The Data Behind Gracie Abrams’ The Secret of Us One Year Later

Women in pop music are having a moment and nobody in the manosphere can argue otherwise.  

The trifecta of Sabrina Carpenter, Charli XCX and Chappell Roan dominated the airwaves in 2024 with their own distinct takes on the genre ranging from chaotic electronic to an airy sweetness, and netting each of them Grammys in 2025. Taylor Swift recently ended her nearly 150-show Eras Tour, a behemoth music journey that became the highest grossing tour of all time by bringing in more than $2 billion. And coming off of a critically acclaimed album drop and set at Coachella, Lady Gaga also earned a place in the record books by performing for approximately 2.5 million fans on Copacabana Beach this year, the highest attended concert for a female artist in history.  

It’s good to be a woman in pop.

But with so many juggernauts vying for streams and listens, sometimes the more subtle songstresses can get overlooked by music fans. Case and point: Gracie Abrams who’s had a slower burn than a meteoric rise. But don’t discount her success, because the young artist is racking up her own accolades that are helping her gain notice in the music industry.  

Carving out her niche

A Los Angeles native, 25-year-old Abrams is the daughter of filmmaker J. J. Abrams and film producer Katie McGrath. Naturally, the singer hasn’t been immune to conversations around whether she’s a nepobaby riding on coattails. But unlike some of her contemporaries in entertainment, she’s not afraid to acknowledge that there likely have been advantages.  

“I know how hard I work, and I know how separate I’ve kept [my parents] from every conversation about anything careerwise, but of course you can understand what it looks like from the outside,” Abrams told Rolling Stone.  

Still, she’s been songwriting since the age of eight, although she never quite imagined it would land her performing on stage. By 2019, however, Abrams had signed to Interscope Records, releasing back-to-back EPs in the consecutive two years. Although none of her early songs achieved Billboard Hot 100 status, that didn’t stop her from carving out her own sound and gaining some influential fans.  

As opposed to the in-your-face bangers that Charli and Gaga have released or Carpenter’s pleasant earworms perfectly produced for Top 40 radio, Abrams’ sound veers more toward folk pop. Her songs have an angsty whispering quality that convey the vulnerability in her lyrics, which touch on themes of love and heartbreak. Her musical style matches more with women like Olivia Rodrigo and Taylor Swift, both of whom have praised Abrams’ songwriting skills and invited her to join as an opener on their tours.    

“My favorite writers are the ones where I never have to wonder why they wrote this particular song, because it just feels inherently obvious that they had to—like a confession or a catharsis,” Swift told Rolling Stone. “Sometimes it feels like [Abrams is] on the edge of tears or laughter while she sings, and we’re all just sitting on the floor in a circle listening to the story unfold.”

A Swift bump up the charts

2023 proved to be a breakout year for Abrams. In February of that year, she released her first album, Good Riddance, eventually earning her a Grammy nomination in the coveted Best New Artist category. She also joined Taylor Swift on her Eras Tour, a big leap for somebody who never saw themselves performing for a crowd. And by the end of the year, she finally charted on the Billboard Hot 100, with a feature on a remix of Noah Kahan’s “Everywhere, Everything.”  

Not one to rest on her laurels, Abrams decided to build on that momentum by swiftly following up with a sophomore album in 2024, titled The Secret of Us. Perhaps the exposure from performing in front of Swift’s packed stadiums paid off as this second album finally earned her a string of Hot 100 hits, including a run of nine consecutive weeks between late October and late December with three of her songs simultaneously on the chart.  

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This second album saw her songs “Close to You,” “Risk,” “Us,” and “I Love You, I’m Sorry” jump into the Hot 100. When the deluxe album dropped later that year, “That’s So True” would join the group, becoming both her highest ranked song, peaking at the number six position, and longest reigning hit, lasting 29 weeks on the chart.  

Notably, “Us,” which was a collaboration between Abrams and Swift, earned both women a nomination for the Grammy Award for Best Pop Duo/Group Performance. This shouldn’t have come as a shock as Swift’s involvement in an collaboration can frequently earn her singing partners a taste of success on the charts or at awards shows.  

Shining bright without burning out

Abrams isn’t done yet. In fact, she most recently earned her seventh Billboard Hot 100 hit for “Call Me When You Break Up,” another collaboration with Selena Gomez and Benny Blanco.  

If her win for Songwriter of the Year at Billboard’s 2025 Women in Music event is any indication, the music industry sees a bright future ahead for the young talent. So rather than comparing herself to the shooting stars, perhaps embracing her steadily increasing shine is the way to make sure she has a career that lasts.