-2021 catalog. The two were introduced after discovering they “randomly shared the same lawyer,” who suggested they connect during the COVID-19 pandemic; Abrams was already a fan of The National. They began working remotely over FaceTime, and roughly a year later Dessner invited her to Long Pond Studio in person, where, per Dessner, the pair “hit it off” during a spring 2021 session and ultimately wrote more than ten songs together. Four of those tracks appeared on This Is What It Feels Like in 2021.
Long Pond Studio sits on a property in New York's Hudson Valley, built around 2016 in a converted horse barn beside a pond; it also housed the recording of the last two National albums and most of folklore and evermore. Abrams has said she has “only ever worked” with Dessner at Long Pond. On Good Riddance, Dessner served as sole producer and co-writer across all 12 tracks, his most complete, exclusive collaboration with any artist outside The National at that point. On The Secret of Us he returned as co-producer alongside Audrey Hobert, with Abrams describing the sessions as “working with my friend and co-writer Audrey, Aaron as our producer, and Bella as our engineer.” He continued the partnership on Daughter from Hell, extending an unbroken three-album streak.
Both artists describe the relationship in unusually intimate, almost familial terms. Dessner called the release of Abrams's debut album “like siblings” on Instagram; Abrams has said “he's one of my best friends now too… that relationship has been really, really, really massively life-altering,” and elsewhere, “Aaron and my therapist, they know me better than I do.” In September 2023 the two performed intimate sold-out acoustic shows together in New York, Nashville and Los Angeles, and Dessner made a guest appearance during Abrams's Eras Tour dates.
Critics have consistently classified Abrams within the “sad girl pop” and “whisperpop” lineage, a hushed, breathy vocal delivery layered over minimalist acoustic-electronic production. Pitchfork's Jane Bua coined Good Riddance specifically as “whisperpop,” while other outlets used “sad girl pop.” Dork described her songs as beginning “delicately before swelling to quietly epic proportions,” and The A.V. Club called the album “soft and quiet, but also soothing and heartbreaking at the same time.”
Critics near-universally single out her songwriting as confessional: diaristic, autobiographical, and built on real relationship wreckage rather than character studies. Rolling Stone's Maya Georgi described her melodies as “soft-spoken” and “simple” yet “steeped in sadness while they still pack a punch.” Reviewers have drawn direct sonic lines to Taylor Swift's folklore and evermore and to Phoebe Bridgers, given the shared Dessner fingerprint of fingerpicked acoustic guitar, subtle synth beds, understated strings and a preference for slow-building arrangements over choruses.
The critical knock on her catalog has been remarkably consistent across three release cycles: melodic and production sameness. Pitchfork scored Good Riddance 6.2/10, arguing the record was “often stagnant” and calling Dessner's production “unadventurous,” “predictable” and “generic,” writing that “the listener is almost sure to be greeted by a synth beat or an acoustic guitar.” Metacritic aggregated a 73/100 “generally favorable” score from six reviews; AnyDecentMusic gave 7.3/10. The Line of Best Fit countered that the album “verges on greatness,” calling it an “incredibly honest portrayal of guilt, doubt, and heartbreak.” Reception to the deluxe edition of The Secret of Us followed a similar pattern in independent press: praise for songwriting and vocal performance, criticism of “repetitive,” “underwhelming” instrumentation on some tracks.
“That's So True,” released November 6, 2024, as part of The Secret of Us (Deluxe) and written with Audrey Hobert and produced by Abrams, Aaron Dessner and Julian Bunetta, became Abrams's definitive commercial breakthrough. It debuted at No. 44 on the Hot 100 before surging to No. 6, her first Hot 100 top-ten entry and that week's top gainer in streaming. It hit No. 1 on Billboard's Streaming Songs chart, reached No. 1 on the Official UK Singles Chart (her first UK No. 1, holding the top spot for roughly eight weeks by some reports), and topped charts in Australia, Canada, Ireland and New Zealand. It peaked at No. 4 on the Billboard Global 200 and became her first No. 1 on the Billboard Pop Airplay chart in March 2025.
Other charting singles from the Secret of Us era include “Close to You” (her first solo Hot 100 entry, debuting at No. 49), “Risk,” and “I Love You, I'm Sorry” (peaked No. 31 Hot 100, No. 9 US Spotify), plus a feature on Noah Kahan's “Everywhere, Everything” remix and a later Hot 100 entry via a Selena Gomez and Benny Blanco collaboration, “Call Me When You Break Up.”
Abrams received her first Grammy nomination, Best New Artist, at the 66th Grammy Awards, losing to Victoria Monét; her second nomination, Best Pop Duo/Group Performance for “Us,” came the following year. She won Songwriter of the Year at the 2025 Billboard Women in Music Awards and New Artist of the Year at the 2025 American Music Awards. She received no nominations at the 2026 Grammys despite continued chart success, a surprise multiple outlets flagged as a “snub.” She is also slated to receive the Hal David Starlight Award from the Songwriters Hall of Fame.
| Year | Chart / Award |
|---|---|
| 2023 | Good Riddance debuts at No. 52, Billboard 200 |
| 2023 (2024 ceremony) | Grammy nomination, Best New Artist |
| 2024 | The Secret of Us debuts at No. 2, Billboard 200; No. 1 UK/Australia/Netherlands |
| 2024 | “us.” (feat. Taylor Swift) debuts at No. 36, Hot 100 |
| 2024 | “That's So True” reaches No. 6, Hot 100; No. 1 UK Singles Chart |
| 2024 (2025 ceremony) | Grammy nomination, Best Pop Duo/Group Performance |
| 2025 | “That's So True” hits No. 1, Billboard Pop Airplay |
| 2025 | Songwriter of the Year, Billboard Women in Music |
| 2025 | New Artist of the Year, American Music Awards |
Before headlining on her own, Abrams opened select dates on Olivia Rodrigo's Sour Tour in 2022. She opened more than 30 US dates on Taylor Swift's Eras Tour beginning April 1, 2023, in Arlington, Texas, rotating with other openers through the August run at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles. On July 1, 2023, in Cincinnati, when weather cancelled Abrams's own set, Swift brought her onstage for a surprise acoustic duet of “I Miss You, I'm Sorry.” Abrams reprised her opening role for the tour's final North American dates in fall 2024, closing out the run in Vancouver in December, and made surprise acoustic cameos with Swift in London and Toronto that year.
Her own Good Riddance Tour ran from March 2023 through January 2024, spanning North America and an international leg that concluded in Melbourne. The Secret of Us Tour began September 5, 2024, in Portland, Oregon, and concluded August 27, 2025, in Mexico City, marking a significant venue-scale escalation with stops at Radio City Music Hall, Madison Square Garden, the Kia Forum, Red Rocks Amphitheatre, and a European and Asian leg spanning Madrid, Lisbon, Amsterdam, Paris, Singapore, Seoul, Tokyo and Hong Kong. The 2025 run included Abrams's first-time headline sets at Lollapalooza Chicago and Madison Square Garden, plus appearances at Glastonbury and BST Hyde Park.
The Look at My Life Tour, announced May 28, 2026, in support of Daughter from Hell, begins December 2, 2026, in Denver and runs through May 28, 2027, in Barcelona, comprising 37 North American shows, including four nights at Brooklyn's Barclays Center, and 27 European shows, with The Japanese House as special guest throughout.
Abrams dated producer and songwriter Blake Slatkin for roughly five years between 2017 and 2022; the on-and-off relationship directly informed the Minor EP, on which Slatkin served as executive producer. She has been in a relationship with Irish actor Paul Mescal, known for Normal People and Gladiator II, since 2024, confirming it publicly at Glastonbury Festival in July 2025. Mescal previously dated Phoebe Bridgers, an overlap within Abrams's own creative circle given her friendship with Bridgers. In a June 2026 Vogue cover story Abrams discussed anxiety that a stable relationship with Mescal could affect the emotional material she draws on for songwriting, while confirming Mescal co-wrote “Imaginary Friend” for Daughter from Hell.
In January 2026 Abrams was announced as making her acting debut in A24's Please, directed by Halina Reijn of Babygirl, described as a period female drama continuing Reijn's “edgy romance” sensibility; plot and co-stars remain undisclosed. She has a tattoo of the word “river,” inspired by the Joni Mitchell song of the same name, and has called Phoebe Bridgers “the writer of our generation” while describing Taylor Swift as an “athlete, brilliant businessperson, and a genius writer.”
Her childhood best friend Audrey Hobert, a co-writer on “That's So True” and several tracks on The Secret of Us, was previously a Nickelodeon screenwriter before turning to songwriting with Abrams; Hobert has since signed with Creative Artists Agency and launched her own solo career.
| Year | Event |
|---|---|
| 1999 | Born September 7 in Los Angeles County, California |
| 2018 | Fully produced version of “Minor” reaches Lorde, who requests the MP3 directly |
| 2019 | Signs with Interscope Records; releases debut single “Mean It” |
| 2020 | Debut EP Minor released; livestreamed “Bedroom Shows” during COVID-19 lockdowns |
| 2021 | This Is What It Feels Like EP released; first collaboration with Aaron Dessner |
| 2022 | Opens select dates on Olivia Rodrigo's Sour Tour |
| 2023 | Debut album Good Riddance released; opens 30+ dates on Taylor Swift's Eras Tour |
| 2024 | The Secret of Us released; “us.” with Taylor Swift and “That's So True” become breakthrough hits |
| 2025 | Wins Songwriter of the Year and New Artist of the Year; headlines Lollapalooza Chicago and Madison Square Garden |
| 2026 | Announces acting debut in A24's Please; releases third album Daughter from Hell; announces The Look at My Life Tour |
Yes. She is the daughter of filmmaker J.J. Abrams and producer Katie McGrath, and has spoken publicly about the “nepo baby” label, saying her family's resources gave her a financial “safety net” while crediting her own songwriting and years of independent groundwork for her signing to Interscope Records.
Abrams opened more than 30 dates on the Eras Tour in 2023 and 2024, co-wrote and performed the song “us.” with Swift on The Secret of Us, and shares a producer, Aaron Dessner, with Swift's folklore and evermore albums.
Rodrigo has said Abrams's 2020 EP Minor directly inspired the song, which became one of the biggest singles of the early 2020s; Rodrigo was reportedly a fan of Abrams's music before the two became Interscope labelmates.
Aaron Dessner of The National has produced or co-produced all three of her studio albums, Good Riddance, The Secret of Us, and Daughter from Hell, working almost exclusively out of his Long Pond Studio in New York's Hudson Valley.
| Year | Title | Type |
|---|---|---|
| 2019 | Mean It | Single |
| 2020 | Minor | EP |
| 2021 | This Is What It Feels Like | EP |
| 2023 | Good Riddance | Studio album |
| 2024 | The Secret of Us | Studio album |
| 2026 | Daughter from Hell | Studio album |
Abrams's catalog sits within a wider Los Angeles confessional-pop lineage that overlaps with Phoebe Bridgers, Olivia Rodrigo and the Aaron Dessner production world that also runs through Taylor Swift's folklore and evermore. Readers researching the LA alt-pop and dark-pop scene more broadly may also be interested in entries on artists such as Isabel LaRosa and The Neighbourhood, who occupy adjacent corners of the same generational pop landscape.