Hollaback Girl
| "Hollaback Girl" | ||
|---|---|---|
| File:Hollabackgirl.JPG | ||
| Single by Gwen Stefani | ||
| From the album Love. Angel. Music. Baby. | ||
| Released | 2005 | |
| Format | Digital download 12" single | |
| Genre | Pop/Hip-Hop | |
| Length | 3:20 | |
| Label | Interscope | |
| Writers | Gwen Stefani Pharrell Williams | |
| Producers | The Neptunes | |
| Director | Paul Hunter | |
| Certification | Platinum | |
| Chart positions | #1 (US) #8 (UK) #1 (AUS) #1 (CAN) | |
| Singles chronology | ||
| "Rich Girl" 2005 |
"Hollaback Girl" 2005 |
"Cool" 2005 |
"Hollaback Girl" is the third single from Gwen Stefani's debut solo album Love. Angel. Music. Baby. Released in the second quarter of 2005, the single peaked at number one in the USA becoming Stefani's first number one single. The single also peaked at number eight in the U.K, number one in Canada, and number one in Australia.
Song information
The single was co-written by Stefani and Pharrell Williams and produced by Williams and Chad Hugo of The Neptunes. Stefani had worked with The Neptunes in early stages of work on the album, but a mild case of depression from writer's block left early collaborations uninspired and fruitless. Stefani regained her confidence as her album neared completion, approached The Neptunes for another try, and produced "Hollaback Girl". In this electic beat-driven anthem, Stefani declares that although she has been around the "track" a few times, she "ain't no hollaback girl". The song is best known for its repeated use of the word "shit", especially in the bridge: "This shit is bananas, B-A-N-A-N-A-S!" The word is excised in the radio and video versions of the song.
The drum beat is also very similar to that of Toni Basil's 1982 single, "Mickey". The line "There can only be one" is a reference to the film Highlander, and during the line "Another one bites the dust", the bassline from Queen's "Another One Bites the Dust" is played.
Chart performance
"Hollaback Girl" remains Stefani's biggest hit, and one of the biggest hits of 2005. Within six weeks of its release in April 2005, the song was sitting at the top of the Billboard Hot 100 (a position it maintained for four weeks, until replaced by Mariah Carey's sixteenth number one, "We Belong Together"). This was the first non-R&B, non-hip-hop, or non-American Idol song to hit number one on the Hot 100 since Nickelback charted with "How You Remind Me" in late 2001/early 2002. (Although some argue that the song is influenced by hip hop production, while others argue that the hip hop production is watered down into pop and that her vocals make the song a pop record.)
The song was also a crossover success and also hit number one on the Pop 100, number four on Rhythmic Top 40, and number eight on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks. The number eight showing on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks should be especially noted as it is the highest position that a non-African American/Urban Latino solo artist has reached in years. The R&B charts are usually very conservative in letting an artist that is considered a Caucasian to chart (especially a solo record without rappers or other guest stars familar to the R&B community), and even if they do chart, they are usually not this successful. Like its predecessor, "Rich Girl", it was also successful on Adult Contemporary radio despite being a song predominantely influenced by hip-hop.
The single even crossed over digitally and was the best-selling single in the United States for three weeks, according to Billboard's Hot Digital Songs chart. It holds the record of most digital sales for one single in one week, with over 60,000 sales. Due to these immense sales, the song was awarded a digital platinum single. The song will probably be recertified in the future, as its current download total is at around 800,000 downloads, one of the highest totals in digital download history. "Hollaback Girl" also topped VH1's Top 20 Countdown for one week, before falling to number two, and then returning to number one for an additional week.
Internationally, the song was also a smash, as it hit number one in many other countries, along with Canada, where it debuted at number twenty-nine before climbing to the top spot two months later (July 2005, maintaining this position for three weeks), and Australia, where it debuted at number one. The song also climbed to number one in Iceland, where it was very successful. The chart trajectory in the UK, however, was a bit weaker, as "Hollaback Girl" debuted and peaked at number eight, unable to reach a larger number. In Taiwan, the song just missed the top spot, peaking at number two. "Hollaback Girl" was also very successful in New Zealand, Germany, China, and Ireland, reaching number three, three, four, and four respectively. It also enjoyed success in numerous other countries.
Music video
The music video shows Stefani spending a day with some kids at a local high school. Stefani initially encounters the students when she is taking a picture of her enigmatic Harajuku girls, and they call out to her. Stefani decides to launch into singing the song, and the teenagers (including a marching band and cheerleaders) and Stefani's loyal Harajuku girls proceed to follow her as she prances around the local high school's outdoor campus and a local grocery store. The video is intercut with filmed sequences against a black background in which Stefani, the Harajuku girls, and the cheerleaders dance along to the marching band. The video takes the visual representation of Gwen's infamous bridge involving bananas, as banana is graphically spelled out during the video, and a Japanese-influenced banana symbol was created to represent this.
The video drew some criticism from critics who feel that the video makes Stefani come off as "immature" as she is hanging around with high school kids (and they feel that the song can also be taken in some context as high school drama). Others feel that she is wrongly giving off a MILF image, although she is hanging around with the kids dressed in a style of clothing usually worn by teenagers. In reality, Stefani was thirty-five years-old at the time.
Formats and Tracklistings
5" Cd Single:
- Hollaback Girl - Album Version 3:20
- Hollaback Girl - Hollatronix Remix by Diplo 2:17
- Hollaback Girl - Instrumental 3:20
- Hollaback Girl - CD-Rom Video
12" Vinyl Single One:
- Hollaback Girl - Radio Clean Version 3:21
- Hollaback Girl - Instrumental 3:20
- Hollaback Girl - A Cappella 3:18
- Hollaback Girl - Dirty Album Version 3:20
- Hollaback Girl - Instrumental 3:20
- Hollaback Girl - A Cappella 3:18
12" Vinyl Single Two:
- Hollaback Girl - Dancehollaback Remix 6:53
- Hollaback Girl - Clean 6:52
- Hollaback Girl - Radio 4:02
- Hollaback Girl - Hollatronix Remix 2:43
- Dancehollaback Remix - Instrumental 6:50
- Dancehollaback Remix - A Cappella 6:18
Comprehensive charts
USA
| Year | Single | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | "Hollaback Girl" | Billboard Hot 100 | #1 |
| 2005 | "Hollaback Girl" | Billboard Hot 100 Airplay | #2 |
| 2005 | "Hollaback Girl" | Billboard Hot 100 Single Sales | #10 |
| 2005 | "Hollaback Girl" | Pop 100 | #1 |
| 2005 | "Hollaback Girl" | Pop 100 Airplay | #1 |
| 2005 | "Hollaback Girl" | Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks | #8 |
| 2005 | "Hollaback Girl" | Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles Sales | #7 |
| 2005 | "Hollaback Girl" | Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay | #9 |
| 2005 | "Hollaback Girl" | Hot Digital Songs | #1 |
| 2005 | "Hollaback Girl" | Hot Digital Tracks | #1 |
| 2005 | "Hollaback Girl" | Hot Dance Music/Club Play | #15 |
| 2005 | "Hollaback Girl" | Dance Radio Airplay | #3 |
| 2005 | "Hollaback Girl" | Mainstream Top 40 | #1 |
| 2005 | "Hollaback Girl" | Rhythmic Top 40 | #4 |
| 2005 | "Hollaback Girl" | Adult Top 40 | #18 |
| 2005 | "Hollaback Girl" | Hot Ringtones | #5 |
International
| Year | Single | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | "Hollaback Girl" | World Chart Show | #1 (1 week) |
| 2005 | "Hollaback Girl" | UK Top 40 | #8 |
| 2005 | "Hollaback Girl" | Australian ARIA Singles Chart | #1 |
| 2005 | "Hollaback Girl" | Canadian Singles Chart | #1 |
| 2005 | "Hollaback Girl" | Iceland Singles Chart | #1 |
| 2005 | "Hollaback Girl" | Finland Top 20 | #8 |
| 2005 | "Hollaback Girl" | Netherlands Top 40 | #7 |
| 2005 | "Hollaback Girl" | Germany Top 40 | #3 |
| 2005 | "Hollaback Girl" | Taiwan Top 10 | #2 |
| 2005 | "Hollaback Girl" | Ireland Top 20 | #4 |
| 2005 | "Hollaback Girl" | New Zealand Top 40 | #3 |
| 2005 | "Hollaback Girl" | China Top 20 | #4 |