Rising singer-songwriter Gracie Abrams is on the brink of a significant milestone in her career. The 23-year-old Californian is poised to claim her first No. 1 album on the Official U.K. Albums Chart with her sophomore studio effort, “The Secret of Us.” Midweek sales and streaming figures from the Official Charts Company indicate that Abrams’ heartfelt and introspective songs are resonating strongly with U.K. fans, putting her in prime position to clinch the top spot.
Abrams is currently outpacing her closest rival, Taylor Swift, by a margin of more than 2:1. Interestingly, Swift features on the album’s track “Us,” adding a layer of star power to the project. “The Secret of Us” follows Abrams’ debut LP, “Good Riddance,” which peaked at No. 3 last year. The new album was preceded by the single “Close To You,” which recently became Abrams’ first U.K. Top 40 hit, reaching No. 35.
Amid the release of her collaborative track with Taylor Swift on June 21, Abrams took to Instagram to share a video of the duo playfully creating their song. She described the evening as “some of the most fun I’ve ever had in my life.” The video also included a clip of Swift extinguishing an apartment fire, with Abrams humorously noting, “Now we know how to use a fire extinguisher. I love you.”
As Swift wraps up a three-night stint at London’s Wembley Stadium on her The Eras Tour, several of her former chart-topping albums are also present in the U.K. top 40 midweek. This includes “The Tortured Poets Department,” “Lover,” “1989 (Taylor’s Version),” “reputation,” “Midnights,” “folklore,” and “Red (Taylor’s Version).”
Other notable appearances on the chart include The Mysterines’ second album “Afraid of Tomorrows,” which is eyeing a No. 3 debut. Charli XCX’s “BRAT” is looking to log a third consecutive week inside the top 5, and Chappell Roan’s “The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess” is potentially reaching a new peak inside the top 10, at No. 8.
Outside the Top 10, Avril Lavigne’s “Greatest Hits” is on track for a top 20 debut, Ed Sheeran’s “X” could re-enter the chart thanks to a 10th-anniversary reissue, and Jethro Tull’s “Bursting Out” is predicted to become their 26th U.K. top 40 album. Joe Bonamassa’s “Live At The Hollywood Bowl With Orchestra” could become his 17th top 40 collection, Kate Nash’s “9 Sad Symphonies” approaches her highest-charting LP in 14 years, and The Story So Far are expected to enter with “I Want To Disappear.”
The Official U.K. Albums Chart will be published late Friday, June 28, revealing whether Abrams secures her first No. 1 album.
“The Secret of Us” is a significant step forward for Abrams, showcasing her growth as an artist. The album is sharper, hookier, and more extroverted than her previous work, with light synths and the occasional ghost of a dance beat injecting newfound adrenaline into its DNA. This evolution is best exemplified by her single “Close to You,” which dropped earlier this month and is already shaping up to be her splashiest hit yet.
Abrams hadn’t set out to write a new album so quickly after her debut record “Good Riddance” dropped in February 2023, peaking at No. 52 on the Billboard 200. However, the songs kept coming to her intuitively, many of them about unrequited love so strong it “felt like a sickness,” she says.
The album also features contributions from Abrams’ best friend since she was 10, Audrey Hobert. The tracks co-penned by Hobert mark her first foray into songwriting, allowing Abrams to be more vulnerable than she ever could’ve been with any other collaborator. Hobert even stars as a main character in the bittersweet lyrics to “Good Luck Charlie,” a song about observing a relationship end between two friends and “having a lot of love for both people.”
After hitting the road with Swift, Abrams realized she was ready to perform music that commanded more presence in the stadiums she was warming up. This realization is reflected in her vocal performance on “The Secret of Us,” where she belts out more powerfully than ever before, as teased in the lead single “Risk,” which dropped on May 1.
Despite her rising star and the exposure from Swift’s Eras Tour, Abrams remains humble about her vocal abilities. “There are vocalists that are worth calling out [for their skills], and that’s not me,” she admits. “I love to sing so f—king much because I love to sing things that I write. It’s an extension of the writing for me, so I’m always trying to improve upon that skill. But I wouldn’t lead with ‘I’m a singer.’ I’d say, ‘I’m a writer.’”
Abrams and Dessner are already working on her next project, though they don’t know what it will be yet. For now, “The Secret of Us” feels fully evocative of her current state of mind, as opposed to past works that felt like “revisiting old wounds” to perform live.
If “The Secret of Us” makes as big a statement as Abrams and her team hope it does, then the top is definitely in reach. Since she first spoke to Billboard less than a year and a half ago, Abrams has nearly doubled her Spotify listener count, picked up her first Grammy nomination, and held her own on the biggest tour of all time.
On a more personal front, Abrams says she’s more self-assured as a person and artist than she’s ever been before. “I just know that I trust myself solo,” she says. “This album has meant so much to me because it has supported me through a period of transitions. I’ve learned about how I like to spend my time, about what works for me or doesn’t in relationships, about how having friends is ultimately the priority for me.”
As Abrams continues to learn and grow, fans eagerly await what she will create next. For now, “The Secret of Us” stands as a testament to her evolving artistry and the deep connection she shares with her audience.
Source: Billboard
