Rising indie artist Abigail Fierce returns with her latest single, ‘14 Cigarettes’, a track that recalls both Taylor Swift’s emotional storytelling and Courtney Love’s raw energy. With over 5.7 million streams on Spotify alone, the LA-based musician continues to build an impressive following—all while remaining fully independent.
‘14 Cigarettes’ features swirling electric guitars and angsty vocals, opening with the striking lyric: “We didn’t die a natural death, you killed us with disrespect”. Fierce, who wrote the song and played all the instruments on the track except the drums, expresses a dynamic range of feelings—longing, anger, self-reflection—in under four minutes of music.
In addition to her music career, Abigail Fierce is an accomplished actress. She has appeared in Hulu’s ‘Love, Victor’, NBC’s ‘This Is Us’, Netflix’s ‘American Vandal’, and Paramount+/Nickelodeon’s ‘Fantasy Football’, produced by LeBron James and starring Kelly Rowland.
In this exclusive Q&A, Abigail Fierce shares more about the inspiration behind ‘14 Cigarettes’, her musical process, and her growing success.
Tell us more about the message behind ‘14 Cigarettes’?
“This song is the next chapter in my musical journey. I’m super hands-on in the studio, so I’m constantly evolving and playing with new sounds.
“All of my songs tell stories, and I wanted to take the listener on a sonic journey of experiencing a full relationship in under four minutes.”
“A break-up song at its core, it covers the full span of heartbreak, from still being in contact with your ex, missing them, being angry at them, and then—on the exploding, chaotic bridge—being mad at yourself, and finally admitting that you saw the red flags all along.”
The single cover features a vintage Mustang. What made you pick that?
“The lyrics to the chorus are: ‘Now it hurts me to think of you driving away in your old Mustang, with my cassette tapes on the dash. When you left you took a piece of me, 14 cigarettes and all my best memories’. I love vintage cars, so naturally I’m gonna sneak one into a song (I had a classic VW bus in my ‘Some Sorta Goodbye’ music video).”
You’re Gen Z—surely you’re not actually listening to cassette tapes?!
“I’m a sucker for all kinds of vintage media! I don’t have the space right now for a record collection, but that’s the goal. My parents’ friend from college sent me two huge boxes of his old cassettes and I’ve been going through all of them. Lots of Fleetwood Mac and Wham! I do of course stream as well…especially when I need some higher audio quality.”
What are your musical inspirations?
“I love all kinds of music, from grunge to folk, which you can probably hear throughout my whole discography, but I feel like ‘14 Cigarettes’ brings them all together in one song while still feeling cohesive. On the track, you’ll hear the influence of 2010s singer-songwriters as well as 90s grunge.”
“Lyrics are my favorite part of songwriting—I want my words to create a clear image in your mind and elicit a poignant, visceral feeling.”
“I think the song’s most poetic moments lie in the verses. ‘Err on the side of disconnect, our love always had side effects’ is one of my favorite lines I’ve ever written.”
What have been the highlights of your singing career so far?
“I recently got to open for a Taylor Swift tribute band. I was playing my original music for a crowd of 10,000, which was really cool. Many of my songs have placed in top songwriting competitions, which I’m really proud of. ‘I Miss You’ was placed on five Spotify editorial playlists, named a winner in last year’s International Songwriting Competition, and the music video is currently making the rounds at indie film festivals.”
‘14 Cigarettes’ is now available on all major streaming platforms.
You can also catch Abigail in her latest on-screen role in ‘Skill House’, a satirical horror film co-starring Bryce Hall and Hannah Stocking, just released in U.S. theatres.
Follow Abigail on Instagram and TikTok: @akfierce