Does Gracie Abrams’ ‘Daughter From Hell’ First-Week Performance Establish Her as an Inner-Circle Pop Superstar?

Gracie Abrams‘ 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 “That’s So True” off its deluxe reissue) and peaking at No. 2 on the Billboard 200. This week, the singer-songwriter does that album one better with its successor, the now-chart-topping Daughter From Hell.

Daughter 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, led by the advance single “Hit the Wall,” which reaches a new peak of No. 25.

Do these first-week returns confirm Abrams as a top-flight superstar? And does that “Daughter From Hell” title really fit the album we got? Billboard staffers answer these questions and more below.

1. Daughter 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 initial returns?

Hannah Dailey: Definitely a 10! Those are solid sales numbers, and it’s always worth celebrating when an artist gets their first No. 1 album. 

Lyndsey Havens: 10, for sure. I love when an artist’s discography charts a clear line up — especially when it leads to the top spot — and that’s exactly what has happened for Gracie. After her debut album entered the Billboard 200 at No. 52, her breakout set, The Secret of Us, reached No. 2 and now her third album has hit the chart’s peak. And that climb happened in just three years between albums. Team Gracie should absolutely be celebrating this one.

Danielle Pascual: A good 9. After being one spot shy of the top spot with The Secret Of Us it took just one more full-length to reach No. 1. Gracie didn’t just surpass her previous album’s first-week total by a landslide, when you look at it alongside the rest of 2026’s No. 1 debuts, she’s only 10,000 units behind Madonna’s landmark Confessions II. Could that be a telling sign that she’s on track for pop superstardom? I’d like to hope so.

Andrew Unterberger: I’d say a 7. Given the incredible past couple years that Gracie Abrams has enjoyed career trajectory-wise, I’d say anything less than a six-figure No. 1 debut could have been considered a disappointment. She didn’t wildly outperform expectations — like, say, her singer-songwriter buddies Noah Kahan and Olivia Rodrigo did with their respective 2026 albums —  but she did clear those benchmarks fairly easily, so she should still be pretty happy.

Sophie Williams: I’d say a solid 8. It’s 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’s always room to dream even bigger commercially, this feels like the sort of debut that validates the long-game approach she’s taken.

2. Daughter is Abrams’ first No. 1 album, besting her previous No. 2 peak with 2024 predecessor The Secret of Us. Is that new No. 1 peak more about the album itself, or about Abrams’ overall momentum as a hitmaker?  

Hannah Dailey: I would definitely say the latter. The album itself is less pop-leaning than The Secret of Us was, and none of the new songs really sound destined for cultural dominance, making it unsurprising that none of them have hugely taken off on the charts so far. So it’s cool to see that regardless of that, fans are still rallying around it as a body of work. 

Lyndsey Havens: I think it’s 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.

Danielle Pascual: 100% the latter. Since opening for Taylor Swift’s 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’s theater-sized SOUR Tour — and now, she’s selling out multiple nights at legendary arenas around the U.S. on her own.

Andrew Unterberger: It’s the overall momentum. Daughter From Hell didn’t arrive with a breakout hit single or with particularly effusive critical buzz — the album currently has a score of 63 on review-aggregating site Metacritic — so the folks coming to the album are mostly those fans who were already in on Gracie Abrams. Luckily for her, she’s already got herself a whole lot of those, as her rapidly selling arena tour demonstrates.

Sophie 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 – Rachel Chinouriri is a fan; Bella Kay described Gracie as her “GOAT” [Greatest of All Time] on Instagram last week – so I am certain that the record would have been a chart success regardless of its material. That’s not to diminish the album itself, but I think that goodwill is really important when discussing Gracie’s current stature; she has spent years cultivating a fiercely loyal fanbase, and a close group of artist friends, that’s grown with every release. I still see Gracie-inspired hair ribbons at pretty much every pop show I go to!

3. While the album charts four songs on the Hot 100 this week, led by lead single “Hit the Wall” at a new peak of No. 26, it has yet to generate a breakout hit on par with “That’s So True” from the Secret deluxe edition, which peaked at No. 6 in 2024. Do you think any of these songs have top 10 hit potential — and should it matter to her if she gets such a hit on this album cycle?  

Hannah Dailey: It’s not a question of “should,” 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’d gone for slightly poppier earworms. Instead, she went the quieter, more contemplative folk-pop route, which makes me think that she wasn’t all that interested in getting a top 10 hit with this record in the first place. If that’s the case, then no, it shouldn’t matter to her. (If she’d been confidently pinning her hopes on one of these songs becoming the undisputed song of the summer — and again, I don’t think she was — then yeah, she might want to reassess.)

With all of that said, I don’t 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 “Minibar,” which has “That’s So True” cowriter Audrey Hobert’s fingerprints all over it.

Lyndsey Havens: Look, this album uses its inside voice throughout — never rising too far above a warm hush, save for the more uptempo singles “Hit the Wall” and “Look at My Life.” I think that’s part of its charm and confidence, even. Gracie isn’t reaching for anything here or aiming to satisfy anyone other than herself, it seems, and I think that’s how you end up with an album like Daughter From Hell. I also think if you look at the landscape outside of Gracie — to recent releases from Madonna or Charli xcx — it’s quite possible fanbases are enjoying albums right now in full, rather than rallying behind one single and forgoing the full effort. And I think that’s a nice place to be.

Danielle Pascual: Maybe, but probably not. I don’t see a TikTok trend developing around any of the songs, as “That’s So True” did in 2024, boosting it to No. 6. From the non-single tracks, “Minibar” could gain some momentum, but I think a top 10 hit would’ve been much more likely for it if simultaneously promoted a third single and released a music video with the album’s release. (It worked for Olivia Rodrigo when she released “Stupid Song” with You Seem Pretty Sad for a Girl So in Love — which debuted at No. 3 on the Hot 100 — and they have a lot of the same fanbase.) I don’t 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.

Andrew Unterberger: I agree that “Minibar” has some serious hit potential, since it has easily the album’s catchiest chorus, and is already outpacing a lot of its album-mates — the 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’s 11th track is pretty telling. But ultimately, Abrams’ career doesn’t seem like one that will be dependent on a consistent stream of hit singles, so if she doesn’t get a breakout smash from this set it’s unlikely to slow her momentum much.

Sophie Williams: I think there are a couple of contenders. “That’s So True” enjoyed a real slow-burn journey to chart success, and I wouldn’t rule out another album cut catching fire on TikTok. “Minibar” – written with Audrey Hobert, the secret sauce behind the many of the standouts from the Secret of Us era – seems to be the fan favourite at the moment, while “Mews” has an epic bridge. That said, I’d 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 ‘album artist’ as her career progresses.

4. Daughter From Hell as an album title has been the source of some fan debate — do you think it ultimately proves a good or appropriate fit for the album?  

Hannah 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’re only thinking from the perspective of wanting to choose an album title from the list of track names, “Daughter From Hell” is the most eye-catching, and the song itself is definitely the centerpiece of the project.  

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

Danielle Pascual: I do! Obviously, the entire album isn’t about being a bad kid, but I think the title does a good job at capturing the project’s self-reflection in all aspects of her personal life, plus her thoughts about the world as we know it. 

Andrew Unterberger: I kinda like it as a swerve from listener expectations — and 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’t.)

Sophie 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’s Virgin, where the raw physicality of the writing was matched by music that felt equally visceral. 

5. Gracie Abrams seemed to have moved to right outside the inner circle of pop’s A-list stars by the end of the Secret cycle — does the initial response to Hell prove to you that she’s now on the inside, or does she still have more work to do? 

Hannah Dailey: I think it absolutely proves she’s reached mainstream stardom, but if I were going to consider her as a “main pop girly,” I’d need to see a couple more top 10 hits from her. 

Lyndsey Havens: Well, as someone on the outside, I’d say she’s on the inside. She was Charli’s “Apple Girl” at Glastonbury last year, she did a joint Spotify interview with Olivia Rodrigo this year and attended Taylor Swift’s wedding… I think Gracie can exist in any circle she chooses, really. But I love that even so, she’ll still retreat to Long Pond when it’s time to work through whatever is next.

Danielle 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’s 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.

Andrew 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.

Sophie Williams: She’s 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’s BST Hyde Park concert series), then I think the debate is probably over.