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\n\tGracie Abrams didn\u2019t exactly know what Daughter From Hell<\/em> was going to become when she wrote \u201cHit the Wall.\u201d As it turned out, the song would actually help her figure it out, and ultimately introduced the album that would earn her first No. 1 on the Billboard 200. <\/p>\n \n\tDuring a recent appearance on Jake Shane\u2018s Therapuss<\/em> podcast, Abrams vulnerably talked about the circumstances surrounding the creation of \u201cHit the Wall,\u201d revealing that the song became the \u201cnorth star\u201d of her third studio album.<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\tRelated\t\t<\/p>\n<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n \t\t\t\t\tA Timeline of Gracie Abrams & Paul Mescal\u2019s\u00a0Relationship\t\t<\/p>\n<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n \t\t\t\t\tRole Model Talks Gracie Abrams, Plugs \u2018Chuck Timely\u2019 Album With \u2018Tonight Show\u2019\u00a0Performance\t\t<\/p>\n<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n \t\t\t\t\tGracie Abrams Says Paul Mescal Romance \u2018Held a Mirror\u2019 Up to Her Past Relationships, Strengthening Her\u00a0Songwriting\t\t<\/p>\n<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n \n\tAt the time, Abrams and longtime collaborator Aaron Dessner had about six songs they really liked, but they hadn\u2019t fully produced them yet. She said there wasn\u2019t much \u201cglue\u201d connecting the different pieces of the project, and it just felt incohesive. It left both her and Dessner feeling somewhat discouraged about where the album was headed.<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cI think he and I were both sort of feeling a bit discouraged at that point,\u201d Abrams said, recalling that they weren\u2019t sure what the album was supposed to encompass, sound like, or talk about. They didn\u2019t even know if they would make the pop star\u2019s next album together.<\/p>\n \n\tThat uncertainty coincided with a particularly difficult day for Abrams. She was feeling lonely and missing a friend \u201cin a big way\u201d as she made her way to the studio in New York.<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cI was really sad going to the studio that morning,\u201d she remembers. \u201cYou know when you\u2019re [in New York], it\u2019s the best here, and the kind of \u2026 when you\u2019re quite sad or you feel very lonely and you walk [around] and the tears just are happening?\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tAbrams said she was walking down Bleecker Street while crying when she finally arrived at the studio. Dessner had gotten there a couple of hours earlier, and when Abrams opened the door, the beginning of \u201cHit the Wall\u201d was playing. Just the piano chords were enough to immediately resonate with her.<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cIt perfectly matched what my walk was,\u201d she said. \u201cI was like, this is exactly the thing that I\u2019m feeling.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tFrom there, the writing process seemed to happen almost instinctively. Abrams described creating \u201cHit the Wall\u201d as almost \u201ctrance-like,\u201d comparing the experience to being on \u201csome funny psychedelic.\u201d She admitted that she barely remembers writing the song at all.<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cI don\u2019t remember writing it,\u201d she said. \u201cI just remember it being done.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tThe song immediately felt bigger than a stand-alone track. Abrams knew she wanted it to introduce the album, particularly because its emotional trajectory mirrored what she felt she was experiencing creatively.<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cIt felt like it became sort of a north star for the album,\u201d she explained.<\/p>\n\n
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