Gracie Abrams & Taylor Swift, us. | Dazzling Duets

In the 30^th edition of Dazzling Duets (2025), Gracie Abrams and Taylor Swift collaborate on “us.” 

Sometimes, two is better than one! That is the case when it comes to Dazzling Duets! On Dazzling Duets, we highlight ear-catching songs performed by two artists collaborating. These duets can be from any musical style, making Dazzling Duets a flexible, versatile column on The Musical Hype. In the 30^th edition of Dazzling Duets (2025), Gracie Abrams and Taylor Swift collaborate on “us.” Let the dazzle begin!

According to Gracie Abrams, he was the older, more mature one in their relationship, so how is it that he seems less invested, etc.? Notably, Abrams was only 24 when “us.” was released, appearing as the fifth track from her 2024 sophomore album, The Secret of Us. Abrams receives a big-time assist from a pop superstar: Taylor Swift. Besides her vocal contributions supporting Gracie, Swift penned “us.” With Abrams and Aaron Dessner. Jack Antonoff joins the three songwriters as a producer on the track.

The rhythmic plucked strings that recur throughout are a nice touch – one of the finer instrumental moments of “us.” Gracie Abrams handles most of the vocals and sings in an undertone initially. She is cool, calm, and collected, never forcing things. “I know your ghost / I see her through the smoke,” she sings in the first verse, and continues, “She’ll play her show / And you’ll be watchin’.” Abrams goes on to sing the first pre-chorus, before Swift provides minor contributions during the chorus.  As “us.” progresses, it gradually builds into something grander beyond the striking, minimalist plucked strings.  The production is fuller by the first chorus, and even fuller beyond it.

“Do you miss us, us?

I felt it, you held it, do you miss us, us?

Wonder if you regret the secret of us, us

Us (Us), us (Us), us (Us).”

Once more, Abrams does the heavy lifting during the second verse, excerpted earlier. Swift performs the second pre-chorus, asserting, “And if history’s clear, the flames always end up in ashes,” and adds, “Babylon lovers hangin’ missed calls on the line.” What more can you say but, word.  From there, Swift mostly contributes to Abrams’s lead, with the duo joining forces for a pair of lines in the final chorus.  Before the final chorus, the bridge separates itself from the rest of the song. “That night, you were talkin’ false prophets and profits / They make in the margins of poetry sonnets,” Gracie asserts, with Swift adding, “You never read up on it, shame, could’ve learned somethin’.” All told, “us.” Marks one of the more accomplished moments from The Secret of Us. There have been more collaborative duets, but Abrams and Swift put in work.

 

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Gracie Abrams » The Secret of Us » Gracie Abrams / Interscope » 2024

Gracie Abrams & Taylor Swift, us.: Dazzling Duets No. 30 (2025) [📷: Brent Faulkner / The Musical Hype; Gracie Abrams / Interscope; cottonbro studio, Sachith Ravishka Kodikara from Pexels; andresilva5, OpenClipart-Vectors from Pixabay]

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