Rich Girl (Gwen Stefani song)

"Rich Girl"
Song

"Rich Girl" is a pop-ragga song performed by singer Gwen Stefani featuring Eve. It was primarily written by Dr. Dre, Eve and Stefani with other collaborators for Stefani's debut solo album Love. Angel. Music. Baby (2004). The song was released as the album's second single in 2005 (see 2005 in music) and was a worldwide success; it reached number two in Australia and the top twenty on the majority of the charts it entered. This song was nominated for Best Rap/Sung Collaboration at the Grammy Awards of 2006, but lost to Jay-Z & Linkin Park's "Numb/Encore".

Writing process

When Stefani first began recording solo material, Eve showed interest in working with Stefani again, having previously worked with her on "Let Me Blow Ya Mind", and commented, "She's fly, she's tight and she is talented. It's going to be hot regardless." After Stefani had helped pen over twenty songs for her solo debut, she approached Dr. Dre, with whom she had worked while making Rock Steady with No Doubt and who had produced "Let Me Blow Ya Mind". After playing some of the songs on which she had been working, Dr. Dre told her, "You don't want to go back there." Instead of using one of the tracks, Dr. Dre instead suggested using the Louchie Lou and Michie One 1993 song "Rich Girl", which itself interpolated "If I Were a Rich Man" from the 1964 musical Fiddler on the Roof.

Template:Sound sample box align left Template:Multi-listen start Template:Multi-listen item Template:Multi-listen end Template:Sample box end Eve maintained the reggae style used by the earlier duo and added in her own new rhymes, whereas Stefani added new lyrics and changed some of the melody from the older song. The melody of the chorus and many of the words were kept the same among all three songs.

"Rich Girl" was unusual for a Stefani track in that it was not based on her own personal experience. On her website, Stefani states: "Dre was really pushing me to write in a new way and I'm not going to question him. The whole reason you work with someone like Dre is that you want to know what they think. He's such a great producer because he really knows how to get the best out of you and make you feel good about yourself. 'Rich Girl' is so fresh, so Dre, he just totally tricked the track out."

Critical reception

"Rich Girl" received mixed reviews from music critics. PlayLouder said that it brought "a much-needed element of diversity" to L.A.M.B. and called it a "potential hit single". NME, however, called it "a Dre-produced playground chant featuring a tough-girl ragga cameo from Eve". The BBC called the song "disco gold, impossibly girly and very easy to dance to". The song drew comparisons to Rock Steady, and Stylus magazine described it as "a lite version of 'Hey Baby'".

The interpolation of "If I Were a Rich Man" also drew mixed reviews. PopMatters argued that the track "turns it into an anthem of urban bling-lust" and that its "simple pounding piano chord makes for great percussive backing". Entertainment Weekly disagreed, stating that the interpolation was used awkwardly, and Rolling Stone called the interpolation a goof. About.com called the track "a dancehall/classic house teardown of 'If I Were a Rich Man'" and commented, "if this is what Jay-Z’s fudging with Annie has wrought, I say, be glad of it."

Chart performance

After the disappointment of "What You Waiting For?" in the U.S., Interscope wanted "Rich Girl" to become a big hit. It did when it reached number seven on the Billboard Hot 100, a position it maintained for two weeks. Despite exhibiting influences of modern hip hop, the song was able to crossover and enter the R&B and Adult Top 40 formats, but it did not remain on these charts for very long. Although the song failed to receive airplay on R&B radio, its relatively high sales of its 12" single helped propel the song onto the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks chart. "Rich Girl" was helped on the Hot 100 and Pop 100 by its strong digital downloads, peaking at number two and number three on the Hot Digital Songs and Hot Digital Tracks respectively. Due to its high number of digital downloads, the song was awarded a double platinum single for sales of 400,000 downloads.

Elsewhere, "Rich Girl" peaked within the top twenty on the majority of the charts it entered. It debuted at number two in Australia, where it became Stefani's second top-five single. The song also charted highly in the UK at number four. "Rich Girl" (with "What You Waiting For?") were the two highest-charting Love. Angel. Music. Baby. singles in the UK, because the following three did not reach the top five.

Although "Rich Girl" was more successful than its predecessor in Canada, it failed to enter the top ten and peaked at number twelve for one week. Because the CD single was released two months after the song began receiving airplay, it had already peaked in popularity and was unable to chart higher. On the BDS Airplay Chart, it reached number two.

Across Europe, "Rich Girl" was largely successful: it reached the top five in Denmark and Norway, and the top ten in Italy and Switzerland. It was also successful in South America and reached the top forty in most countries including Argentina and Brazil.

Music video

Gwen Stefani dancing in the music video.

The music video for "Rich Girl" was directed by David LaChapelle and shot in California, United States; it depicts Gwen Stefani and Eve on a pirate ship. The video begins with four Japanese school-girls playing with a pirate ship and Bratz dolls, discussing what they would do if they were a "rich girl". The video features three different sequences; Stefani is first shown on board the pirate ship bellow deck, dancing on a table, singing to the song. She is surrounded by other "pirates" and is soon joined up Eve, wearing an eyepatch; above deck Stefani and her dancers, also dressed as pirates, dance; Stefani is also seen dancing with a sword. The video concludes with the four Japanese school-girls laughingly dropping the pirate ship in a fish tank, causing Stefani and her fellow pirates to fall all over the ship. "Rich Girl" is Stefani's second music video to feature her Harajuku Girls, who appear in the video as her back up dancers in scenes above deck and when she is dancing with a sword, fantasising about shopping in an upmarket boutique. In the song Stefani sings "I'd dress them wicked, I'd give them names, Love, Angel, Music, Baby", causing Stefani to be criticized for reinforcing racial stereotypes of Asian women. In the video when she signs these lyrics, Stefani makes the hand gestures as if she is dressing the Harajuku Girls up, treating them like dolls.

The music video was a success on video channels. The video debuted on MTV's Total Request Live on December 13, 2004 at number nine. It worked its way to number four, staying on the chart for a total of fourteen days. The video also reached number four on the MuchMusic countdown, remaining on the chart for sixteen weeks.

Charts

Chart (2005) Peak position Australian ARIA Singles Chart 2 Argentine Singles Chart 24 Austrian Singles Chart 10 Brazilian Singles Chart 28 Canadian Singles Chart 12 Dutch Top 40 3 Finnish Singles Chart 7 French Singles Chart 4 German Singles Chart 14 Italian Singles Chart 5 Mexican Top 100 8 New Zealand RIANZ Singles Chart 3

Chart (2005) Peak position Swedish Singles Chart 4 Swiss Singles Chart 6 UK Singles Chart 4 United World Singles Chart 3 U.S. Billboard Hot 100 7 U.S. Billboard Pop 100 3 U.S. Billboard Top 40 Mainstream 4 U.S. Billboard Rhythmic Top 40 27 U.S. Billboard Hot Dance Music/Club Play 39 U.S. Billboard Adult Top 40 16 U.S. Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks 78

Formats and track listings

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

European CD single

1. "Rich Girl" (Album Version)
2. "What You Waiting For?" (Live)

European CD maxi single

1. "Rich Girl"
2. "What You Waiting For?" (Live)
3. "Harajuku Girls" (Live)
4. "Rich Girl" (CD-ROM video)

Credits and personnel

• Lead vocals: Gwen Stefani, Eve
• Producer: Dr. Dre
• Recording engineers: Mauricio "Veto" Iragorri, Greg Collins
• Assistant engineers: Francis Forde, Brad Winslow, Jaime Sickora
• Keyboards: Mike Elizondo, Mark Batson
• Guitar: Mike Elizondo
• Keyboard bass: Mark Batson
• Audio mixing: Dr. Dre
• Assistant engineer: Rouble Kapoor

References

• All Music Guide. link. Last accessed on Feb. 23, 2006. - Release and song information.
• Contactmusic. link. Last accessed on Feb. 23, 2006. - Song review.
• Top40-Charts.com. link. Last accessed on Feb. 23, 2006. - Worldwide chart peaks.
• "Gwen Goes Indie Route: Stefani Inks with UK Publishing". Billboard Magazine (April 16, 2005 v117 i16 p1(2)). Accessed by VNU Media on Dec. 8, 2005.
• "Gwen's secrets" Harper's Bazaar (March 2005 i3520 p322(6)). Accessed Dec. 8, 2005.