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

RESOLVING THE LEDGER

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 cl...

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