Gracie Abrams stays close to her fans at the Greek Theatre premiere

When Gracie Abrams walked onto the stage at the Greek Theatre on Monday, the audience's outstretched arms resembled flames licking at the hem of her sheer black maxi skirt. But despite the sweltering heat of the night, she crouched down to touch the fire.

She stood up and clutched her heart as if storing the warmth there.

Monday's sold-out event was the first of three hometown shows on Abrams' Secret of Us tour, and featured plenty of such intimate moments between the 25-year-old singer-songwriter and her adoring fans. It's a pattern from Abrams that hasn't changed from her first live shows to her opening sets last summer on Taylor Swift's Eras tour – she throws kissesholding hands and whispering softly “I love you”, all with the sincerity of a close friend.

Read more:Gracie Abrams doesn’t keep to herself on her second album “The Secret of Us.”

“This is real to me,” Abrams told viewers of the show on Monday. “This relationship means so much to me, and I really mean it when I say I try to weave your generosity into my songs and stories.”

While other artists dismiss highly personal emails and unsolicited self-disclosures from their fans as inappropriate or just annoying, for Abrams they are a reminder “that at the end of the day, we're all going through the same thing.” That keeps her honest and keeps her writing.

Although she didn't plan on releasing new music so soon after the release of her debut album, Good Riddance, in 2023, before she knew it, she had another album on the way.

Released on June 21, The Secret of Us debuted at number two on the Billboard 200 with 89,000 album-equivalent copies sold, behind Taylor Swift's The Tortured Poets Department, making it Abrams' first highest-charting top-10 album.

When tickets for the “Secret of Us” tour went on sale in June, the originally scheduled solo LA date on Sept. 11 sold out in an hour, so Abrams booked a second date on Sept. 12 – and later a third, which became the opening night in LA. Among those in attendance were Olivia Rodrigo, “Twisters” star Daisy Edgar-Jones and “Bridgerton” veteran Phoebe Dynevor.

The show lasted just under two hours and began with album opener “Felt Good About You,” a folksy number whose jaunty tambourine playing gave it the feel of a tune from an indie film soundtrack. Although Abrams performed the song from behind a semi-transparent partition, her stage presence was palpable as her silhouette swayed to the rhythm.

Abrams took to the center of the stage and picked up an acoustic guitar with a star-shaped strap for “Risk,” the first single from “The Secret of Us.” She was delighted when her fans shouted the lyrics to her, and even couldn't suppress a smile during the biting “Blowing Smoke.”

Later, she gave herself over to duetting with the crowd, offering them her microphone for lyrical punch lines from “21,” “I Love You, I'm Sorry” and “Mess It Up,” showing off her vocal control, which had improved significantly since her last headlining tour. She swapped the shorter, lower notes of poignant numbers like “Where Do We Go Now?” and “Gave You I, Gave You I” for longer, higher ones, drawing gasps from even the most expressionless concertgoers. (A security guard filmed at one point.)

For Monday’s “surprise song” a relic from her time studying with SwiftAbrams brought her best friend, roommate and co-writer of “The Secret of Us,” Audrey Hobert, on stage. After some mutual gushing, the two sang a duet of the unreleased “That's So True,” exchanging dramatic expressions as they sang, “Smiling through it all, yeah that's my life.” The song combines childish lyrics with adult themes, showing Abrams' simultaneous preoccupation with teenage girlhood and her position afterward — something she also shares with Swift.

Read more:Taylor Swift delivers emotional catharsis and anthems galore in an epic three-hour-plus show

Following the stripped-down “Good Luck Charlie,” a series of songs followed whose live production elements not only exemplified Abrams' growing sense of playfulness as an artist, but also significantly enhanced their studio versions. “Friend,” a soft-pop B-side from Abrams' debut EP, Minor, for example, benefited from the addition of a distorted synth. And “Normal Thing,” a growing song from Abrams' latest album, was transformed by a heart-pounding drum buildup.

In contrast, the live versions of “Feels Like” and “Free Now” – the finale of the set – left their fans wanting, with the sped-up rendition of the former being criticized in particular on-lineHowever, any discontent was quickly appeased by a stunning encore.

After taking the stage again to deliver a dynamic performance of “Us,” complete with Swift’s backing vocals, Abrams officially ended the first night in LA with the song her fans had been begging her to release for seven years.

“Close to You,” a synthpop “earworm” – as Abrams calls it – about feverish longing for someone, was her most successful single upon release, garnering over 3 million streams on Spotify in its first day and peaking at number 49 on the US Billboard Hot 100 – her first solo entry into the charts.

“OK, ready?” Abrams grinned teasingly at the crowd as the song faded in. When the pre-chorus sounded, half the stadium was in the air.

As the song continued and teenage girls in hairbands and lace skirts were projected onto the screen, Abrams' request for intimacy seemed to be directed at her rather than an unrequited crush.

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This story originally appeared in the Los Angeles Times.