GAYLE, abcdefu | 1 Hit WONDERful

In the 44^th edition of 1 Hit WONDERful (2025), we highlight the Grammy-nominated song, “abcdefu,” performed by GAYLE. 

It only takes ONE hit to solidify a musical legacy 💯! On 1 Hit WONDERful, we highlight songs that were the SOLE hit by a given musician.  It is possible that the artists appearing on this list earned a minor hit or two, BUT for the most part, that ONE hit earned them recognition. So, in the 44^th edition of 1 Hit WONDERful (2025), we dive into “abcdefu”, the one-hit wonder by GAYLE.

What other way is there to react than by saying holy fuck 😮?! GAYLE (Taylor Gayle Rutherfurd, b. 2004) continues, “Fuck you and your friends that I’ll never see again / Everybody but your dog, you can all fuck off.” Charming 😬.  At least Scooby Doo is spared from this fuckery! To be fair, GAYLE could potentially earn another hit. She’s young and maybe, just maybe, she and her songwriting team pen the perfect song to erase her one-hit-wonder status. But, for now, our f-bomb-loving Gen-Z singer-songwriter has only struck gold once.  The gold? The angst-filled “abcdefu”, penned by GAYLE, Sara Davis, and David Pittenger and produced by Peter Nappi. “Abcdefu” peaked at number three on the Billboard Hot 100.  Outside of the U.S., the single had ample success, too.  It earned Rutherfurd a huge honor: a surprise Grammy nomination for Song Of The Year at the 65^th Annual Grammy Awards.

On “abcdefu,” GAYLE is angry… No shit, Sherlock 🕵! Why? Love that has expired.  They were together, have broken up, and she is over his sugar, honey, iced tea.  Now that they are no longer an item, Rutherford talks about this lame-o something fierce! “Now you’re textin’ all my friends asking questions / They never even liked you in the first place.” Oop! He’s even more annoying, dating a girl she hates, purposely, though it doesn’t last – shocker! At the end of the first verse, she adds, “It’s like you’d do anythin’ for my affection / You’re goin’ all about it in the worst ways.” There is a striking lyric that appears in the second verse: “Told everyone I’m a bitch, so I became it / Always had to put yourself above me.” Oh, snap! But let’s stop beating around the bush, folks. The moment that we all loved (or cringed at hearing, depending on your view of this song), is the spelling-driven chorus: “A-B-C-D-E-, F you / And your mom and your sister and your job…” Beyond the ellipsis, the lyrics from the intro (excerpted above) complete Rutherford’s anger.  The lyrics are self-explanatory, and GAYLE sings them with angst, attitude, and ample personality.  How many fucks does she give? Zero, of course.  “Abcdefu” wasn’t necessarily my cup of tea back in 2021, but I understand why it was popular, certified quadruple platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America.

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GAYLE » “abcdefu” » Atlantic Recording Corporation » 2021

GAYLE, abcdefu: 1 Hit WONDERful No. 44 (2025) [📷: Brent Faulkner / The Musical Hype; Atlantic Recording Corporation; Antoni Shkraba, KoolShooters, Pavel Danilyuk, Photo By: Kaboompics.com, RDNE Stock project from Pexels; AcatXIo, OpenClipart-Vectors from Pixabay]

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