Introduction
Taylor Gayle Rutherfurd (born June 10, 2004), known professionally as Gayle (stylized in all caps), is an American singer and songwriter. After signing with Atlantic Records and Arthouse Entertainment, she released her hit single "ABCDEFU" in 2021, which charted worldwide, including reaching number one in the United Kingdom, Ireland, and on the Billboard Global 200 and earned her a Grammy Award nomination for Song of the Year.
Early life
Taylor Gayle Rutherfurd was born on June 10, 2004 in Plano, Texas. She started singing at the age of seven and eventually moved to Nashville, Tennessee, to pursue a musical career. She reports that she is dyslexic and has chromesthesia, sound-to-color synesthesia in which sound involuntarily evokes an experience of color.
Career
2020–2022: Beginnings, breakout success and EPs
In 2020, she signed her first record with Arthouse Entertainment.
After releasing several self-produced singles, Gayle was discovered by former American Idol judge and Arthouse music publisher Kara DioGuardi and was signed to Atlantic Records and Arthouse.
In 2021, Gayle released "ABCDEFU", her major-label debut single with Atlantic and Arthouse. It became viral on TikTok and Spotify. "ABCDEFU" peaked at number three on the Billboard Hot 100. Outside of the United States, "ABCDEFU" topped the charts in Finland, Germany, Ireland, Norway, Sweden, and the United Kingdom, and the top ten in Australia, Austria, New Zealand, and Switzerland. Gayle subsequently released the song "Ur Just Horny" on January 19, 2022. On March 18, 2022, Gayle released a six-song extended play (EP) titled A Study of the Human Experience Volume One via Atlantic and Arthouse.
On March 19, 2022, Gayle was a fill-in host for the CHR version of Ryan Seacrest's American Top 40, where her song "ABCDEFU" spent its first week at number one.
On September 19, 2022, Gayle announced that she was canceling her Avoiding College Tour.
On October 7, 2022, Gayle released her second extended play, A Study of the Human Experience Volume Two.
On December 9, 2022, Gayle released a third extended play, A Study of the Human Experience Volume Two and a Half. Rather than new bodies of music, the EP consists of eight new versions of songs from her previous two extended plays.
2023: Touring and standalone releases
On March 9, 2023, Gayle released the standalone single, "Everybody Hates Me". She served as an opening act on multiple shows of the US leg of Taylor Swift's Eras Tour, and on the European leg of Pink's Summer Carnival tour; from March to August and June to July 2023, respectively. She will also perform on the second European leg of the Summer Carnival, in June and July 2024. On April 14, 2023, Lauren Spencer-Smith's "Fantasy", a collaboration with Gayle and Em Beihold, was released as the sixth single from Spencer's album, Mirror (2023). Gayle co-wrote Kelly Clarkson's 2023 single "Me", which was released on the same day. On May 5, 2023, she released "Don't Call Me Pretty". Gayle performed and co-wrote "Butterflies"—a re-titled "bedroom-pop" rework of the song "Butterfly" by Crazy Town, which it also interpolates—for Barbie the Album, which was released in July. In August, she released the single "Leave Me for Dead". Her next song, "I Don't Sleep as Good as I Used to", followed on October 6. Gayle embarked on her debut headlining tour, the Scared but Trying Tour. It commenced on October 17 in Tampa, Florida and ended on November 15, 2023 in Nashville, Tennessee.
Tours
Headlining
- Scared but Trying Tour (2023)
Supporting
- AJR - OK Orchestra Tour (2021)
- My Chemical Romance – Reunion Tour (2022, Dublin dates)
- Taylor Swift – The Eras Tour (2023)
- Pink – Summer Carnival (2023)
Discography
Compilation albums
| Title | Details |
|---|---|
| Hello This Is The Setlist for My Tour |
|
Extended plays
| Title | Details | Peak chart positions | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| US |
CAN |
FRA | ||
| A Study of the Human Experience Volume One |
|
138 | 43 | 110 |
| A Study of the Human Experience Volume Two |
|
— | — | — |
| A Study of the Human Experience Volume Two and a Half |
|
— | — | — |
| This Was My Setlist When I Opened Up for People This Year |
|
— | — | — |
Singles
As lead artist
| Title | Year | Peak chart positions | Certifications | Album | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US |
AUS |
AUT |
CAN |
GER |
IRE |
NZ |
SWI |
UK |
WW | |||||
| "Z" | 2020 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Non-album singles | ||
| "Dumbass" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||||
| "Happy for You" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||||
| "Orange Peel" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||||
| "ABCDEFU" | 2021 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
|
A Study of the Human Experience Volume One | |
| "Ur Just Horny" | 2022 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||
| "Don't Trip" (with Justus Bennetts) |
— | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Non-album single | |||
| "Indieedgycool" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | A Study of the Human Experience Volume Two | |||
| "God Has a Sense of Humor" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||||
| "Snow Angels" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||||
| "FMK" (with Blackbear) |
— | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||||
| "Everybody Hates Me" | 2023 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | This Was My Setlist When I Opened up for People This Year | ||
| "Fantasy" (with Lauren Spencer-Smith and Em Beihold) |
— | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Mirror | |||
| "Don't Call Me Pretty" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | This Was My Setlist When I Opened up for People This Year | |||
| "Leave Me for Dead" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Hello This Is The Setlist for My Tour | |||
| "I Don't Sleep as Good as I Used To" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||||
| "—" denotes a single that did not chart or was not released in that territory. | ||||||||||||||
As featured artist
| Title | Year | Album |
|---|---|---|
| "Oscar Nominated" (James Droll featuring Gayle) |
2021 | Non-album single |
Promotional singles
| Title | Year | Album |
|---|---|---|
| "Butterflies" | 2023 | Barbie the Album |
Awards and nominations
| Year | Award | Category | Work | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | American Music Awards | New Artist of the Year | Herself | Nominated | |
| Billboard Music Awards | Top Viral Song | "ABCDEFU" | Nominated | ||
| Danish Music Awards | International Hit of the Year | Nominated | |||
| Los 40 Music Awards | Best International New Artist | Herself | Nominated | ||
| MTV Europe Music Awards | Best New Act | Nominated | |||
| MTV Millennial Awards | Global Hit of the Year | "ABCDEFU" | Nominated | ||
| MTV Video Music Awards | Best New Artist | Herself | Nominated | ||
| Push Performance of the Year | "ABCDEFU" | Nominated | |||
| NRJ Music Awards | International Hit of the Year | Nominated | |||
| International Revelation of the Year | Herself | Nominated | |||
| People's Choice Awards | New Artist of 2022 | Nominated | |||
| 2023 | Grammy Awards | Song of the Year | "ABCDEFU" | Nominated | |
| Kids' Choice Awards | Favorite Breakout Artist | Herself | Nominated | ||
| Circle Chart Music Awards | International Rising Star | Won | |||
| iHeartRadio Music Awards | Best New Pop Artist | Nominated | |||
| Social Star Award | Nominated | ||||
| Best Lyrics | "ABCDEFU" | Nominated | |||
| APRA Music Awards | Most Performed International Work of the Year | Nominated |