{"id":832408,"date":"2026-07-28T23:17:13","date_gmt":"2026-07-28T23:17:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/832408\/"},"modified":"2026-07-28T23:17:13","modified_gmt":"2026-07-28T23:17:13","slug":"gracie-abrams-daughter-from-hell-questions-about-its-no-1-debut","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/832408\/","title":{"rendered":"Gracie Abrams’ ‘Daughter From Hell’ Questions About Its No. 1 Debut"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n\tGracie Abrams<\/a>\u2018 2024 album The Secret of Us established her as a rising star, spawning a trio of top 50 Hot 100 hits (and a fourth with the top 10-peaking \u201cThat\u2019s So True\u201d off its deluxe reissue) and peaking at No. 2 on the Billboard 200<\/a>. This week, the singer-songwriter does that album one better with its successor, the now-chart-topping Daughter From Hell.<\/p>\n

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See latest videos, charts and news<\/p>\n

\n\tDaughter enters atop the Billboard 200 (dated Aug. 1) with 124,000 units moved in its first week, the majority of that coming from direct album sales. Meanwhile, the album charts four songs on the Billboard Hot 100<\/a>, led by the advance single \u201cHit the Wall,\u201d which reaches a new peak of No. 26.<\/p>\n

\n\tDo these first-week returns confirm Abrams as a top-flight superstar? And does that \u201cDaughter From Hell\u201d title really fit the album we got? Billboard staffers answer these questions and more below. <\/p>\n

\n\t1.\u00a0Daughter From Hell debuts atop the Billboard 200 with 124,000 first-week units. On a scale from 1-10, how excited do you think Gracie Abrams and her team should be with those\u00a0initial\u00a0returns? <\/p>\n

\n\tHannah Dailey: Definitely a\u00a010! Those are solid sales numbers, and\u00a0it\u2019s\u00a0always worth celebrating when an artist gets their first No. 1 album.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\tLyndsey Havens: 10, for sure. I love when an artist\u2019s discography charts a clear line up \u2014 especially when it leads to the top spot \u2014 and that\u2019s exactly what has happened for Gracie. After her debut album entered the Billboard 200 at No.\u00a052, her breakout set,\u00a0The Secret of Us,\u00a0reached No. 2 and now her third album has hit the chart\u2019s peak. And that climb happened in just three years between albums. Team Gracie should absolutely be celebrating this one.<\/p>\n

\n\tDanielle Pascual: A\u00a0good 9. After being one spot shy of the top spot with\u00a0The\u00a0Secret Of Us\u00a0it took just one more full-length to reach No. 1. Gracie didn\u2019t just surpass her previous album\u2019s first-week total by a landslide, when you look at it alongside the rest of 2026\u2019s No. 1 debuts, she\u2019s only 10,000 units behind Madonna\u2019s landmark\u00a0Confessions\u00a0II.\u00a0Could that be a telling sign that she\u2019s on track for pop superstardom? I\u2019d like to hope so.<\/p>\n

\n\tAndrew Unterberger: I\u2019d say a 7. Given the incredible past couple years that Gracie Abrams has enjoyed career trajectory-wise, I\u2019d say anything less than a six-figure No. 1 debut could have been considered a disappointment. She didn\u2019t wildly outperform expectations \u2014\u00a0like, say, her singer-songwriter buddies Noah Kahan and Olivia Rodrigo did with their respective 2026 albums \u2014\u00a0 but she did clear those benchmarks fairly easily, so she should still be pretty happy.<\/p>\n

\n\tSophie Williams: I\u2019d say a solid 8. It\u2019s fantastic to see Gracie finally hit the summit and the first-week units are impressive for an artist who is transitioning from being something of a cult favourite into crossing over to the mainstream. It feels like the culmination of a few years of genuine momentum, and while there\u2019s always room to dream even bigger commercially, this feels like the sort of debut that validates the long-game approach she\u2019s taken.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

\n\t2.\u00a0Daughter\u00a0is Abrams\u2019 first No. 1 album, besting her\u00a0previous\u00a0No. 2 peak with 2024 predecessor\u00a0The Secret of Us. Is that new No. 1 peak more about the album itself, or about Abrams\u2019 overall momentum as a hitmaker?\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\tHannah Dailey: I would\u00a0definitely say\u00a0the latter. The album itself is less pop-leaning than\u00a0The Secret of Us\u00a0was,\u00a0and none of the new songs really sound\u00a0destined for\u00a0cultural\u00a0dominance,\u00a0making it unsurprising\u00a0that\u00a0none of them\u00a0have hugely taken off on the charts\u00a0so far.\u00a0So\u00a0it\u2019s\u00a0cool to see that regardless of that, fans are still rallying around it as a body of work.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\tLyndsey Havens: I think it\u2019s very much both working together, which is about as ideal a situation as a still-rising artist could want in my opinion. There is, of course, something to be said about a fanbase that will stream and buy and listen on repeat simply because they love their favorite artist and want to sustain the momentum they are having. There is also something to be said for the fan who comes out of curiosity, but stays because the album is packed with quick-witted, slicing lyrics and gorgeous production at parts. I think opening week was such a smash for Gracie because this album satiates both.<\/p>\n

\n\tDanielle Pascual: 100% the latter. Since opening for Taylor Swift\u2019s Eras Tour, Gracie has only gone upwards. I really enjoy the new album, too, but I think the commercial success of this project is moreso a testament to the loyal fanbase she has built. It was only three years ago that Gracie was opening for Olivia Rodrigo\u2019s theater-sized SOUR Tour \u2014 and now, she\u2019s selling out multiple nights at legendary arenas around the U.S. on her own.<\/p>\n

\n\tAndrew Unterberger: It\u2019s the overall momentum. Daughter From Hell didn\u2019t arrive with a breakout hit single or with particularly effusive critical buzz \u2014\u00a0the album currently has a score of 63<\/a> on review-aggregating site Metacritic \u2014\u00a0so the folks coming to the album are mostly those fans who were already in on Gracie Abrams. Luckily for her, she\u2019s already got herself a whole lot of those, as her rapidly selling arena tour demonstrates. <\/p>\n

\n\tSophie Williams: Definitely the latter, in my opinion. Gracie is an icon to dozens of young women finding their feet in the indie-pop and rock space \u2013 Rachel Chinouriri is a fan; Bella Kay described Gracie as her \u201cGOAT\u201d [Greatest of All Time] on Instagram last week \u2013 so I am certain that the record would have been a chart success regardless of its material. That\u2019s not to diminish the album itself, but I think that goodwill is really important when discussing Gracie\u2019s current stature; she has spent years cultivating a fiercely loyal fanbase, and a close group of artist friends, that\u2019s grown with every release. I still see Gracie-inspired hair ribbons at pretty much every pop show I go to!<\/p>\n

\n\t3. While the album charts four songs on the Hot 100 this week, led by lead single \u201cHit the Wall\u201d at a new peak of No. 26, it has yet to generate a breakout hit on par with \u201cThat\u2019s So True\u201d from the\u00a0Secret\u00a0deluxe edition, which peaked at No. 6 in 2024. Do you think any of these songs have top 10 hit potential \u2014 and should it matter to her if she gets such a hit on this album cycle?\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\tHannah Dailey: It\u2019s not a question of \u201cshould,\u201d in my opinion. With this album, she was in the exact position to reach for bigger chart hits with the fanbase she built through the Secret of Us era behind her, if only she\u2019d gone for slightly poppier earworms. Instead, she went the quieter, more contemplative folk-pop route, which makes me think that she wasn\u2019t all that interested in getting a top 10 hit with this record in the first place. If that\u2019s the case, then no, it shouldn\u2019t matter to her. (If she\u2019d been confidently pinning her hopes on one of these songs becoming the undisputed song of the summer \u2014 and again, I don\u2019t think she was \u2014 then yeah, she might want to reassess.)<\/p>\n

\n\tWith all of that said, I don\u2019t anticipate any of the tracks having a breakout moment, not that you can ever really predict that type of thing anymore. But if one was going to, I think it would either be the title track for how deeply it connects with people or the ultra-fun \u201cMinibar,\u201d which has \u201cThat\u2019s So True\u201d cowriter Audrey Hobert\u2019s fingerprints all over it.<\/p>\n

\n\tLyndsey Havens: Look, this album uses its inside voice throughout \u2014 never rising too far above a warm hush, save for the more uptempo singles \u201cHit the Wall\u201d and \u201cLook at My Life.\u201d I think that\u2019s part of its charm and confidence, even. Gracie isn\u2019t reaching for anything here or aiming to satisfy anyone other than herself, it seems, and I think that\u2019s how you end up with an album like\u00a0Daughter From Hell. I also think if you look at the landscape outside of Gracie \u2014 to recent releases from Madonna or Charli xcx \u2014 it\u2019s quite possible fanbases are enjoying\u00a0albums\u00a0right now in full, rather than rallying behind one single and forgoing the full effort. And I think that\u2019s a nice place to be.<\/p>\n

\n\tDanielle Pascual: Maybe, but probably not. I don\u2019t see a TikTok trend developing around any of the songs, as \u201cThat\u2019s So True\u201d did in 2024, boosting it to No. 6. From the non-single tracks, \u201cMinibar\u201d could gain some momentum, but I think a top 10 hit would\u2019ve been much more likely for it if simultaneously promoted a third single and released a music video with the album\u2019s release. (It worked for Olivia Rodrigo when she released \u201cStupid Song\u201d with\u00a0You Seem\u00a0Pretty Sad for a Girl So in Love \u2014\u00a0which debuted at No. 3 on the Hot 100\u00a0\u2014\u00a0and they have a lot of the same fanbase.) I don\u2019t think that top 10 matters with this cycle, mainly because the tour she announced weeks ago is already sold out. But also, it just means she has another goal to work towards.<\/p>\n

\n\tAndrew Unterberger: I agree that \u201cMinibar\u201d has some serious hit potential, since it has easily the album\u2019s catchiest chorus, and is already outpacing a lot of its album-mates \u2014\u00a0the fact that it was one of the four songs to crack the Hot 100 this week despite not being an official single and showing up as the album\u2019s 11th track is pretty telling. But ultimately, Abrams\u2019 career doesn\u2019t seem like one that will be dependent on a consistent stream of hit singles, so if she doesn\u2019t get a breakout smash from this set it\u2019s unlikely to slow her momentum much. <\/p>\n

\n\tSophie Williams: I think there are a couple of contenders. \u201cThat\u2019s So True\u201d enjoyed a real slow-burn journey to chart success, and I wouldn\u2019t rule out another album cut catching fire on TikTok. \u201cMinibar\u201d \u2013 written with Audrey Hobert, the secret sauce behind the many of the standouts from the Secret of Us era \u2013 seems to be the fan favourite at the moment, while \u201cMews\u201d has an epic bridge. That said, I\u2019d argue the No. 1 album is a more meaningful achievement this time around, as the overall thematic throughline and ambition of the record suggests to me that Gracie wants to be seen as an \u2018album artist\u2019 as her career progresses.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

\n\t4.\u00a0Daughter From Hell\u00a0as an album title has been the source of some fan debate \u2014 do you think it\u00a0ultimately proves\u00a0a good or\u00a0appropriate fit\u00a0for the album?\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\tHannah Dailey: From a narrative or thematic standpoint, no. The title track is the only song on the album that has anything to do with her upbringing or her relationship to daughterhood. But if we\u2019re only thinking from the perspective of wanting to choose an album title from the list of track names, \u201cDaughter From Hell\u201d is the most eye-catching, and the song itself is definitely the centerpiece of the project. \u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\tLyndsey Havens: I\u2019ve seen the debate, and I guess you could argue that\u2019s the point \u2014 of this title and art in general. Start a conversation. Make people feel strongly enough to either hate or love what you\u2019re doing, then do it anyway. The title definitely contrasts with the album\u2019s overall sound, but not its meaning or intention. I think any daughter knows that you don\u2019t always need to be loud or overtly hellish to still be a pain at times \u2014 and the same can be true for any relationship in life. Being softer doesn\u2019t necessarily equate to being an angel. Sometimes it\u2019s just a blanket for what\u2019s brewing under the surface \u2014 and\u00a0Daughter From Hell\u00a0is Gracie\u2019s release, in her own way. Would I have loved to hear a scream somewhere? Totally. But would it sound authentic? Maybe not.<\/p>\n

\n\tDanielle Pascual: I do! Obviously, the entire album isn\u2019t about being a bad kid, but I think the title does a good job at capturing the project\u2019s self-reflection in all aspects of her personal life, plus her thoughts about the world as we know it.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\tAndrew Unterberger: I kinda like it as a swerve from listener expectations \u2014\u00a0and it helps that the title track is also my favorite on the album. But it might not have done the album any favors for folks who expected, perhaps unfairly, that the whole album would be pitched at a similar wavelength as a result. (Which it isn\u2019t.)<\/p>\n

\n\tSophie Williams: I think the biggest challenge for Gracie at the moment is carving out a distinct point of view in her writing. On this record, it can sometimes feel like every other line is reaching for maximum intensity, with the lyrics packed full of knives, blood, guts, personal crises and life-or-death metaphors, but those images inevitably lose some of their impact when the music itself tends to remain restrained. In that sense, it feels like the opposite of the spit, sweat, ash and lust of Lorde\u2019s Virgin, where the raw physicality of the writing was matched by music that felt equally visceral.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\t5. Gracie Abrams seemed to have moved to right outside the inner circle of\u00a0pop\u2019s\u00a0A-list stars by the end of the\u00a0Secret\u00a0cycle \u2014 does the initial response to\u00a0Hell\u00a0prove to you that she\u2019s now on the inside, or does she still have more work to do?\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\tHannah Dailey: I think it\u00a0absolutely proves\u00a0she\u2019s\u00a0reached mainstream stardom, but\u00a0if I were going to\u00a0consider\u00a0her as\u00a0a\u00a0\u201cmain pop girly,\u201d\u00a0I\u2019d\u00a0need to see a couple more top 10 hits from her.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\tLyndsey Havens: Well, as someone on the outside, I\u2019d say she\u2019s on the inside. She was Charli\u2019s \u201cApple Girl\u201d at Glastonbury last year, she did a joint Spotify interview with Olivia Rodrigo this year and attended Taylor Swift\u2019s wedding\u2026 I think Gracie can exist in any circle she chooses, really. But I love that even so, she\u2019ll still retreat to Long Pond when it\u2019s time to work through whatever is next.<\/p>\n

\n\tDanielle Pascual: I think she still has a little more work to do, but she is close! Hell reached commercial success with its No. 1 debut, but the reviews, which can signal an album\u2019s staying power, are mixed. Sure, a No. 1 song could also help, but I mainly hope the reception for her next project would be more overwhelmingly positive, drawing new fans in, and cementing her as a household name.<\/p>\n

\n\tAndrew Unterberger: She certainly is right on the precipice in terms of name recognition and general bankability, as well as in the company that she keeps. But in terms of some of the more intangible pop star stuff that tends to really suggest true A-plus-list superstardom and iconicity, Daughter From Hell suggests she may still have a little ways to go. <\/p>\n

\n\tSophie Williams: She\u2019s getting there, for sure. From a U.K. perspective, the response to her Glastonbury 2025 set (on The Other Stage, the second biggest stage on-site) was really positive, and gave her a new edge of credibility. On this side of the Atlantic, at least, that felt like the first real turning point where she started being talked about outside of her core audience. I feel as though the general interest around the album has been noticeably broader than it was during the run-up to and release of The Secret of Us, and Gracie is no longer being discussed primarily in relation to her famous friends (Taylor, Sabrina, etc.) If Hell eventually produces another inescapable hit, or she levels up to a huge outdoor show next year (say, a stadium or London\u2019s BST Hyde Park concert series), then I think the debate is probably over.<\/p>\n


\"Billboard
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