Gracie Abrams revealed what song left her sobbing on the floor after an early trip to The Tortured Poets Department.
In December, Abrams, 24, posted selfies via Instagram taken by Taylor Swift to celebrate Swift’s 34th birthday. With a smiley Swift giving a thumbs up in the foreground, Abrams can be seen in the background laying on the ground with her hands covering her eyes.
Abrams captioned the photos: “Happy birthday I love you so much I’m always on the floor about it.”
According to a Tuesday, June 18 profile in Billboard, the pictures were snapped right after Abrams heard Swift’s “The Smallest Man Who Ever Lived” for the first time. The song is featured on Swift’s latest album, The Tortured Poets Department, which was released in April.
Abrams opened for Swift on the first North American leg of her massive Eras Tour last year, and will return to the road with Swift for the tour’s final North American dates — and final dates, period — in November.
She even secured Swift’s services for a collaboration on a song called “Us,” featured on Abrams’ second studio album The Secret of Us, which drops Friday, June 21.
The song is produced by The National co-founder — and frequent Swift collaborator — Aaron Dessner.
“Something caught our ear at the same time very hard and fast,” Abrams told Billboard about working with Dessner, 48. “So we ran to the piano and started writing this song.”
Abrams added, “I used to fantasize about that kind of a thing as a kid.”
Dessner further explained how much he enjoyed seeing Abrams and Swift work together and how, ultimately, Swift took on the role of mentor during the recording process.
“It was just really fun to watch the chemistry of Gracie and Taylor bouncing off each other,” Dessner told Billboard. “Gracie in total wonder and awe watching how Taylor records and produces her vocal performances and builds the world.”
Dessner gushed that the song managed to pull everything from Abrams’ album “into focus in a beautiful way.”
The album, Abrams explained — which also features the singles “Risk” and “Close to You” — allowed her to be more carefree and experimental than ever before.
“We just had a good time realizing that we can make things that sound totally different,” Abrams adds. “It was permission, this album, to try whatever the f–k we want.”
