Yahoo Lifestyle Gracie Abrams’s Fans Genuinely Launched A Petition To Replace Her Tour Opener, And The Whole Thing Is So Incredibly Awkward
Gracie Abrams has responded after her fans launched a petition to change the opening act for her European tour dates because they hadn’t heard of the announced artist.
Last week, Gracie — who was recently one of Taylor Swift’s support acts on the Eras Tour — took to her Instagram story to excitedly share that US singer Dora Jar will be supporting her The Secret of Us tour.
For reference, the tour began in Oregon back in September, with Role Model being the opener for Gracie’s 2024 US dates.
Dora herself couldn’t hide her excitement after the news broke, taking to her X account to share her appreciation for Gracie for giving her this opportunity. She wrote: “This has been the light at the end of a tunnel in my life. So grateful and I CANT WAIT!!!! I love Gracie, I love music, and I love you.”
However, not everybody shared her enthusiasm, with some of Gracie’s fans insisting that Dora is too unknown to be Gracie’s support act.
In fact, one was left so disappointed that, on the very same day as the announcement, they launched a change.org petition called “Replace Dora Jar as the Opening Act for The Secret of Us Europe Tour.”
In this petition, they insisted that it’d be “virtually impossible” for concertgoers to “familiarize” themselves with Dora’s music before the European leg of the tour kicks off in Madrid, Spain, on February 8.
“Many fans, including myself, are baffled by the recent announcement that Dora Jar will be the opening act for The Secret of Us Tour’s Europe shows,” the petition began. “We are perplexed as we do not recognize her, and with less than two weeks till the tour, it’s virtually impossible to familiarize ourselves with her slow-paced songs.”
The fan went on to claim that Dora’s music is not appropriate for a concert opener, writing: “For a memorable concert experience, an opening act should set the mood and get the crowd excited, but Dora’s slow tempo songs may not achieve this goal.”
“It’s not just a personal concern,” they added. “According to Billboard, upbeat opening acts are essential to the overall concert experience as they set the tone for the headlining act in keeping the audience’s energy up throughout the show (Billboard, 2019). Keeping this in consideration, it seems only fair that a more well-known, energetic artist or band should replace Dora Jar as the opening act.”
“Please show your support for a more enjoyable concert experience by signing this petition,” the fan then concluded.
While the petition has since been deleted, it created enough of a stir on social media for both Dora and Gracie to respond.
Dora’s initial response was to thank Gracie’s fans who had defended her amid the backlash, writing on her X account: “Hate comes with the job, the truth is this is the biggest outpouring of love I’ve ever received from a fanbase who is still unfamiliar with me. Gracie has beautiful open hearted fans and I am so excited for this.”
However, she went on to try and lighten the mood as she shared a Spotify playlist of her setlist for the tour and joked: “signed the petition but rehearsing these songs just in case I remain the opener!”
Dora then directly name-checked the fan who created the petition, writing: “Love u Dexter.”
But Gracie was a little more direct as she called out the “wildly uncool” reaction from this group of fans in a comment on an Instagram post about the petition.
“Just hearing about this absolute ridiculousness,” she wrote. “So wildly uncool and bizarre and also just does not remotely add up.”
“I’ve only seen everyone’s total excitement and couldn’t be luckier or prouder to share a stage with this talented wonder,” Gracie went on.
“Stream everything she’s ever made whether or not you’re coming to the show,” she concluded. “Dora forever and ever.”
Needless to say, the whole situation has left onlookers with a severe case of secondhand embarrassment, with many pointing out that a huge aspect of booking a tour opener is to platform lesser-known artists.
“it’s very embarrassing for gracie abrams fans to be making a petition to get rid of the opener. the point of an opening act is to give a small artist a chance to get new fans and for those fans to find new music. you don’t have to know all the songs just be respectful,” one person tweeted.
“wdym u made a petition bc u don't like an opener....? go outside fr,” another popular post reads.
“why r gracie abrams fans acting like openers are supposed to be as big as the headliner,” somebody else asked. “like that’s literally the whole point of being an opener - growing ur audience??”
While a viral post about Gracie's response simply concluded: “wow it's so embarrassing that she saw it."
What do you make of the whole situation? Let me know in the comments!
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