Singer-songwriter Gracie Abrams released her debut album, Good Riddance, February 24, 2023, beginning the North American leg of her headlining tour shortly after.
After having enough time to listen and relisten to the album a million times and see it live in Charlotte, North Carolina, I finally feel confident in my ability to choose my four favorites. The album, consisting of 12 tracks, showcases her unique and emotional vocals complimented by her honest and raw ability to tell a story with her lyrics, and translates even better in a live performance.
“I know it won’t work”
I have been absolutely obsessed with this song since it came out. Every time I hear the chorus I can’t help but scream the lyrics out and get really into it. A live performance of this song on Jimmy Kimmel went a little viral (at least on my TikTok For You Page), with hundreds of fans saying how excited they are to hear the song live when Abrams opens for Taylor Swift’s long awaited Eras Tour. After seeing the song live in Charlotte I appreciate the song even more than I did from the start and cannot wait to hear it live again.
“Full machine”
“Full machine” took some time to grow on me, but now it’s one of my favorites. At her March 22, 2023 show at The Fillmore in Charlotte, Abrams said it was her favorite on the album as well. The band on tour with her sounded absolutely phenomenal during this track, as well as the guitar that Gracie was playing herself. The lighting and smoke effects made for super cool photos and videos during this track.
“I should hate you”
“I should hate you” was cemented as one of my favorites as soon as I heard the bridge. The audience’s reaction to the bridge was insane, and in all honesty was not what I expected. I wish I could say I remember this performance but I honestly don’t, I got really into it and even have a video of me screaming over the music from the concert to prove it.
“Right now”
I was absolutely obsessed with this song upon first listen. The lyrics felt like exactly what I needed at the time, which is how I feel with most of Abrams’ lyrics. While it may not be something that you can listen to all of the time, it definitely makes my top five on Good Riddance. “Right now” is the final song Abrams performs at her Good Riddance tour, leaving attendees emotional yet with a feeling of satisfaction as the song feels like a sigh of relief.
Some of my other favorites that Gracie performed that are not from Good Riddance are “21,” “Rockland,” “Feels Like,” and “Camden.” These are some of my favorite songs and they sounded so much better live. The crowd’s reaction during “21” was something I’ll never forget, hearing the crowd scream back “sorry” to Abrams after the lyric “I made a mistake and I’ll tell you I’m sorry,” was electric and like nothing I’ve seen before. The show was lots of fun and something I would love to experience again soon. If Gracie Abrams is opening for your Taylor Swift concert you are sure in for a great performance.