A Timeline Of Gracie Abrams And Taylor Swift's Friendship | ELLE (2024)

It’s fair to say that most Swifties dream of making the elusive transition from fan to actual friend of Taylor Swift. Well for Gracie Abrams, that dream became a reality.

The 24-year-old-singer counts Swift as a friend and mentor, having even served as an opening act for the hottest concert of the year: The Eras Tour.

Now, she’s gearing up to release her latest single, ‘Us,’ which Swift actually collaborated on. So in honour of the release of what will likely be our new favourite song, we’re taking a deep dive into this cute duo’s friendship.

December 2021: Taylor Swift Invited Gracie Abrams To Her Birthday Party

Gracie Abrams’ and Taylor Swift’s first meeting sounds like it was pulled straight from the pages of a fanfic. Speaking to Vanity Fair, Abrams revealed that Swift first contacted her via an unknown number, to invite her to her birthday party. Naturally, Abrams verified the details with a mutual producer before allowing herself to truly get her hopes up. She recalled asking, “Can you confirm something for me, or is there someone just trying to break my heart?”

Abrams confirmed the story in a separate interview with Billboard, saying, “She texted me out of the blue like two Christmases ago. Like, ‘hey, it’s my birthday.’ I was like, ‘I know.’”

April 2023: Gracie Abrams Opened For Taylor Swift At The Eras Tour

Fast forward nearly two years, and Abrams scored a coveted spot as the opening act for the North American leg of Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour.

“[It was] the best experience of my life,” the singer told Variety. “To have that become a part of my weekly routine for four months straight has bled into kind of all ways of my life, not just how joyful I feel internally, but the songs that we’ve been making.”

July 2023: Taylor Swift Invited Gracie Abrams To Perform On Stage With Her

Three months into her stint with the Eras Tour, Abrams’ opening set was cancelled due to poor weather. But Swift, ever the supportive artist, made sure that Abrams still had a chance to perform that night, inviting her onstage for a duet rendition of her hit song, ‘I miss you, i’m sorry.’

November 2023: Gracie Abrams And Taylor Swift Have Dinner In NYC

Proving their friendship was deeper than just professional, the duo were spotted grabbing dinner in New York’s Lower East Side, shortly after the North American stint of the Eras Tour concluded.

May 2024: Taylor Swift Is Revealed As A Collaborator On Gracie Abram’s New Album

Abrams announced the tracklist of her upcoming The Secret of Us album, which revealed a song titled “Us” featuring Swift.

June 2024: Gracie Abrams Recalls Taylor Swift Putting Out A Fire During Songwriting Session

After what feels like an age of waiting, the release of ‘Us’ is finally on the way. To commemorate the occasion, Abrams shared exactly how collaborating with Swift went — including a very ‘fiery’ turn of events.

The duo had been spending the evening sharing dinner and wine, and previewing their upcoming albums to each other (The Tortured Poets Department and The Secret Of Us).

“Something caught our ear at the same time very hard and fast,” Abrams told Billboard. “So we ran to the piano and started writing this song … I used to fantasize about that kind of a thing as a kid.”

Midway through the drunken song-writing session, Abrams described hearing a thump in Swift’s Tribecca apartment, which Swift assured her was “one of her cats thumping around.” But later that evening, they discovered the sound had actually been a candle falling over, and Swift’s kitchen island bench was currently up in flames. Luckily, a fast-thinking Swift grabbed a fire extinguisher before any real damage could be done. “I don’t know how at this hour or in our state she knew what to do,” Abrams laughed in the interview.