Film noir classics often captured heartbreak, betrayal, and deep cynicism. Those are the same feelings Gracie Abrams was working through on her debut album Good Riddance, released earlier this year. During her recent appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, the singer and songwriter delivered channeled the Hollywood genre on “I Should Hate You,” a deep cut from the record where she struggles to let the pain of being stabbed in the back dissolve the love she has left over.
“Pulled the knifе out my back, it was right where you left it/But you aimеd kinda perfect, I’ll give you the credit/I just drank something strong to try to forget, but it wasn’t right/No, you’re not even here, but you’re doin’ my head in,” she sings, strumming her guitar while overlayed with a soft black and white filter. ” Later on, during the bridge, she contemplates revenge, but that ultimately isn’t the type of character she is: “I swear to God I’d kill you/If I loved you less hard.”
Earlier this year, Abrams spoke to Rolling Stone about the character development that we witness across Good Riddance. “I don’t think I was always the most transparent partner,” she said, adding that she has often struggled with confrontation. “I wanted really badly to get to a place in my life, as I am entering adulthood in a more real way, where I’m being more straightforward with myself and not falling into the trap of victimhood in a situation sometimes, but really owning my shit some more.”
Bearing her sleeve on the record has worked out for the best. Abrams has been nominated for Best New Artist at the 2024 Grammy Awards, where she’s up against Fred again.., Ice Spice, Jelly Roll, Coco Jones, Noah Kahan, Victoria Monét, and The War And Treaty.
“It really is this amazing thing where I do feel like, especially now, even thinking about the actual ceremony itself, thinking about the fact that somehow I’m going to be in that room,” Abrams told Rolling Stone last month following her nomination. “The joy that I have to imagine comes with being in a community of people who so deeply care about music and know the impact of it. And I think anywhere we can find joy right now, it is just worth holding onto that.”