Gracie Abrams dives into a river of broken hearts

Heartbreak pays off. Gracie Abrams, the rising star of confessional pop, turns diary entries into anthems. Fresh off a hit with 'That’s So True', she’s bringing her deeply personal songs to Brussels this Friday.

“Joni Mitchell is my North Star songwriter,” said Gracie Abrams on TikTok. The American pop star even has “River” tattooed on her arm, a nod to the Canadian artist's song of the same name.

“River” is one of the standout tracks on Blue, the classic 1971 break-up album where Joni Mitchell laid bare her innermost thoughts about a failed relationship. Abrams does precisely the same on Good Riddance and The Secret of Us, her two albums to date: sharing feelings as if they were plucked straight from her diary. It's no wonder Abrams is being hailed as the patron saint of the break-up song. This kind of emotional vulnerability, simultaneously exuding strength, is selling like hot cakes these days – just look at Taylor Swift and Olivia Rodrigo, two superstars whose tours Abrams has already supported.

With “That's So True”, Abrams scored a huge hit, and with her now somewhat more amplified songs, she's filling arenas in her own right. She's coming to Brussels in February, and this summer she'll be making an appearance at Rock Werchter. As for that heartbreak, everything seems to be alright – Abrams is now in a relationship with Irish actor and current heart-throb Paul Mescal, known from Normal People and Gladiator II. Thumbs up!