EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW: GAYLE Says What We Are All Thinking In ‘abcdefu’ And We Got To Ask Her All About It!

GAYLE is a larger-than-life, 17-year-old singer-songwriter from the Dallas, TX area. She started singing at the age of seven after learning about jazz vocalists like Ella Fitzgerald. Later on, she was introduced to Aretha Franklin, who became one of GAYLE’s musical inspirations. Her lyrics are honest and empowering, and like the rest of us, just trying to make it through life one day at a time! Unlike most of us, however, she has recently signed to Atlantic Records and is beginning to release her first bits of music as a signed artist!

Her most recent single, ‘abcdefu,’ is the revenge single we’ve been waiting on! She says everything we only dreamed of saying to that one ex (you know the one), and it is breathing new life into our tired souls.

About the track she says:

That 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. It’s about asking, ‘Why am I being so nice to this person who completely took advantage of me?’, and allowing myself to express my anger about that.

GAYLE on ‘abcdefu’

WE.LOVE.THAT. Everything about this song is flawless and now it’s your turn to hear it for yourself (if you haven’t already) – check it out below!

SLAY, QUEEN! Now, we’re sure you’ve fallen in love not only with the song but also with GAYLE, so we won’t hold you up any longer! Let’s dive into this interview headfirst!

We are fully obsessed with the music video for ‘abcdefu,’ how did the idea to make the ex a “home video” of what we decided to call the Revenge Chronicles? Was that actually the exes house?
Unfortunately, I felt like writing a song about telling my ex and his entire family to f*ck off and then breaking into his home to film the music video might have been a little much. I definitely tried to re-create his room to the best of my ability and honestly, it’s pretty close.

What is your favorite lyric from ‘abcdefu?’ Which part of the music video did you have the most fun filming?
“Told everyone I’m a b*tch so I became it” is definitely my favorite lyric. Honestly, driving around in my car with the VHS camera was one of my favorite parts to film because we’re really just d*cking around and filming it. 

Are there any fun behind-the-scenes moments from the video that didn’t make the final cut?
Honestly, originally we were all supposed to take a bath for ‘abc’ but we all couldn’t fit- we definitely tried to and that was funny to see. 

Before its official release, you shared a snippet of ‘abcdefu’ on TikTok and it garnered 1 million views very rapidly. Did you expect to have the song blow up as it did? What is that feeling like when a song you wrote goes viral?
I try really hard not to set any expectations and just be grateful for the results, especially when it comes to TikTok. It meant so much to me that people can take a negative experience that I wrote about and turn it into a positive thing.

Out of curiosity, did the ex you’re singing about hear the song, and did they have a response about it?
I blocked them on everything haha

How did you decide on the title of the song? Did you pick that out before you wrote it or did you choose it after the song was finished? 
Originally the title was supposed to be ‘abcdef*ckoff’ but with the way we ended up writing the song we decided to go with ‘abcdefu.’

You have recently signed with Atlantic Records, congratulations! How are you feeling about being signed to such a major label?
I feel like I’m living in a fever dream. It’s so exciting to say that I’ve signed with my dream label Atlantic Records.

Some of your earliest musical inspirations include Ella Fitzgerald and Aretha Franklin, who else would you say inspired you to pursue a career in music and made you the singer/songwriter you are? 
Julia Michaels has really become a huge inspiration to me. She is an amazing songwriter and collaborator while also being an amazing artist and that’s honestly so impressive to me. 

As a young artist in the industry, so many young people will look up to you because they can relate to your music and may want to pursue a career in music early on, do you have any relationship/career/life advice that you can share with them that you’ve learned in your 17 years of life?
I try my best to do what makes me happy, not based on what anyone else wants me to do. I purposely surround myself with people who accept me for exactly who I am so it becomes easier to let the people who don’t, not affect me.

Also, as a young artist, you still have a lot of life ahead of you and a lot of time in the industry. Do you have any big items on your bucket list (career or otherwise) that you’re hoping to check off in the next five years?
I would love to perform at Bonnaroo. The last two times I’ve tried to play at Bonnaroo it’s gotten canceled so hopefully one day I’ll be blessed with the opportunity to play 

We love being able to indulge our readers with new music or allow them to see if their music taste is similar to their faves, so what are your top five songs that you can’t get enough of at the moment?
1. ‘No Role Modelz’ by J Cole
2. ‘Spins’ by Mac Miller 
3. ‘Chasing Parties’ by Sasha Alex Sloan 
4. ‘Déjà Vu’ by Oliva Rodrigo 
5. ‘Complex’ by Tristen

Well, there you have it! Another incredible interview in the bag! Thanks for chatting with us, GAYLE! We loved every second of it, and we can’t wait to see what you have up your sleeve for us!

What do you think of GAYLE and her new song ‘abcdefu?’ Do you love it as much as we do? What are your thoughts on our interview with her? Let us know in the comments below or by tweeting us @TheHoneyPOP! You can also hit us up on Facebook and Instagram!

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TO LEARN MORE ABOUT GAYLE:
FACEBOOK | INSTAGRAM | TIKTOK | TWITTER | YOUTUBE

Featured Image Source: GAYLE via Luke Rogers/ Edited by: Emily Defoor- The Honey Pop Graphics Team