New Romantic

It’s easy to see why Abrams connects so strongly with her fans. Her lyrics are storied and wise, but with an effervescent sound that feels nostalgic. “I had a big crush,” she shares of writing Risk. “I had covid, I was sick at home, and I felt crazy. Every day was a fever dream, not only because I was sick, but because I was so into this person. It was one of those baffling feelings where I was aware of the absurdity of how intense it felt in the moment. I knew it wasn’t based in reality and that it was just my imagination.”

The single, co-written with her childhood friend and roommate Audrey Hobert, was the first song they penned for the album and became their North Star. It’s a song that feels like spilling your heart out to girlfriends after a whirlwind night, talking about unrequited love, those chaotic and hopeful butterflies, and the highs and lows of being in your twenties. “Audrey and I were living together, so we would wake up and sit outside with the guitar, writing the song in the middle of our conversations,” says Abrams. “It’s a wistful song, but also embarrassing and universal. Songwriting is often so embarrassing in the moment, but I love it more than anything. I felt grateful this time around for having a partner in it who I trust so much with my life. Laughing off a bad lyric is easy with your best friend.”

Two of the most anticipated moments on the album are track five, which is a duet featuring Swift titled us, and the long-awaited Close To You – a song that Abrams posted a clip of back in 2017 and that fans have since clamored for the release of. “The response was pretty immediate and long-lasting. It’s the song that I’ve gotten the most messages about. It was so not the direction that I felt comfortable leaning into at the time, and it never felt like it had a place – until this album.”

Abrams grew up in Los Angeles and started writing when she was eight years old. Her childhood home was filled with instruments and creativity; after all, her parents are J.J. Abrams – the acclaimed filmmaker and director behind shows such as Lost and Alias, and director of some of the Star Wars movies – and Katie McGrath, a former political aide and now social activist and co-CEO (alongside her husband) of production company Bad Robot.

When Abrams was in the third grade at school, her teacher instructed the class to start journaling daily, and it became a habit for the future singer, who turned to the piano to develop her journaling into songs, self-recording them in her bedroom, and writing music with friends in their parents’ attics. “I’ve been very lucky to have access to therapy throughout my life,” says Abrams. “Journaling feels similar to when I go just long enough without talking to a therapist, where I sit down and dump all the recent events in my life. It’s been a really important tool in my songwriting because there are lots of throwaway lines that feel unimportant when I’m journaling, but then later end up being the centerpiece for a song.”

In 2018, Abrams moved to New York to study International Relations at Barnard College, but she left after her freshman year to pursue music. After signing with Interscope Records in 2019, she debuted as a promising, compelling singer-songwriter, quickly catching the ears of Swift and Olivia Rodrigo, both of whom she later opened for on their sold-out stadium tours. Abrams says that joining Swift for the US leg of the blockbuster Eras Tour has been an absolute masterclass. “It’s truly unlike anything you’ll see. I watched every single one of her shows that I was lucky enough to open for, from every possible place in the stadium.

“[Taylor]’s such an unbelievable artist, friend, and mentor. She is one of the reasons why I stuck with writing daily,” Abrams continues. “She makes these albums while she’s on the road – she never stops. Now I start to feel like shit when I don’t do it. It’s like eating well, getting enough sleep, and drinking enough. Writing, for me, is something that helps my brain stay at a baseline calm that is required for me to function at the highest possible level in all the other areas.”

In January of this year, Abrams received her first Grammy nomination for her debut album, Good Riddance. “I was so not expecting it. I have to take everything with a grain of salt. But there was something that ended up feeling so much more sincere, genuine and supportive in the room that night,” she says of the ceremony, which she took her mom to as her date. “I think what was so emotional for me throughout the process, [and] sitting at the table with my fellow nominees, [was that] I got to see and know them all up close, outside of what I already admired so deeply about their music. I fell in love with all of them as people. Everyone was so deserving, and I just felt lucky to sit and scream for them when their names were called out.”

The awards ceremony itself was filled with musical greats, from Tracy Chapman to Joni Mitchell, the latter of whom Abrams credits with being her biggest inspiration. “The women in the music industry who have come before me have done so much work to pave the way, so that we can now feel comfortable to show up as ourselves,” says Abrams. “The kind of freedom and safety that I feel personally is solely because they have created space for us now – not just to have a voice in our business, but to have a voice in our songwriting as well.”

At her PORTER cover shoot, photographed at New York’s iconic Hotel Chelsea – a place steeped in music history having hosted the likes of Patti Smith, Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix and Leonard Cohen – Abrams says she felt more in her skin than ever. “The clothes felt super 1990s [and] the way we shot it captured my personality. It felt similar to the way that I love to produce music, letting the vocals and the story carry the song, while everything else is just supporting. I loved this shoot because I just felt like I was myself.”

Abrams is currently in the process of costuming her upcoming tour, an era that she says will feature much more color. Fashion has always served as a point of inspiration, and she’s enjoying figuring out her style. “Most of the songs on the album were written in sweats,” she smiles. “I want to be in clothes where I feel as in my skin as possible. I’m 24 and have been touring for the past three years. It’s a weird thing to be on stage when you’re changing all the time, but I’ve had a lot of fun figuring out what feels the most like me.”

With all that she’s accomplished before the age of 25, what does Abrams have her sights set on next? Her own upcoming tour is a true “bucket-list moment,” she says. “Everything that I get to experience through this job feels like I’m in some kind of simulation.”

“Also on my bucket list is being more consistent with meditation, so that I can be as present as possible for it all. Everyone’s attention spans are two seconds’ long and things can change overnight. I don’t know how long I’ll have the opportunity to be in these rooms and play these shows. I just want to try to soak it all up for as long as possible.”

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