Gracie Abrams' Rise to Fame and TikTok's Effect
How TikTok effects the charts? Is Gracie Abrams an example for this?
Releasing new music every year since 2020, accompanying Olivia Rodrigo on her Sour Tour as a supporting act, opening for Taylor Swift on The Eras Tour, and having her songs constantly go viral on TikTok and rise on the charts, Gracie Abrams is about to become one of the most famous indie-pop singers in this generation.
Gracie Abrams was born on September 7, 1999, in Los Angeles. She was considered a nepo baby* since her father is the famous director and composer J. J. Abrams. At the same time, her mother, Katie McGrath, is a well-known film and television producer. Gracie Abrams has been releasing music for the past 5 years; she released her first single Mean It in 2019, her first EP called Minor in 2020, then released another EP called This Is What It Feels Like in 2022, her first album Good Riddance came in 2023, and lastly, her most famous album The Secret of Us was released in 2024. Abrams has been making music for a long time, but her rise was possible with the release of The Secret of Us.
She had a decent fanbase after her songs like Mess It Up, I miss you, I'm sorry, I know it won't work, did well on Spotify. However, it is safe to say that after The Secret of Us, she became undeniably a well-known figure. Close to You, Risk, I Love You, I'm Sorry, and That's Not True became viral on TikTok. She currently has 43 million monthly listeners on Spotify. She was nominated for Artist of the Year at the 2024 Grammies, and her song Us with Taylor Swift was nominated for Best Pop Duo/Group Performance in the 2025 Grammies.
“Gracie’s personal music catalog, which has remained honest and articulated complicated emotions, has obscured her ‘nepo baby’ label, proving her status as an emerging superstar.” - Prestige
To me, it seems like Gracie Abrams is becoming even more known and successful as she releases new music, and she might get rid of the nepo baby title. However, what makes her rise to fame interesting to me is the effect of the social media platform TikTok.
TikTok, a platform where people can upload 15-second to 10-minute videos, impacts popular culture and the music industry more than one might realize. Abrams' success has been building up since 2020, but I think it is safe to say her songs going viral on TikTok was one of the biggest steps for her to be successful. That's So True right now is a viral trend song on TikTok, having more than 300k videos with it. I Love You, I'm Sorry has 239,4k videos with it. I have been following Abrams' music since 2022, and seeing her rise to fame after the That's So True trend was interesting to see.
There have been arguments about TikTok's positive and negative effects on the music industry. American singer Halsey, for example, confessed that labels have started to put pressure on artists to use platforms like TikTok more, even encouraging artists to make songs that might go viral on TikTok.
“I have a song that I love that I wanna release ASAP but my record label won’t let me,” “I’ve been in this industry for eight years … and my record company is saying that I can’t release it unless they can fake a viral moment on TikTok.” - Halsey
Labels are aware that the charting songs are usually the ones that are viral on TikTok, so it is not surprising that they are trying to use the platform as a way to make their artists gain popularity.
It is debatable whether tiktokification of music is completely bad or good for the industry. On one side, there are artists like Halsey who have been in the industry before TikTok and are forced to face the fact that the platform has changed how the industry works. There are also many artists who want to make their music but have the pressure to make songs that might go viral on TikTok (usually short songs with basic lyrics). It is also highly debatable that a viral song can have a lasting effect. Not every artist who has a viral song on TikTok might stay successful.
On the other side, artists like Tyla, Doja Cat, and Olivia Rodrigo stay relevant even after their TikTok success. TikTok continues to give the music industry a lot of new good artists.
As for Grace Abrams, whose songs keep going viral on TikTok, I am excited to see her future. She caught great success with her last album, and I believe it will be interesting to see if she can be another artist that stays relevant after the TikTok success.
References
https://www.cardinalandcream.info/2024/music-monday-gracie-abrams-rising-fame-is-no-secret/
https://lwhspress.com/5157/culture/music-entertainment/gracie-abrams-her-success-story/
https://www.theguardian.com/music/2024/mar/01/music-industry-reliance-tiktok-universal-music-group
https://www.miamistudent.net/article/2023/11/tiktok-effect-on-popular-music
https://www.newwavemagazine.com/single-post/how-tiktok-is-influencing-the-music-industry