Gracie Abrams is a Grammy-nominated singer and the daughter of filmmaker J.J. Abrams and television producer Katie McGrath.
The artist has found success among Gen Z and has performed as the opening act for Olivia Rodrigo’s Sour Tour and Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour.
Although some may call Gracie a “nepo baby,” Interscope CEO John Janick shuts down the idea that her Hollywood ties played a part in being signed to the label.
“She’s done this on her own without taking any of the shortcuts,” Janick told Billboard in an interview, noting he still hasn’t met Gracie’s parents. “It was purely signing her based on how she was as a person and a songwriter. That’s what we were interested in.”
Gracie signed with Interscope in 2019 and has ascended in the music ranks since releasing her debut EP, Minor, in 2020, followed by This Is What It Feels Like in 2021. In 2023, Gracie released her first studio album, titled Good Riddance, and followed it up with a second album, titled The Secret of Us, in 2024.
Janick acknowledges that Gracia is having “her big breakout moment,” and noted that there “was no skipping of steps or taking shortcuts,” adding, “She never wanted to rush anything — she really cared and wanted to make sure people heard her music in the right way and really connected with it. We’re all just trying to figure out how to continue to make the train move.”
As Gracie continues to gain more recognition, so do trolls on social media, which the singer tries to ignore as much as possible.
“I can know that 10 people a day are having that conversation on Twitter — that’s cool for them,” she says. “I’m just going to mind my own business, really. I feel like any time I’ve slipped into paying too much attention to that, I’m less present in my life, I’m less available for people I know and love. It’s not good for me as a person, it’s not good for the art that I want to make. It’s boring as hell.”
