Gracie Abrams performs onstage at the 2025 iHeartRadio Music Awards at Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles on March 17, 2025. Photo:
Kevin Winter/Getty
Gracie Abrams is celebrating her breakout year with some new hardware!
The singer-songwriter, 25, took home the 2025 iHeartRadio Breakthrough Artist of the Year Award at the iHeartRadio Music Awards on Monday, March 17.
Abrams, who performed her hit “That’s So True” prior to accepting her award, shouted out famous pals like Taylor Swift and Olivia Rodrigo, for whom she’s opened on tour, and shared a message of positivity amid “uncertain” times.
She started by thanking radio programmers and DJs, her team, label and band, as well as her friends and family.
“For the incredible artists who allowed me to share their stages at different times and in different ways — Taylor and Olivia and Noah Kahan and The National and for each of the openers who have supported me on my tours, I’m in awe of all of you,” she said. “For Aaron Dessner, always, and last but not least, I would not be here if it were not for the support, loyalty, creativity and true goodness of the fans. So just thank you so much. You guys are my whole damn heart.”
Gracie Abrams accepts the Breakthrough Artist of the Year Award from Billie Eilish onstage at the 2025 iHeartRadio Music Awards at Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles on March 17, 2025. Kevin Winter/Getty
She continued, “We’re living in tricky times, so much is uncertain and so suddenly and unnecessarily cruel. But when we gather like this at a concert or a festival or the theater within our local communities, we remind each other that there’s still so much light and kindness between and among us.”
Abrams was introduced by longtime pal Billie Eilish, who said that the two had known each other since she was 15 years old.
“We started sending each other little voice memos of songs we were writing at the time,” Eilish said. “I love that girl so much. I have loved watching her finally take over the world the past year.”
Abrams and Eilish then shared a hug, and Abrams called the “Birds of a Feather” singer an “icon.”
“I’ve looked up to you since we met and not just an icon because of your success, but your artistry,” she told Eilish. “I just love you to death, so what a privilege to grow up with your music.”
Abrams is also nominated for best new artist (pop) and best lyrics, a socially voted category, for “I Love You, I’m Sorry.”
Check out all of PEOPLE’s full iHeartRadio Music Awards coverage here.
The star has had an impressive year that included the release of her second studio album The Secret of Us in June. In November, she released a deluxe version that included “That’s So True,” which went viral upon its release in November and peaked at No. 6 on the Billboard Hot 100.
Gracie Abrams attends the 2025 iHeartRadio Music Awards at Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles on March 17, 2025. Phillip Faraone/Getty
Abrams was nominated for a Grammy Award in February for best pop duo/group performance for “Us.,” a collaboration with Taylor Swift. Abrams joined Swift on her Eras Tour as an opening act in 2023 and 2024, and helped the superstar close out her run of shows by opening on the tour’s final 18 dates in October and November.
In December, Abrams made her Saturday Night Live debut, singing “That’s So True” and “I Love You, I’m Sorry,” and last month, collaborated with Selena Gomez and Benny Blanco on the song “Call Me When You Break Up.”
“For as long as I’ve cared about music, both of their work [Gomez and Blanco] has been in my life,” Abrams told Zane Lowe on Apple Music in February. “So anything that they want from me is a yes forever. And I just felt really grateful for the opportunity. And also just the song was immediately so stuck in my head as soon as I heard it for the first time.”
Gracie Abrams at the 2025 iHeartRadio Music Awards held at the Dolby Theatre on March 17, 2025 in Los Angeles on March 17, 2025. Gilbert Flores/Billboard via Getty
Other stars being honored at this year’s iHeartRadio Music Awards include Swift (Tour of the Century), Mariah Carey (2025 iHeartRadio Icon Award), Lady Gaga (2025 iHeartRadio Innovator Award) and Nelly (Landmark Award).
This year’s show is helping raise money for FireAidLA.com after the devastating Los Angeles wildfires in early January.
The 2025 iHeartRadio Music Awards air live from the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles on Monday, March 17, at 8 p.m. ET on FOX. Fans can also tune in live to iHeartRadio stations nationwide and on the iHeartRadio app.
