At only 22, the pop singer Gayle has already gone multi-platinum. She's opened for Taylor Swift. She's written for Kelly Clarkson and Roddy Ricch.
But her debut album arrives only now.
"At 17, I didn't necessarily feel particularly ready to put out an album," Gayle, born Taylor Gayle Rutherfurd, told The Tennessean.
In 2021, Gayle had been posting singing videos in her bedroom when her pop-rock banger "abcdefu" propelled her into the spotlight.
Suddenly, she was opening for massive acts, like Tate McRae, P!NK, Cyndi Lauper, AJR and My Chemical Romance.
"I couldn't be an opener for the first time and be the best opener that I possibly could be.... and also make my best debut album," she said during an interview in South x Sea Studios in Nashville,
where she recorded her album. "I really hadn't developed my sound or my narrative entirely."
So she set out to do just that.
On Sept. 18, Gayle's debut record drops, called "Observing Chaos." It's an angsty, jagged coming-of-age time capsule.
The 13-track LP follows what happened when Gayle hit pause on the fame and did the normal things that young adults do: party, fall in love, fall out of love, wake up hungover and defeated, kiss guys, kiss girls, and hate the world after having your heart broken.
Here's what to know about Gayle's story.
How Nashville set the stage for Gayle
Around age 12, Gayle moved from Texas to Nashville to pursue music.
She became immersed in the city's songwriting culture, attending songwriters' rounds at spots like Alley Taps, Belcourt Taps and Commodore Grille.
As a teen, she would go up to the other performers at these rounds with her spiel ready: "Hey, I really like your songs. I'm playing after you. This is my card. If you like what you hear, reach out to me and let's do a co-write."
Her mom would drive her to songwriting sessions, Gayle laughed, shouting out all the seasoned songwriters who took time to write with a 14-year-old.
Gayle came of age with a number of singer-songwriters she met at these rounds, including Knox, Marisa McKaye, Ava Paige and Spencer Jordan — all now successful artists across genres, from alt-rock to country.
She also became a regular at the Nashville chapter of the nonprofit Notes for Notes, an organization that offers free recording studios for youth to use.
"Even at 12 years old, it was crystal clear she was going to chase her dream ... for Gayle, it wasn’t an 'if,' but a 'when,'" said Notes for Notes CEO Phil Gilley.
Gilley wasn't the only Nashville figure who recognized Gayle's potential.
In 2022, Nashville Songwriters Association International (NSAI) held a songwriting competition, and Gayle took home a win for "abcdefu."
The ceremony for the competition took place at the Ryman Auditorium, where Gayle hit the stage to sing her song.
Her performance of the expletive-laced track that calls out a toxic ex was ... well, spirited.
Gayle went so hard her necklace broke onstage, beads flying everywhere. Her strapless dress was inching down, her earrings fell out and she almost took a tumble, too. All the while, stars like Garth Brooks and Kenny Chesney watched on in the audience.
"And if I knew Taylor Swift was backstage watching me, I probably would have acted a little differently."
Nonetheless, Swift was impressed and asked Gayle backstage if she would be an opener for her upcoming tour.
Soon, Gayle was hitting the stage before Swift on the Eras Tour. "It truly was a Cinderella moment," Gayle said.
Gayle on chaos, queerness and growing up
Beyond the Eras Tour gig, Gayle began non-stop touring for three years, checking items off her musical bucket list left and right.
But when she came back from the road, she crashed.
After having her songs sung back to her in stadiums of 70,000 people, she'd come home to a messy room, covered in piles of dirty clothes because she didn't have time to do laundry between tours.
"I had a bit of an identity crisis. I needed to catch up on three years of sleep," she said. "I was going through such high highs, which made normal life sometimes feel like a low."
Gayle was consumed by hateful comments on the internet and streaming numbers.
So, after releasing two EPs, Gayle decided to separate her identity from her music, ground herself in gratitude and experience a few normal Nashville years.
"I'm not a teenager anymore. And I think I needed to connect to what it means to feel like a woman," she said.
Those few years became the foundation for "Observing Chaos," an album Gayle co-wrote and co-produced.
"'Observing Chaos' is basically about my life from the ages of 17 to 21. How really great things in your career and really sh***y things can be happening in your personal life at the same time," she said.
In typical Gayle fashion, the record starts with jaw-dropping lyrics.
On the opening track "Clementine" — an acoustic strummer that turns into a pop-punk heater — she sings: "You b****, you hypocrite."
"I was in this long-term relationship, and the person ended it to be with someone else," Gayle said, explaining the meaning behind the song.
"I still want him to miss me. I still want him to come back to me. But I'm actually pretty angry at myself for wanting those things."
And yes, Gayle said the ex was unfortunately one of those "Nashville cool boys."
The rest of the record balances piano ballads bolstered by soaring vocals alongside Gayle's angst-driven, snarling pop-rock tracks.
On some tracks, Gayle wrote about her sapphic side. It's the first time Gayle has captured this side of her sexuality in song, it's something she's always known about herself.
"I remember when gay marriage became legal. I was like, 'Oh, I can marry a girl or marry a boy.' Even as a little kid, I had that conversation with my mom so young, it didn't need to be anything," she said. "I just want to be myself."
"She's the best / floor would love to meet her dress / Scrape my knees, strawberries / Kiss it better, pretty please," she sings in "Junebug." And in the song "Clara," Gayle sings a frantic ode to an old crush.
"I wanted to capture the hopelessness of trying to get a girl to pay attention to me in that way. In Nashville, it's very hard," Gayle said.
In the Nashville metro area, only about 3.7% of adults identify as LGBTQ+, according to 2021 data from UCLA.
But in town, the thriving queer spaces are growing, Gayle said, shouting out QDP, Lipstick Lounge and a gay kickball league ran by HotMess Sports.
By the album's end, we're clear on where Gayle landed with whirlwind romances, and with herself.
"Observing Chaos" shows Gayle stepping into herself and maturing alongside her audience, sharpening her pen all the while.
"She’s a very fast and decisive songwriter," said producer Willie Breeding. "She knows what she wants ... We are lucky to have her here in town."
Meanwhile, Gayle credits much of her success to Music City.
"Why I am the way I am is because of Nashville songwriting," she said.
Gayle's journey is almost like Swift's trajectory, spending those early teenage years learning about songwriting in Nashville, cutting her teeth one co-write at a time.
Both singers are reminders that Music City doesn't just churn out country stars — it's also a launching pad for pop singers, rockers, punk artists, and acts that combine all kinds of genre sensibilities.
"We are so powerful and yet still so underestimated in so many ways. I'm so excited to see how much we get to build, because nobody's gonna know what's coming," Gayle added.
"This is my town." Audrey Gibbs is a music journalist at The Tennessean. You can reach her at agibbs@tennessean.com.
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Behind the scenes of Gayle's new album 'Observing Chaos'
