London Bridge (song)

For the nursery rhyme, see London Bridge Is Falling Down.

"London Bridge"
Single by Fergie
from the album The Dutchess
Released	July 18, 2006 (U.S.) September 11, 2006 (UK)
Format	CD single, digital download
Recorded	2006
Genre	Hip hop
Length	4:01 (album version) 3:30 (single version)
Label	A&M
Writer(s)	Stacy Ferguson, Sean Garrett, Mike Hartnett, Jamal Jones
Producer	Polow da Don
Fergie singles chronology
"London Bridge" (2006) "Fergalicious" (2006)

"London Bridge" is a song co-written and performed by Fergie for her debut album, The Dutchess. It contains a sample taken from "Down to the Night Club" by Tower of Power. It was released as the lead single from the album on July 18, 2006, and was Fergie's first single as a solo artist. As of April 2009, "London Bridge" has sold over 2,000,000 copies in the United States.

Composition

The song was produced by Polow da Don, with lyrics by Sean Garrett and Fergie. Fergie describes the song as being "kind of like a punch in the face to let people know I'm coming out... I've been getting way too into myself nowadays and I just wanna have fun with as many men as I can possible." The song is a club track that lightly touches on personal lyrics about fame and celebrity. This song also begins with tornado or air raid sirens blaring after "Oh Shit!" or "Oh Snap!" is shouted twice. After the second chorus, the song references the track's co-producer, Kellie Kloeppel, in an in-song shout out.

Music video

Fergie singing on a billiard table in the music video for "London Bridge".

The music video was directed by Marc Webb. Fergie collaborated with her fellow member of The Black Eyed Peas, will.i.am, Taboo, and apl.de.ap on the clip's concept to make it more distinctive. She describes the concept as follows: "We're doing this androgynous-type thing where my girls and I go into a Gentlemen's club and pull them into a bathroom and come back out in their clothes. They're going to be dressed up really dapper and looking really handsome. (sic) " Will.i.am, Taboo, and Apl.de.ap all made cameos in the video. For the video, which was filmed at the Woolwich Barracks in Woolwich, South London, she brought in backup dancers who double as bodyguards, dressed like cholas — tough Mexican girls known for wearing dark lipstick and big hair — to make the clip "have a bit more edge, be very distinct, be very mixed." Fergie is seen intermittently sailing down the River Thames just in front of Tower Bridge, which isn't the same as London Bridge, despite the song title. Fergie based one of her outfits for the video on her family's crest and tartan, with some changes as she wanted it to be modernized. She also wears a tiara cocked to the side of her head to play off the royal name of her album, as well as having the same surname (Ferguson) and nickname, as the Duchess of York (Sarah Ferguson). As of February 20, 2012, the music video for "London Bridge" has been viewed 2,625,502 times on the popular video-sharing website YouTube.

Critical reception

Rolling Stone called the song a "total ripoff of Hollaback Girl", Gwen Stefani's number one single of 2005. Another reviewer described the song as being "Hollaback Girl" "slathered in puerile sexual raunch". Steve Yates of The Guardian describes the song as being "much in the M.I.A vein". Amy Phillips of Pitchforkmedia noted how much the song and Lil Mama's Lip Gloss resembled M.I.A.'s songs such as her 2003 single "Galang", serving as a reminder of how much the mainstream pop, dance, rap musical landscape had shifted since M.I.A "first appeared in 2004". M.I.A later asked Interscope boss Jimmy Iovine after hearing the track "If I don't sell records and make money for you you're just going to make them with her anyway", however Iovine notes that the song is yet another example of how M.I.A was "an artist who inspires other artists." James Simons of CHARTattack described the song as unoriginal, simulating the sound of MIA's "Galang," J-Kwon's "Tipsy" and Gwen Stefani's "Hollaback Girl" "playing simultaneously".

Track listing

• UK CD Single

1. "London Bridge" (Album Version) — 4:01
2. "London Bridge" (Instrumental) — 3:25

• Australian CD Single

1. "London Bridge" (Album Version) — 4:01
2. "London Bridge" (Instrumental) — 3:27
3. "London Bridge" (Acappella) — 3:18
4. "London Bridge" (Video Version) — 3:31

Charts

Chart (2006)	Peak position
Australia (ARIA)	3
Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 75)	3
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)	14
Belgium (Ultratop 40 Wallonia)	16
Czech Republic (IFPI)	7
Denmark (Tracklisten)	3
European Hot 100 Singles	4
Finland (Suomen virallinen lista)	9
France (SNEP)	27
Germany (Media Control AG)	3
Hungary (Dance Top 40)	25
Ireland (IRMA)	8
Italy (FIMI)	4
Netherlands (Mega Single Top 100)	28
New Zealand (RIANZ)	1
Norway (VG-lista)	2
Slovakia (IFPI)	13
Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)	13
Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)	6
UK Singles (Official Charts Company)	3
US Billboard Hot 100	1
US Pop Songs (Billboard)	4
US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs (Billboard)	56

Preceded by "Sexy Back" by Justin Timberlake

RIANZ (New Zealand) number-one single "London Bridge" October 2, 2006 (one week)

Succeeded by "You Really Got Me" by Boyband

See also

• List of Hot 100 number-one singles of 2006 (U.S.)
• List of number-one singles from the 2000s (New Zealand)