"ABCDEFU" (also known by its radio-edited title "ABC (Nicer)"; stylized in

all lowercase Letter case is the distinction between the letters that are in larger uppercase or capitals (more formally ''majuscule'') and smaller lowercase (more formally ''minuscule'') in the written representation of certain languages. The writing systems ...

) is the major-label debut single by American singer Gayle, released on August 13, 2021, through

Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the Age of Discovery, it was known for se ...

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" 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 16 countries. In 2022, the song was nominated for Song of the Year for the

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Background and promotion

The song marks the first single release since the Nashville-based singer signed with

Atlantic Records Atlantic Recording Corporation (simply known as Atlantic Records) is an American record label founded in October 1947 by Ahmet Ertegun and Herb Abramson. Over the course of its first two decades, starting from the release of its first recor ...

/ Arthouse Records in 2021. On her

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account, Gayle uploaded a video where she stated "I'm out of ongideas" and asked followers to comment song ideas. She said, "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 A joint dislocation, also called luxation, occurs when there is an abnormal separation in the joint, where two or more bones meet. A partial dislocation is referred to as a subluxation. Dislocations are commonly caused by sudden trauma to th ...

her

middle finger The middle finger, long finger, second finger, third finger, toll finger or tall man is the third digit of the human hand, typically located between the index finger and the ring finger. It is typically the longest digit. In anatomy, it is al ...

, 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 A music video is a video that integrates a song or an album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing device intended to ...

was released alongside the single. The video was shot via a

camcorder A camcorder is a self-contained portable electronic device with video and recording as its primary function. It is typically equipped with an articulating screen mounted on the left side, a belt to facilitate holding on the right side, hot-sw ...

at a

low resolution Image resolution is the level of detail of an image. The term applies to digital images, film images, and other types of images. "Higher resolution" means more image detail. Image resolution can be measured in various ways. Resolution quantifies ...

to evoke early 2000s

home video Home video is recorded media sold or Video rental shop, rented for home viewing. The term originates from the VHS and Betamax era, when the predominant medium was videotapes, but has carried over to optical disc formats such as DVD and Blu-ray. ...

s. 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 E major is a major scale based on E, consisting of the pitches E, F, G, A, B, C, and D. Its key signature has four sharps. Its relative minor is C-sharp minor and its parallel minor is E minor. Its enharmonic equivalent, F-flat maj ...

with a

tempo In musical terminology, tempo (Italian for 'time'; plural 'tempos', or from the Italian plural), measured in beats per minute, is the speed or pace of a given musical composition, composition, and is often also an indication of the composition ...

of 122 beats per minute, with Gayle's vocals ranging from G₃ to C₅. The song's title and lyrical content are a

play on words Word play or wordplay (also: play-on-words) is a literary technique and a form of wit in which words used become the main subject of the work, primarily for the purpose of intended effect or amusement. Examples of word play include puns, phone ...

incorporating the first six letters of the

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with the addition of the twenty-first, to form an

initialism An acronym is a type of abbreviation consisting of a phrase whose only pronounced elements are the initial letters or initial sounds of words inside that phrase. Acronyms are often spelled with the initial letter of each word in all caps wi ...

for the profane phrase " Fuck yoU". In the "angrier" version, Gayle sings in the hook "A-B-C-D-E fuck you" to represent its meaning. 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

The song has been a viral hit on platforms such as

and

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. Emily Zemler of ''

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'' 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" – 2:48 Digital download and streaming (Demo version) # "ABCDEFU" – 2:35 Digital download and streaming (Chill version) # "ABCDEFU" – 2:56 Digital download and streaming (Angrier version) # "ABCDEFU" – 2:39 Digital download and streaming (featuring Royal & the Serpent) # "ABCDEFU" – 2:49 Digital download and streaming ABC (The Wild Remix) # "ABC" – 3:02

Charts

Weekly charts

Monthly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Release history

References