Taylor Swift, Gracie Abrams. Gotham/GC Images
Gracie Abrams was a self-proclaimed Swiftie before she actually became friends with Taylor Swift.
“Every formative memory in my life is paired with a Taylor Swift song that helped me get through,” Abrams told Vanity Fair in a July 2023 profile. “My boyfriend the other day did the thing where we shuffled her discography and played a song for one second. … I got them all.”
Shortly before they met, Abrams got a call from an unknown number inviting her to Swift’s birthday party. She immediately called a mutual producer to confirm the digits belonged to Swift before replying in an effort to avoid getting her hopes up if it wasn’t the pop star.
Swift then invited Abrams to be one of the opening acts on her Eras Tour, the three-hour concert covering all of her past albums.
“[It was] the best experience of my life,” Abrams gushed of the concerts during a December 2023 interview with 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.”
Keep scrolling to revisit Swift and Abrams’ complete friendship timeline:
November 2022
Swift announced that she was going on tour for the first time in four years, noting via Instagram that she was “enchanted” to share that Abrams was among her opening acts.
April 2023
Abrams made her Eras Tour debut in Houston, performing a selection of her biggest hits.
July 2023
During Swift’s Cincinnati Eras residency, Abrams’ set was canceled due to inclement weather. Swift, who took the stage earlier than usual, then invited Abrams and Aaron Dessner on stage for a special performance of “Ivy.”
“She’s one of my favorite friends and I love her so much. We haven’t sung together before, so I wanted to bring Gracie out on stage,” Swift gushed during the show, noting Abrams’ “I Miss You, I’m Sorry” is one of her favorite songs.
“I have no words, actually,” Abrams replied.
November 2023
Shortly after the first U.S. leg of the Eras Tour concluded, Swift invited Abrams to dinner in NYC. They were photographed walking in the Lower East Side on November 13.
Later that month, Abrams confirmed that she would join Swift for her 2024 concerts in Canada.
December 2023
“Happy birthday I love you so much I’m always on the floor about it,” Abrams wrote via Instagram on Swift’s 34th birthday, sharing a selfie snapped by the 12-time Grammy winner.
May 2024
Abrams reflected on her Eras Tour experience during an appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.
“It’s a real master class to watch her do what she does,” the singer told host Jimmy Fallon. “I felt like I was at college for this job. I watched every single one of her shows that I was lucky enough to open. I watched from every place possible in each stadium, just trying to pick up on how she’s able to do what she does.”
Days later, Abrams announced the tracklist of her upcoming The Secret of Us album, which revealed a song titled “Us” featuring Swift.
June 2024
In an interview with Billboard, Abrams recalled watching Swift put out a fire in her NYC apartment while hanging out together. The cause of the fire was a candle that the duo both heard fall over, though Swift assumed the sound was made by one of her cats.
“She was such a legend — I don’t know how at this hour or in our state she knew what to do,” she shared. “We both had an insane cough from the fire extinguisher fumes for weeks.”
The night also included working on the song “Us” from Abrams’ album The Secret of Us and Swift playing songs from her record The Tortured Poets Department. Abrams revealed that viral photos of herself lying on the floor while Swift gave a thumbs up were taken after she first listened to the TTPD track “The Smallest Man Who Ever Lived.”
Days after “Us.” came out, Swift invited Abrams to perform it live during her London Eras Tour show at Wembley Stadium.
November 2024
Taylor Swift, Gracie Abrams. TAS2024/Getty Images
“Us.” received a 2024 Grammy nomination in the Best Pop Duo/Group Performance category. To celebrate, the two singers performed the track in a mash-up with “Out of the Woods” during the November 16 Eras Tour stop in Toronto.
“You can’t even imagine, like, the phone call between the two of us when the nominations came out and we saw that song was nominated,” Swift recalled. “It was just screeching. It wasn’t even words, it was just feral screeching for the entire call.”
