Abcdefu
ABCDEFU (also known by its radio-edited title ABC; stylized in all lowercase) is the major-label debut single by American singer Gayle, released on August 13, 2021, through Atlantic and Arthouse Records.
It was co-written by Gayle with Sara Davis and David Pittenger, and produced by Pete Nappi. The song is the lead single from Gayle's debut EP A Study of the Human Experience Volume One.
| "ABCDEFU" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
.png) | ||||
| Single by Gayle | ||||
| from the EP A Study of the Human Experience Volume One | ||||
| Released | August 13, 2021 | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 2:48 | |||
| Label | ||||
| Songwriter(s) |
| |||
| Producer(s) | Pete Nappi | |||
| Gayle singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Music video | ||||
| "ABCDEFU" on YouTube | ||||
"ABCDEFU" reached number one on the Billboard Global 200 and, in the United States, peaked at number three on the Billboard Hot 100. Outside the US, "ABCDEFU" topped the charts in Austria, Belgium (Wallonia), Finland, Germany, Iceland, Ireland, Luxembourg, Malaysia, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom.
In 2022, the song was nominated for Song of the Year for the 65th Annual Grammy Awards.
Background and promotion
The song marks the first single release since the Nashville-based singer signed with Atlantic Records/Arthouse Records in 2021. On her TikTok account, Gayle uploaded a video where she stated "I'm out of [song] ideas" and asked followers to comment song ideas. "Comment anything and I'll try my best to turn it into a song." Nancy Berman, a marketing manager at Atlantic Records, commented, asking for a song that incorporates the alphabet. Within a few days, Gayle uploaded another video of her strumming the chorus of the song.
According to Gayle, the song "came from a place of trying so hard to be the nice, respectful ex-girlfriend, to the point where it was negatively affecting me". In an interview with Tongue Tied Mag, Gayle explained the inspiration behind the song: "After the breakup, I was trying really, really hard to be a nice person—like, overcompensating for it—like, the week after we broke up, I called him and was, like, 'Hey, bud!' and 'What's up, my friend?!'" On March 31, 2021, Gayle stated on Instagram that she had dislocated her middle finger, and the X-ray scan from the hospital was used for the single's cover art.
The song achieved mainstream success within a few months after release, surpassing over 500 million global streams as of March 2022. Gayle has since released different versions of the song, including the demo, a "chill version", and an "angrier version". The original song reached 1 billion streams on July 9, 2023.
Music video
The accompanying music video was released alongside the single. The video was shot via a camcorder at a low resolution to evoke early 2000s home videos. In the music video, the singer and her friends visit and look around her ex's home.
Composition
According to the digital sheet music published at musicnotes.com by Warner Music Publishing, "ABCDEFU" is written in the key of E major with a tempo of 122 beats per minute, with Gayle's vocals ranging from G♯3 to C♯5. The song's title and lyrical content are a play on words incorporating the first six letters of the alphabet with the addition of the twenty-first to form an initialism for the profane phrase "Fuck yoU".
Sonically, the song is characterized by "minimalistic sonics" and "jagged guitar work", while it "reaches its climax with a massive sing-a-long chorus".
Critical reception
Gayle's song has been a viral hit on platforms such as TikTok and Instagram. Emily Zemler of Rolling Stone praised the passion of Gayle's live renditions of the piece. April Bredael of Tongue Tied Magazine thought the song "adds to a growing list of accomplishments" of the singer with tracks that are "authentic, honest, and unapologetic".
Track listing
Digital download and streaming (Nicer version)
- "ABC" (nicer) – 2:48
- Digital download and streaming (Demo version)
- "ABCDEFU" (demo) – 2:35
Digital download and streaming (Chill version)
- "ABCDEFU" (chill) – 2:56
Digital download and streaming (Angrier version)
- "ABCDEFU" (angrier) – 2:39
Digital download and streaming (featuring Royal & the Serpent)
- "ABCDEFU" (featuring Royal & the Serpent) – 2:49
Digital download and streaming (The Wild Remix)
- "ABC" (The Wild Remix) – 3:02
Charts
Weekly charts
| Year-end charts
|
Certifications
| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| Australia (ARIA) | 3× Platinum | 210,000‡ |
| Austria (IFPI Austria) | 3× Platinum | 90,000‡ |
| Brazil (Pro-Música Brasil) | 2× Platinum | 80,000‡ |
| Canada (Music Canada) | 4× Platinum | 320,000‡ |
| Denmark (IFPI Danmark) | Platinum | 90,000‡ |
| France (SNEP) | Diamond | 333,333‡ |
| Germany (BVMI) | 3× Gold | 600,000‡ |
| Italy (FIMI) | 3× Platinum | 300,000‡ |
| New Zealand (RMNZ) | Platinum | 30,000‡ |
| Poland (ZPAV) | 3× Platinum | 150,000‡ |
| Portugal (AFP) | 2× Platinum | 20,000‡ |
| Spain (PROMUSICAE) | Gold | 30,000‡ |
| United Kingdom (BPI) | 2× Platinum | 1,200,000‡ |
| United States (RIAA) | 4× Platinum | 4,000,000‡ |
| ‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone. | ||
Release history
| Region | Date | Format | Version | Label | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Various | August 13, 2021 |
| Original | Atlantic | |
| August 14, 2021 | Nicer | ||||
| September 10, 2021 | Demo | ||||
| September 13, 2021 | Cartoonito Version | ||||
| September 17, 2021 | Angrier | ||||
| September 18, 2021 | |||||
| September 24, 2021 | Chill | ||||
| November 19, 2021 | Royal & the Serpent remix | ||||
| Italy | November 26, 2021 | Radio airplay | Original | Warner | |
| United States | December 7, 2021 | Contemporary hit radio | Atlantic | ||
| Various | December 31, 2021 |
| The Wild remix | ||
| February 18, 2022 | CD single |
|
|
References
This article uses material from the Wikipedia English article ABCDEFU, which is released under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 license ("CC BY-SA 3.0"); additional terms may apply (view authors). Content is available under CC BY-SA 4.0 unless otherwise noted. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
®Wikipedia is a registered trademark of the Wiki Foundation, Inc. Wiki English (DUHOCTRUNGQUOC.VN) is an independent company and has no affiliation with Wiki Foundation.