Gracie Abrams Talks Her New Album, 'Love Island,' 'Wicked' & MORE!

it's the new hit list on 102.7 kissfm my name is Kayla and I have the beautiful Gracie Abrams with me hi hi thank you for having me I am so honored to sit next to you same I am a fan like love your music love the album love the songs everything and congratulations on the success of the album like seriously incredible thank you so much thank you for having me no problem one word to describe your life right now what would it be ooh rehearsal mode rehearsal hph mode so just go go go go go nonstop what is that like um it's exciting we leave so soon for tour so it's kind of I feel like the few you know final days at home are always like a funny kind of tornado of um feelings yeah um good ridd just came out in 2023 now you have the secret of us there's so much that you've been doing the AAS tour you're about to embark on your headlining tour uh what would the Gracie four years ago think of everything that you're doing right now I really constantly I feel like I'm pinching myself all the time um it's such a yeah I just feel so lucky that I get to do this and that I've been learning as much as I have in the past couple years you know like the people that I am surrounded by are so kind and generous and talented so I I'm just I feel like a sponge I'm just trying to absorb as much as possible as long as I'm lucky enough to yeah what would you tell that girl who's still wondering oh my gosh like is this going to happen for me oh man I'd probably say like put your phone away like deep in the ocean and like read more really yeah you like to read I do what are your favorite books what kind of book um I'm reading a lot of Marie how poetry these days um she's amazing and uh you know a lot of Mary Oliver all the time kind of these yeah poets who I adore I just got back into reading I like stopped After High School and didn't read throughout college at all no it's so important it's healing yeah it is it's healing to step away from your phone and not scroll on social media I feel like I have social media has just killed my brain yeah and just to like step away from your life and be in the shoes of another person is like yeah and being gross in somebody else's drama not own toally yeah completely um a couple years ago you said that you were taking a leave of absence from school and that you're eventually going to go back but has that changed has that idea changed sense of your life has kind of skyrocketed since then um I hope to return I remember when I leave when I left uh they were like someone came back when she was 80 so like you're good and so my my my plan is to make my way back whenever it's never too late yeah know what was you majoring um I was going for international relations so I would probably resume that really yeah um but you know who knows if I go back when I'm 80 like maybe I'll be interested in something completely radically different the world is your oyster you can do anything you want to do um I I love watching you perform and I can definitely see like the growth over the years how do you feel like your stage presence has changed since like you first started I think it's just like it's such a muscle and it's as a you know formally far more introverted person like being in front of people whether or not you're on a stage like has sometimes sat in a funny way with me and like being perceived at all just can feel biz yeah like I just yeah that's just been the way my brain has operated and so I think like being on stage so much of what has helped my comfortability up there is like obviously the relationship that I have with my band um and also the relationship that I'm lucky enough to have with with the you know people that are generous enough to come to the shows and I feel like I feel like it's been such a two-way street of kind of like the vulnerability and the more that they are themselves the more that I feel like I can be myself you know and um yeah I mean it again it is such a muscle like quite literally like I'm I've been learning how to sing I feel like since I started putting music out because when I started it was you know writing songs just for myself very quietly not to be heard and I think like yeah I'm learning in real time how to best do this you know but but it's been a really sweet few years figuring out like what feels good kind of in my bones I always think it's so interesting when artists are introvert I actually just talked to somebody else who yeah ivw but then you go stage it's like Larger than Life this Ultra ego kind of comes out and being an introvert it's difficult to do interviews it's difficult to people always want to take pictures of you and be all up in your space um how is your relationship with your fans when it comes to being somebody who wants to be private but you kind of can't I think I do feel like I am able to like you know for the most part protect my life and my personal life I think it's like parasocial relationships are a really strange thing that have become so normalized um but can feel like jarring to experience in the moment so I think it's really like I think my honest initial reaction whenever like for example I like meet a stranger um is is is like I just feel touched by their caring at all about what I make um and I've been really lucky to you know nine times out of 10 my experiences have been like respectful and like there've been healthy boundaries so um yeah but it's off it's a it's weird out there for sure it definitely is um your T your songs have been blowing up on Tik Tok oh I don't have the app on my phone so no do you have like Instagram and all those things or do you got rid of all of those have Instagram on my phone um but that's the one why did you choose to get rid of T it's just because you're not interested or is it like oh no I need to like yeah it's just like I feel like there was just enough unsolicited like just if if I don't go out like how do I explain it like I think um I was just seeing like more than I wanted to about myself and I was like ah and also then like even if it's not ever you know about me I think my I don't know our brains are like sort of wired to Doom scroll for hours and I just like anytime I would sit in that I would feel kind of like sick to my stomach after so it's literally just me trying to like take something off my plate you know what I mean no I understand I mean on Tik Tok people be doing think pieces about their favorite artists yeah I mean respect yeah and to hear that about yourself I I couldn't do it either I would have if I were honestly I would have no social media sometimes it's like oh good morning like good morning but not that there's I mean I have million other like ways that I'm letting my brain rot you know so it's okay but well I was going to say I mean there's a lot of people doing Trends to your song even the cast of Love island did something man I saw something like that you did yes did you watch Love Island this season so my best friend and roommate watched uh this season like religiously and I and I did have Tik Tok at the time and I was out of the city while she was watch like if if I had been at home with her I would have been on the couch every single day I feel like I watched the entire show through Clips on Tik Tok so I was like as caught up as she was so it in short yes but um I didn't watch I said didn't sit down and watch every single episode but you know I mean like I said Tik Tok will show you the whole thing everything they need to without have to watch 36 episodes I can't imagine how they must have all felt like coming out of that Villa oh my gosh would you ever go on something like that I would I think I would you would crush you think yeah I don't know you're really good with people you think so thank you immediately yes but I would definitely love to find love in Fiji you kidding me you honestly you should maybe I should oh my God you should people keep telling me I should like you but you actually like really could really don't you think than I think I could I mean whenever think radiant you're like a you're like you would people would be obsessed with you I don't know when I think about reality TV I'm like the judging it goes back to like it's hard I don't know how I see I'm behind the the scenes I'm interviewing you but to be on the spot like that I don't think I could do it a but now now I'm rooting for it oh my gosh but um I saw clip where Leah from love Island said that she meant she like you guys talked or something like that what was that conversation like God she she's just like she just cracks me up like I don't know her at all personally but she had she was posting some of the songs and Audrey who like was like would kill and die for her was so I was like Leah hey she has a funny personality and she does not give a f what people think and that's why I like her that's just like what a beautiful way to live yeah yeah congratul ation on being nominated for MTV VMA Best New Artist how does that feel oh it's so it's so rad and trippy um I yeah it's just a it's an honor to be recognized hly yeah oh my gosh and especially like up against some great other great artists who are you aan who I voted for which I don't know if I'm allowed to say that but who did you vote for uh Chapel oh my gosh she's amazing unbelievable your album is phenomenal The Secret of us is out uh you said this is the most fun you've ever had making music what attributed to that making it with my best friend like Audrey and I wrote most of the songs together um on the album and to do you know it's our we've been friends for so long and storytelling has always been so at the Forefront of our relationship like she's a writer in her own right but we had never written songs together we always like wrote stories growing up or like in college would sit and like go line for line in like some dumb you know story so it was always it was kind of this was just kind of I suppose like a natural progression of the relationship but it made it so much fun because you know how like your best friend can in a great way kind of like enable your most um delusional Behavior sometimes absolutely that in the context of like songw writing was such a joy because we got to kind of create these characters that were based on seeds of truth from our lives but then really like push it and to have each other as like you know just boards to bounce off of and you know we we mostly just kept lyrics uh that made us kind of like giggle in real time we're like that's funny to us um so it was just a real Joy yeah it was lucky I love that for you who was uh an unexpected cheerleader in this process so of course you have your support system like your family and your producers but somebody who really was like the glue and you didn't ever expected it maybe um to be honest uh a so Aaron desar who I I've worked with for the past few years who's dear friend is like family at this point and um he we produce this album together he has kids that um are like the sweetest just like purest children like angels and they live where the studio is and so they'd like run in and out and I would always like I would always just like whenever Ingrid would come in I would always just like watch her face while listening to songs cuz I like sh I was like her taste I trust so I feel like the opinions of the kids that would run in and be like Oh I like that one or like that sound is cool and weird I'd be like okay yes like and kids are brly honest and they'll tell you they my God yeah no completely oh and how old were they uh ingred is 12 now no 13 maybe 12 12 and then Robin's seven or eight and Mimi's like four yeah that's the age where they're very opinionated so getting all yeah so sweet so sweet so your song close to you let's talk about it um real warrs aren't new to this song Why did you decide seven years later I'm finally go and put it out it finally like thematically it fit within the context of this kind of like wistful longing like love story I suppose of the other songs um and energetically just like in production wise I felt like it belonged more in this world and it just felt like the right time finally to revisit it and I'm glad that we did I'm so glad that did yeah me too the music video love it it's so unserious it's given like it's painfully unserious it's given like me with my best friend let's do a music video to my High School Musical song it was cute so why why that why was that the vision we used videoar that app like my whole childhood I feel like we you know Audrey and Abby and I like grow that was Audrey in the video Audrey's in the video and Abby is in the video Abby's my cousin who also like is my favorite artist like photographer she's just got the most amazing eye- which is so funny to like tap into her skills when we're like film us being complete idiots on the floor of our kitchen you know what I mean for this video um but uh it just felt reminiscent of seven years ago like what we would have done if we like had a song come on that we loved I love that so much film it on that app why is this song so special to you and close to your heart man um I think just because of the fact that it wouldn't have ever seen the light of day had I not um had such a supportive and like encouraging uh group of people supporting yeah the music like I think that this is totally out because you know for them and um so it means something to me for that reason I love that yeah well before I let you go this is the new hit list and I want to know more about your personal taste of music so do you have an unexpected taste when it comes the music that you like to listen to for example I love Broadway it's like really all I listen to people would never know that really yeah I mean I love theater so much what's your favorite Broadway show I mean I'm so ready for Wicked that right now that's just like on my mind like crazy but I love like layes is also my favorite those are my top two as well oh my gosh no seriously you have to go on love Island I'm like now like go Wicked is going to be my whole personality when it comes out I know the whole thing front to back back to front like it's going to be crazy also it's two parts isn't it the movie Yes I hate that we have to wait a whole another year I want to not wait right I need all Cynthia Revo and immediately isn't she everything it's crazy her voice we were talking about as Audrey and I were talking about this recently and it's like feel like if like one person on Earth was like put here to sing like if we could pick one person I'd be likee Cynthia Cynthia Cynthia I want to meet her yeah so is that your unexpected taste Broadway or is it something else I mean yeah sure bro I I think like I don't know unexpected I listen to so much classical music when we're touring just because anything that has no vocals like ambient music appeals deeply so like lots of Brian you know know um on my playlists but yeah okay yeah I'm someone who likes to process music to heal from the things that I go through um so is there a song that pulled you out of a dark place or gave you the needed inspiration oh man I mean yeah so much music has done that for me I think um uh pulled me out of a dark place sometimes I feel like I get like I feel I don't know if you feel this way but like I if I'm sad it's not like I'll put on Happy music to try to like lift me out which I have sometimes in that case it's like Robin typically I'll listen to Robin if I'm trying to like get my together but otherwise um like bony ver also like beach baby and weep all right yeah nice um is there an artist or song on your playlist that you think everybody needs to know about that you know maybe they don't know about um underground artist well you might know when I hope I hope everyone knows Muna but um Muna is one of my favorite bands and Katie who's uh a part of Muna just started putting out her own solo stuff the past couple months and it's like I'm obsessed with it like deeply obsessed with it I think it's so brilliant like the writing is so stupid good and like the production is unbelievable and it feels so her and it's like her own lane and I just I'm I yeah the whole album I've been lucky and she like let me listen to it and I just can't wait for everyone to be able to take it into their lives cuz it's it's so so good well everybody check it out yeah check it out Gracie thank you so much for sitting with me you are such a joy I see you on love Island Girl imagine we should just go together let's just do it yeah exactly it's the new hit on kiss