It started as a nerdy conversation about music over a long, boozy dinner. Then, before she knew it, singer-songwriter Gracie Abrams was at a piano with Taylor Swift until 5 a.m.
The result is the duet “Us,” track five on Abrams’s highly anticipated sophomore album, out today. The song serves as a bona fide vote of confidence from Swift for the 24-year-old: While no stranger to collaboration, Swift has seldom featured on artists’ projects during her career, with Tim McGraw and Ed Sheeran among the rare exceptions. Yet her friendship with Abrams has deep roots by now.
Not only did she open for Swift early in ’s monumental run last year, but Abrams will also be the tour’s final opening act when it wraps up in Canada this December. And their allegiance makes good sense: Much like Swift, Abrams is a songwriter first. She started picking out songs about the adolescent experience—first on piano, then guitar—as a kid before perfecting what has become her calling card, candid songs about love, heartbreak, and insecurity.
Now, two albums later, she’s picked up a Grammy nomination for best new artist, made a buzzy Met Gala appearance, and released “Close to You,” the biggest single debut of her career so far. Her star was on the rise before Eras, and will keep on rising after it—but it certainly doesn’t hurt to have the biggest artist on earth in her corner. My third grade teacher Amy, who I adored, encouraged us to journal and got us these tiny, little palm-si.
