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"Hollaback Girl" is a pop song written by American singer-songwriter Gwen Stefani and producer Pharrell Williams for Stefani's debut solo album, Love. Angel. Music. Baby (2004). The anthemic, beat-driven track was produced by Williams and Chad Hugo of The Neptunes. The central lyrical theme revolves around Stefani's declaration that she "ain't no hollaback girl".

"Hollaback Girl" was released as the third single from Love. Angel. Music. Baby. in the spring of 2005. Despite receiving a mixed reception from critics, it became an international success, peaking at number one in Australia and Canada, number eight in the United Kingdom, and number one in the United States. Besides being Stefani's first number-one single, "Hollaback Girl" was also the first non hip-hop, non American Idol number one hit since late 2001. In the United States, "Hollaback Girl" became the first digital download to exceed sales of one million. As of December 10th 2005, the song was nominated for the 2006 Grammy awards for "Record of the Year" and "Best Female Pop Vocal Performance".

Composition and meaning

Stefani had worked with The Neptunes during the early stages of writing her album. However, a case of writer's block left early collaborations uninspired and unsuccessful. She regained her confidence as the album neared completion, and approached The Neptunes for a second attempt. Stefani and Pharrell Williams wrote two songs together, but Stefani was soon prepared to abandon the effort. Before her departure, Williams called her back into the studio. Stefani commented, "I was tired. I wanted to go home, but he was like, 'Don't leave yet.' So I come back, and he starts playing me his solo album. If something's really good, I get really jealous. So I'm like, 'You are a fricking genius. I can't believe I'm sitting in here with you right now, and you have these songs. We have to write another song.' I'm greedy." Although at the time Stefani felt there were already too many songs for the album, she and Williams completed "Hollaback Girl". Commenting later, Stefani explained, "I did the whole record, but I knew I didn't have my attitude song — my 'this is my history, fuck you because you can't erase it' song. I knew I wanted a song like that."

In "Hollaback Girl", Stefani declares that, although she has been "around the track" a few times, she "ain't no hollaback girl". The song contains profanity, using the word "shit" thirty-eight times. The word is excised in the North American and Australian radio and music video versions.

Stefani never explained what the term hollaback girl means. In a line-by-line analysis of the song's lyrics, OC Weekly reviewer Greg Stacy speculated that "Gwen is apparently the captain of the cheerleader squad; she is the girl who 'hollas' the chants, not one of the girls who simply 'hollas' them back". Urban Dictionary claims that hollaback girl means, "someone who allows people to treat him/her like a doormat and walk all over him/her", and credits the term's invention to Stefani. However, "Hollaback" had gained popularity in 2002, when it was featured in the Fabolous hit "Young'n (Holla Back)." After Fabolous sang the hook "Holla back, young'n," the line was immediately followed by background vocals responding with "Whoo-whoo!"

Music

"Hollaback Girl" features few instruments. It is primarily anthemic and beat-driven. Each time the chorus is sung, the number of instruments increases.

It uses a Rick Rubin remix of the late '70s Queen hit single, We Will Rock You which was also used by Jay-Z for his single 99 Problems. Another reference to Queen is made with the ending lyric of a verse 'another one bites the dust', the title of their most disco-influenced song written by bassist John Deacon; the bass riff of this song accompanies the music for the short period while this line is spoken.

Critical response

"Hollaback Girl" had a polarizing effect on music critics. LAUNCHcast's Jennifer Nine described it as a "stomping, stripped-back track", while All Music Guide said that it had the "thumping, minimal beats of The Neptunes." Richard Smirke called it "a trademark Neptunes hip-hop stomp." Rolling Stone was pleased with the song, and in their review for Stefani's Love. Angel. Music. Baby. album, wrote: "Stefani's gum-snapping sass brings out the beast in her beatmasters, especially the Neptunes in 'Hollaback Girl'." Blender listed it as the eleventh best song of 2005.

On the other hand, Jason Damas, in a review for PopMatters, described the song as sounding "almost exactly like Dizzee Rascal", and added, "lyrically, this is where Gwen sinks the lowest here, especially on a breakdown where she repeats, 'This shit is bananas/ B-A-N-A-N-A-S!' several times". Eric Greenwood of DrawerB commented: " moronic and embarrassingly tuneless. I’d quote the lyrics, but they’re so bad, I almost feel sorry for her. A 35-year-old woman singing about pom-poms and 'talking shit' in high school betrays such a delusional self-image that it's hard not to be taken aback. And on top of that, The Neptunes' beats are clunky and the production is senselessly bombastic."

Nick Sylvester of Pitchfork insulted the track, referring to it as a "Queen pastiche which has about as much club potential as a 13-year old with a milk moustache and his dad's ID." Maxim was not thrilled with the song either, and in their September 2005 issue, published a list of the 20 Most Annoying Songs Ever; "Hollaback Girl" came in first place. It ranked higher than other number-one singles such as Céline Dion's "My Heart Will Go On" (number three) and the Spice Girls' "Wannabe" (number five).

Chart performance

The single was officially solicited to radio in North America on April 5 2005, although the music video had been released two weeks earlier, on March 21. "Hollaback Girl" entered the Billboard Hot 100, the main U.S. chart, at number eighty-two, and within six weeks of its release, it had reached the number-one position, making it the fastest-rising single to reach the top in 2005; it also became Stefani's first U.S. number-one. It maintained the number-one for four weeks. The single spent thirty-three weeks on the Billboard Hot 100, thirty-one of which were in the top fifty. It was removed from the Hot 100 for the week ending October 29, 2005.

"Hollaback Girl" reaching number one on the Hot 100 made it the first non-R&B, non-hip hop, or non-American Idol song to reach number one since Nickelback's "How You Remind Me" in early 2002. However, some argue that the song achieved this due to its hip hop–influenced production. It peaked at number one on the Billboard Pop 100 for eight weeks, and topped its component chart, the Billboard Pop 100 Airplay, for four weeks. "Hollaback Girl" was a small success in the dance clubs, and only peaked at number fifteen on the Hot Dance Music/Club Play chart; it performed better on the Dance Radio Airplay by reaching the top five. The song was also a crossover success, and reached number four on the Rhythmic Top 40, and number eight on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks chart. Both positions were the highest that a non-R&B/hip hop solo artist had attained in the 2000s.

Digitally, "Hollaback Girl" also broke many records. It was the best-selling digital download for the latter three weeks of May 2005, and broke the record for the most downloads sold in one week, totaling over 60,000. The record had previously been held by 50 Cent's "Candy Shop", which sold approximately 50,000 downloads. However, Stefani did not hold the record for long, and in September 2005 it was broken by Kanye West's and Jamie Foxx's "Gold Digger". "Hollaback Girl" exceeded one million digital downloads for the week ending October 4, 2005, and was the first single to ever accomplish this; it was certified 5× platinum. Due to its downloads, it reached number one on both digital sales charts, the Hot Digital Songs and Hot Digital Tracks, concurrently.

The success of "Hollaback Girl" was duplicated in Canada, where the song debuted at number twelve on the Canadian Singles Chart. Six weeks after its release, the song reached number one, where it remained for three weeks before descending the chart. It remained in the top forty of the chart for the following four months. In the rest of the world, reaction to "Hollaback Girl" was generally positive, but not as overwhelming as it had been in North America. It was released in Australia on May 23, 2005 and in Europe on June 6, 2005; it debuted at number one in Australia for one week, and also peaked at number one in Iceland for two weeks. However, in the United Kingdom, "Hollaback Girl" did not perform as well as might have been expected from previous releases. The song's predecessors, "What You Waiting For?" and "Rich Girl", had both reached number four. "Hollaback Girl" debuted at number eight, and stalled at the same position the following week. Although its UK success was limited, widespread airplay guaranteed that it remained in the top forty for an additional ten weeks. The single largely was successful across Europe and Asia, and reached the top five in Germany and China, and the top ten in the Netherlands.

Music video

File:Hollaback Girl music video shot.jpg
Stefani and her Harajuku Girls in the car, driving to the high school alongside the students.

The music video for "Hollaback Girl" was directed by Paul Hunter and shot in California, United States; it depicts Gwen Stefani spending a day with some students at a local high school. The teenagers first call out to Stefani as she takes photographs of her entourage of colorfully-dressed Harajuku Girls with her HP Harajuku Lovers camera (a Stefani designer edition digicam). Letting out a laugh, Stefani begins to sing, and the students — augmented by a marching band and Japanese cheerleaders — follow Stefani and her Harajuku Girls in a yellow car (with "Hollaback Girl" written on the hood) to the high school's outdoor campus. They stir things up by barging in on a football game, and are later seen at a grocery store, marching down the aisles, throwing cereal and other food products. The video is intercut with sequences filmed against a black background, of Stefani, the Harajuku Girls, and the cheerleaders dancing along to the marching band. The Harajuku Girls visualize the song's bridge by spelling out the word "bananas" with blue and white cue cards. At the end, the Harajuku Girls perform a choreographed dance, in which Stefani rises from the ground with her hands in the air. The camera zooms in on Stefani, and the video is then complete.

"Hollaback Girl" contains a tongue-in-cheek moment which appears frequently throughout the music video. In it, Stefani covers her mouth and looks around whenever she says the word "shit". In the middle of the video, Pharrell Williams, one of the song's coproducers, makes a cameo appearance. "Hollaback Girl" was successful on various video countdowns, including Total Request Live, where it reached the number one position, and was eventually retired from the program fifty days after its first appearance, becoming the first Stefani video to retire. Hollaback Girl also peaked at number one for two non-consecutive weeks on VH1's Top 20 Video Countdown. It debuted at number twenty-nine on Canada's MuchMusic Countdown, and reached number one two and a half months later, where it stayed for two weeks.

On August 28 2005, "Hollaback Girl" won for Best Choreography in a Video at the 2005 MTV Video Music Awards.

Formats and track listings

These are the formats and track listings of major single releases of "Hollaback Girl".

U.S. digital download

  1. "Hollaback Girl" (Dancehollaback remix by Tony Kanal)

U.S. 12" single 1

  1. "Hollaback Girl" (radio clean version)
  2. "Hollaback Girl" (instrumental)
  3. "Hollaback Girl" (a cappella—radio clean version)
  4. "Hollaback Girl" (dirty album version)
  5. "Hollaback Girl" (instrumental)
  6. "Hollaback Girl" (a cappella—dirty album version)

U.S. 12" single 2

  1. "Hollaback Girl" (Dancehollaback remix by Tony Kanal)
  2. "Hollaback Girl" (Dancehollaback remix by Tony Kanal—clean)
  3. "Hollaback Girl" (Dancehollaback remix by Tony Kanal—radio)
  4. "Hollaback Girl" (Hollatronix remix)
  5. "Hollaback Girl" (Hollatronix remix—instrumental)
  6. "Hollaback Girl" (Hollatronix remix—a cappella)

European CD single 1

  1. "Hollaback Girl" (album version)
  2. "Hollaback Girl" (Hollatronix remix by Diplo)
  3. "Hollaback Girl" (instrumental)
  4. "Hollaback Girl" (CD-ROM video)

European CD single 2

  1. "Hollaback Girl" (album version)
  2. "Hollaback Girl" (Hollatronix remix by Diplo)

Sample

Thirty second sample of "Hollaback Girl"
Problems playing this file? See media help.

Charts

Week-by-week chart positions (click image to view data in tabular form). "Hollaback Girl" was a number-one hit in the United States, Canada and Australia.
Chart (2005) Peak
position
U.S. Billboard Hot 100 1
U.S. Billboard Hot 100 Airplay 2
U.S. Pop 100 1
U.S. Pop 100 Airplay 1
U.S. Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks 8
U.S. Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles Sales 7
U.S. Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay 9
U.S. Hot Digital Songs 1
U.S. Hot Digital Tracks 1
U.S. Hot Dance Music/Club Play 15
U.S. Dance Radio Airplay 3
U.S. Top 40 Mainstream 1
U.S. Rhythmic Top 40 4
U.S. Adult Top 40 18
U.S. ARC Weekly Top 40 1
Canadian Singles Chart 1
Australian ARIA Singles Chart 1
UK Singles Chart 8
Chinese Singles Chart 4
Dutch Singles Chart 7
German Singles Chart 3
Icelandic Singles Chart 1
Italy Top 20 Singles Chart 6
New Zealand Top 40 Singles Chart 3
World Chart Show 1

Notes

  1. Nine, Jennifer. Gwen Stefani - 'Love, Angel, Music, Baby' LAUNCHcast. November 25, 2004. Retrieved Oct. 31, 2005.
  2. Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. Love.Angel.Music.Baby. All Music Guide. Retrieved Oct. 31, 2005.
  3. Smirke, Richard. Love. Angel. Music. Baby. PlayLouder. November 23, 2004. Retrieved Oct. 31, 2005.
  4. Damas, Jason. GWEN STEFANI - Love.Angel.Music.Baby.. PopMatters. November 29, 2004. Retrieved Oct. 31, 2005.
  5. Greenwood, Eric. Gwen Stefani - Love Angel Music Baby. DrawerB. Retrieved Oct. 31, 2005.
  6. Sylvester, Nick. Gwen Stefani's Love Angel Music Baby. Pitchfork. November 24, 2004. Retrieved Nov. 3, 2005.
  7. Gwen Stefani Answers No Doubt Fans With 'Attitude Song'. MTV.com. Retrieved Nov. 19, 2005.
  8. Gwen Stefani "Love Angel Music Baby". Rolling Stone. Retrieved Nov. 25, 2005.
  9. Template:Journal reference
  10. Rolling Stone. Retrieved Nov. 27, 2005.

References

External links

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