When I Grow Up (The Pussycat Dolls song)

"When I Grow Up"
Song

"When I Grow Up" is a dance-pop song written by American songwriters Rodney Jerkins, Theron Thomas and Timothy Thomas, and produced by Rodney "Darkchild" Jerkins for the Pussycat Dolls' upcoming sophomore studio album Doll Domination. Released as the album's lead single on May 27 2008, the song has peaked at number nine on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, giving the group their fourth top ten single on the chart.

Background and production

"When I Grow Up" samples the main riff of The Yardbirds song "He's Always There" from their 1966 studio album Roger the Engineer, and as a result, British songwriters Jim McCarty and Paul Samwell-Smith have received writing credits for the song. Like most of the songs from the Pussycat Dolls, lead singer Nicole Scherzinger sings both the lead and backing vocals (Melody Thornton also sings the chorus).; however, the video features rerecorded vocals, with the other members contributing backing vocals. Nicole and Melody takes most of the vocal parts in the song. The song was digitally released on May 27 on Amazon, and iTunes. The Pussycat Dolls debuted the song on the Jimmy Kimmel Live on May 20, and have also performed it at the 2008 MTV Movie Awards on June 1, and on the American dance show So You Think You Can Dance on June 12 2008.

The song is the first single since the 2008 departure of Carmit Bachar, who had served the longest time with the Dolls since their inception as a burlesque dance crew in 1995. The song is notable for being their first single to feature a more dance-pop and synthpop sounds as opposed to their earlier singles with greater rhythmic and urban influences.

Music video

File:Pussycat dolls WhenIGrowUp.jpg

The Pussycat Dolls sitting in the car in traffic.

In an interview, the Pussycat Dolls stated that they would be shooting the music video for "When I Grow Up" after the MTV Movie Awards. The video was shot by Joseph Kahn. The shoot took place on June 3rd and 4th, with exterior shots being filmed on Wilcox Avenue in Hollywood. Behind the scenes clips and an official preview became available on the Internet June 11. Britney Spears was set to make a cameo appearance in the video, but according to MTV, her cameo was axed from the final version of the video. The music video uses an alternate version of the song which features vocals from all the dolls and has a dance break in the middle.

The music video premiered on the new MTV video show FNMTV, which was hosted by Fall Out Boy bassist Pete Wentz, on June 13.

In the video, the song begins with the Dolls sitting in a car in traffic, where Nicole flashes a ring that says 'famous'. Before the chorus, the the girls stare at the camera (effectively breaking the fourth wall) and wave at the audience. When the chorus kicks in the girls leave the car and stand on the roofs of the other cars and start dancing a routine. The Dolls then walk down a street with bubbles floating all around them and they stop to sing on a bench. When the next chorus starts, the Dolls climb scaffolding and begin to dance. During Scherzingers' solo, she stands in a small area with the Pussycat Dolls logo to the left and a mirror to the right, with lights flashing. The Dolls then dance in the breakdown section with the logo behind them, and the camera zooms out to reveal filming equipment and playback screens. As of July 13, 2008, the music video for "When I Grow Up" has been viewed over 3,000,000 times on popular video-sharing website YouTube.

Tracklisting

• US Promo CD

1. "When I Grow Up" (Main) - 4:00
2. "When I Grow Up" (Instrumental) - 3:58

• Australian CD Single

1. "When I Grow Up" (Main) - 4:00
2. "When I Grow Up" (Dave Audé Audacious Radio)

• Promo CD

1. "When I Grow Up" (Radio edit) - 4:00
2. "When I Grow Up" (Ralphi Rosario radio) - 3:53
3. "When I Grow Up" (Ralphi Rosario full vox) - 9:25

Release history

Region	Date	Format
Australia	June 10 2008	Digital download
	July 12 2008	CD single
United Kingdom	July 15 2008	CD single
India	June 29 2008	Radio
Worldwide	July 12 2008	CD single
United States	May 27 2008	Digital download
	July 15 2008	CD single
France	September 22 2008	CD single

Chart performance

"When I Grow Up" made its debut in the lower regions of the Mediabase Pop Chart, and has since reached a peak of number eighteen. After being released to iTunes on May 27, it reached a peak of number two on the Top 100 songs chart and number two on the Top 100 Pop songs chart in the U.S., as of June 17. "When I Grow Up" debuted at number seventy-six on the Billboard Hot 100, rising to number thirty-one in its second week, and then to number eighteen in its third. On its fourth week, the song reached the top ten at number nine, and became the highest charting single by the Pussycat Dolls since "Buttons" peaked at number three in 2006. That was its peak position.

"When I Grow Up" debuted at number-fifteen on the Canadian Hot 100, rising to number thirteen several weeks later.

In Australia, "When I Grow Up" debuted on the Australian ARIA Singles Chart at number forty-five, based on digital downloads, on June 15 2008, and the following week ascended to number twenty-six. "When I Grow Up" was named a bullet performer in its third week, having reached number-eight. In the following week, "When I Grow Up" ascended to number-three becoming the Dolls' fifth top five hit there. "When I Grow Up" was again named one of the bullet performers for that week.

In New Zealand the song debuted at number thirty-three and in its second week shot up to number twelve, the song has so far peaked at number nine in its third week.

Charts

Chart (2008)	Peak position
Australian ARIA Singles Chart	3
Canadian Hot 100	12
New Zealand RIANZ Singles Chart	9
Brazil Hot 100	71
U.S. My Top 30 Hits	1
U.S. Billboard Hot 100	9
U.S. Billboard Pop 100	10
United World Chart	16
Canadian Hot 100	12

References

http://music.yahoo.com/ar-4623677-bio--The-Pussycat-Dolls