INGLEWOOD, Calif. − Look up “girl’s girl” in the pop culture dictionary and you’ll find a photo of Gracie Abrams.
Abrams, who was honored at the 2025 Billboard Women in Music awards Saturday at Inglewood’s YouTube Theater, was the ultimate hype woman to her fellow female artists. After taking the stage to perform her viral TikTok hit “I’m Sorry, I Love You,” she accepted the Songwriter of the Year Award and used her speech time onstage to uplift R&B singer Victoria Monét, who introduced her with the award.
“First of all, ladies and gentlemen, Victoria Monét,” the 25-year-old singer said onstage, shifting the spotlight to Monét. “This incredible artist is, at a minimum, a quadruple threat. She’s an insane writer, unparalleled vocalist and inventive producer and dancer. I’m just in awe of you.”
Abrams began her speech saying she felt “gobsmacked” Billboard chose her as Songwriter of the Year, but felt “lucky to learn from and write with some of the most wonderful and talented people, the incomparable, Miss Taylor Swift.”
“I’ll never stop pinching myself,” Abrams said after the audience went wild at her mention of Swift. “I’ll never stop thanking her for the gift of her pen, which very much raised me.”
That’s so true, Gracie Abrams is still a fangirl
Throughout the night, Abrams was seen filming her peers’ speeches and performances like a proud mom, and was often first to her feet to give standing ovations.
Abrams was seen grooving in her seat to Tyla’s sultry and electrifying performance of “PUSH 2 START” (after the South African artist accepted Billboard’s Impact Award) and kept the energy going as Ángela Aguilar (Breakthrough Award honoree) put her Mexican culture on display with a rendition of “Cielito Lindo” accompanied by a mariachi band.
She was also dancing along with the rest of the YouTube Theater to Erykah Badu’s performance after accepting the Icon Award.
After calling out some of the most influential women in her life during her speech earlier in the night, Abrams returned to her seat, where she immediately embraced her best friend and collaborator, Aubrey Hobert, in a long embrace.
The special moment continued when she turned to her mom, Katie McGrath, to do the same.
Songwriting is ‘our prose and our poetry,’ says Gracie Abrams
Last year, Abrams embarked on her 54-city Secret of Us tour promoting her sophomore album of the same name. The record released following a massive year that saw Abrams head out on her third headlining tour, open for Swift’s record-breaking Eras Tour, and receive her first Grammy nomination for her debut album.
“Songwriting is wild, it’s sometimes wildly embarrassing, wildly informative, sometimes it’s like a drug,” Abrams also said during her speech. “It’s our prose and our poetry, it is our most private diary entries and our loudest clarion calls.”
She continued: “It’s our hiding places and sometimes our very salvation.”