GAYLE Performs Fiery Version of Viral “abcdefu” on ‘The Tonight Show’

Sometimes you have to break up to break out, and that’s exactly what rising star GAYLE has done. Her most recent single, the viral “abcdefu,” is a rocking anthem about the aftermath of a breakup. The song’s fun “idgaf” attitude was the breakout hit GAYLE needed to put her on the global stage.

Wednesday night (January 5), GAYLE performed “abcdefu” on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon for her late-night TV debut. The singer/songwriter performed with a live band while delivering her fiery track.

GAYLE did censor part of the song to fit the TV broadcast, but this is not the first time the singer has remixed “abcdefu.” After the song’s initial success, GAYLE released an “angrier” version of the track in addition to a “chill” version, and a “nicer” version (like the version performed on The Tonight Show). GAYLE also collaborated with Royal & the Serpent and The Wild for two more remixes of the song.

Any way you listen to it, though, the message remains the same. “[The song is] empowering you to get pissed off,” GAYLE previously told American Songwriter. “You can still be yourself a good person, but be mad at somebody at the same time. I definitely bottled it all up, so when it came out, it exploded into this big, ‘I hate your mom, I hate your sister. I kind of hate you. Not your dog though, your dog’s really cute.’”

I was into you, but I’m over it now / And I was tryin’ to be nice / But nothing’s getting through, so let me spell it out / A-B-C-D-E, F-U / And your mom and your sister and your job, GAYLE sings in the original version.

Before her late-night performance, GAYLE acted out her famous lyrics with host Jimmy Fallon. Their brief skit is reminiscent of the “abcdefu” TikTok trend that helped GAYLE shoot into stardom.

Watch below.

Photo by Luke Rogers.