Who is Gayle? The 17 year old teen tearing up the charts with debut smash abcdefu

It's the bratty, break-up track that has soundtracked an autumn of relationships ending, and Gayle's debut major label single abcdefu only continues to grow on its upward trajectory on the Official Singles Chart. 

Taking direct inspiration from artists such as Julia Michaels, Olivia Rodrigo and Avril Lavigne, abcdefu is a pop-punk banger with very jagged edges and is unapologetically explicit.

"F*ck you and your mom and your sister and your job," Gayle chants in the chorus. "Everybody but your dog, you can all f*ck off."

Quite! But who just who is Gayle and how did she get to the point of having the UK's Number 1 Trending Song and coasting towards securing her first-ever UK Top 10 single? Well don't worry. We've got you covered. 

Who is Gayle?

Gayle is just 17 years old and hails from Dallas, Texas but has been based in Nashville for a few years. In 2021, she signed a deal with major label Atlantic Records, who have released abcdefu. Previously to this, she dropped music as an independent artist was actually discovered by former American Idol judge and pop songwriter Kara DioGuardi (Kylie's Spinning Around, Ashlee Simpson's Pieces Of Me) aged just 14 at a singing competition. 

"It was the most random thing," she told Flaunt. "It was not something I’d ever expect to change my life, because it really did. She picked my name out of a hat."

What is abcdefu and how is it doing on the Official Charts?

abcdefu is Gayle's debut solo single as a major label artist. Written by the artist herself, along with Sara Davies and David Pittenger, with production courtesy of Peter Nappi. 

Much like Olivia Rodrigo's chart-topping Good 4 U, abcdefu is a kiss-off anthem to an ex, although it takes a much more...aggressive route to forgiveness than the former (the closest song we can compare it to is Halsey's incendiary Easier Than Lying), basically salting the earth so nothing can grow there ever again.

The inspiration for the track, though? Quite simple really, if you ask Gayle. 

"Unfortunately, I felt like writing a song about telling my ex and his entire family to f*ck off," she told The Honey Pop. "Breaking into his home to film the music video might have been a little much."

The track has really taken off in the UK over the last couple of weeks, despite first being released in August. Thanks of course to its viral status on social media platforms such as TikTok, abcdefu is currently sitting at Number 14 on the Official Singles Chart. On its current trajectory, it should break into the Top 10 this Friday. It would be Gayle's first-ever UK Top 10 hit.