If anyone ever wants to question the wisdom of putting out deluxe editions of relatively recent albums, Gracie Abrams’ success with a single off one such record should suffice as an explanation for how it can work so well. It’s not as if her “The Secret of Us” album had exactly done badly when it first arrived; it had debuted at No. 2 on the Billboard 200 in June 2024. But she still hadn’t had a top 10 hit on the Hot 100 (or a No. 1 in the U.K. and other countries around the world) until “That’s So True” arrived in November to wave the flag for the deluxe version. As a song that had become a fan favorite on a few live tryouts. It quickly became the young artist’s signature song.
“It’s nuts,” Abrams told Variety. “The concept of even one person anywhere in the world liking the song as much as I do makes my heart crack open and then grow ten sizes. I’m grateful and I’m in disbelief.” She swore how it appeared to the world was not a calculated strategy. “It doesn’t seem weird for it to have been a deluxe track necessarily, but the entire situation is blowing my mind,” Abrams said. “I can very confidently admit that it wasn’t some master plan. This song fell into the deluxe bucket because we didn’t finish writing it until after I had already turned in the standard edition of the album.”
Sam Riback, Interscope Geffen A&M’s co-president and head of pop/rock A&R, said that giving fans a live sneak preview well in advance “creates that uniquely special bond she has with her fan base where they feel like they get to hear it first. They’re in on it first, before the passive fan may or may not hear it on a playlist. It’s part of the way Gracie is always communicating to her fans via teasing songs on socials or workshopping stuff or playing stuff live. To me, that back and forth dialogue creates this special bond that they’re all in this together, so when it does come out on a Spotify and it does hit No. 1 on the global charts, her fans are already like, ‘Yeah, duh, I’ve been at this party already’” — but are still taking a rooting interest in getting everyone else in the door.
Songwriters Gracie Abrams, Audrey Hobert
Producers Aaron Dessner, Gracie Abrams, Julian Bunetta
Label Interscope-Geffen-A&M
Hitmakers Audrey Hobert, co-writer
Alex DePersia, manager, By the Way Management
Charlie Christie, SVP, A&R, Interscope Records
Sam Riback, president, A&R, Interscope Records
variety.com
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