Let’s talk about “sad-girl pop,” music’s most annoying new subgenre.

Over the past five years, “sad-girl pop” has become a catch-all term for singers who combine their confessional songwriting – often steeped in sadness, anxiety and introspection – with sounds of indie rock, folk and more traditional pop. choruses. The hyper-emotional tunes resonate deeply with the artists’ Gen-Z fanbases, who are more than happy to scream, cry and wail along to the torment inflicted by Olivia Rodrigo, Billie Eilish and Phoebe Bridgers.

But wait, don’t many male artists follow the exact same playbook? Yet no one labels Ed Sheeran, Noah Kahan, Justin Bieber or even Drake as ‘sad-boy pop’.

No, “sad-girl-pop” is reserved for women only, to oversimplify and devalue many of the industry’s most evocative, raw, and frequently sensational artists. Fortunately for some, their popularity has broken through such tearful ceilings.

Enter Gracie Abrams, the latest singer-songwriter to break the stereotype and earn respect in mainstream circles. Abrams, 25, has had a whirlwind past 18 months: The Los Angeles-bred star spent much of the spring and summer 2023 opening stadium concerts on Taylor Swift’s world-famous “Eras Tour.” Last fall, she earned a Grammy nomination for Best New Artist. And in June of this year, she released her second LP “The Secret of Us,” which debuted at No. 2 on the Billboard album chart (only behind Swift).

Easily one of my favorites of 2024, the album is a brilliantly biting, bleeding-edge collection of folk-pop, heavily influenced by the tongue-twisting and vibrant lyricism of Swift and Bridgers. Swift herself is featured on one song (the sad belter “Us”) and the album was largely produced by The National’s Aaron Dessner, who has also become known as a frequent Swift collaborator.

Certainly, Abrams being pulled into the Taylor-verse hasn’t exactly hurt her rising stardom. Nor does her status as the daughter of famed film and TV director JJ Abrams.

Though all the “fake baby” dismissals have also been drowned out by Abrams’ immediately sold-out “Secret of Us” tour this fall, which took over three nights at Radio City Music Hall this weekend.

Saturday night was full-blown pop pandemonium at the historic theater, as throngs of teenage and college girls and women flooded the halls and spilled onto 50th Street as the merchandise lines were completely swamped. Most fans wore bows or ribbons in their hair, a nod to Abrams’ previous hairstyle and general appreciation for girlhood and coquettish aesthetics (or so I understand after a few informative TikToks).

Abrams herself wore her hair up, a crop top and a floor-length striped skirt, and she ripped through an hour and 45 minutes of songs with a uniformly deafening response. One advantage of ‘sad-girl-pop’: the sky-high emotional stakes make for exceptionally cathartic live performances. As fans shouted and sang along, many openly wept – one particularly affected young woman sitting in front of me bawled from start to finish and tracked her running mascara via Snapchat photos. Abrams went out of her way to lean into the front row of her audience and hug some of her hysterical fans, comforting them and receiving a bouquet of flowers.

Though most of the singer’s set was spent at the microphone, strumming her acoustic guitar or playing chords on her keyboard, backed by a four-piece band. While her Radio City weekend included her biggest headlining shows yet, Abrams rose to the occasion, with her raspy, pleading vocals as clear and characterful as they were in the studio.

Abrams spoke with conviction as she addressed her audience early on:

“This album surprised me and is the result of feeling really big feelings in a very short time, and that process, through which these songs changed my life,” she said. “You have all changed my life and I am so grateful to say ‘thank you’ to your faces tonight.

“This community has become a place where I have been fortunate to return to find light and joy at a time when I feel that is extremely important,” she continued. “It’s the safe space that I’m more grateful for than you know, and getting a glimpse into your lives is such a privilege. To me this is all very real.”

While every song performed was an all-out sing-along, highlights included an electric rendition of her yearning single “Risk,” the overwhelming despair of “I Love You, I’m Sorry” and the stadium-ready bridge in “I Knew It.” . I Know You”, which shook the theater to its foundations.

Speaking of stadiums, Abrams returns to those monstrous stages later this month, opening the remaining 18 “Eras Tour” shows for Swift in the US. Now that her fanbase is significantly better established (and has better numbers in tow), her experience competing should be more eruptive than last year.

But for now, measly Radio City would have to do. Abrams moved easily around her two-tiered stage, a confident and very present performer who felt spiritually locked in with her fans all night.

She also used her platform to make a political statement, emphasizing the importance of voting and noting: “I believe that true democracy equals freedom, the freedom to control your own body, the freedom to read books that expand your mind, the freedom to love who you love and to care for your neighbor, whether they just got here or have been here forever.

The set ended with “Close to You,” her latest single, which stands out from most of her acoustic songbook as a more uptempo, radio-friendly track with heavier synth and drums.

Her fans jumped, danced and sang in pure elation until the last notes. I didn’t see a sad girl in the building.

Gracie Abrams’ set list

October 5, 2024 — Radio City Music Hall, New York

Encore:

• “us.”
• “Close to you”

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