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Big Girls Don't Cry (Fergie song)
Encyclopedia
"Big Girls Don't Cry" is a song written by Fergie and Toby Gad
for pop
singer Fergie's debut solo album The Dutchess
(2006). The song was released as the album's fourth single in 2007 (see 2007 in music
) and topped the charts in several countries, most notably in Australia (for nine consecutive weeks—also becoming the number-one single in the ARIA
's Year End Charts for 2007), and in the United States. It was the most downloaded track in the U.S., with sales of more than 3,080,000 copies sold. In July 2007, Fergie performed the song at the Concert for Diana
and Live Earth
. By the end of August 2007, the song became Fergie's third number one single on the Billboard Hot 100
chart. It was nominated in the 'Best Female Pop Vocal Performance' category at the 50th Annual Grammy Awards, which was held February 10, 2008. The song appears in Dance Dance Revolution X
, Singstar Pop Vol 2
, and Karaoke Revolution Presents American Idol Encore 2
. The song was listed at #89 on Billboard: All-Time Hot 100 Top Songs and the 13th most successful song of the decade at the end of 2009 on the Billboard Hot 100 Songs of the Decade. It was also named the 8th most successful pop song of the decade (Mainstream Top 40).
, where it was handed to Jordan McCoy
. McCoy's team felt they had a huge hit on their hands and quickly recorded the song, assuring Fergie and her management that they were going to release it as a single. However, according to McCoy, after Fergie heard their finished version, she had a change of heart and recorded the song as well. Without the knowledge of Bad Boy Records, Fergie went ahead and tagged it on to her album at the last minute. Jordan and her team were upset by Fergie's decision, scrapped the entire project and considered suing Fergie. However, because Fergie co-wrote the song, she had partial ownership and they could not sue her.
song written in the key of G major
. The tempo is composed in common time
and the verse follows the major chord G/B-Csus2-D5, the chorus C-G-D-(Em). The song was compared to as an exact 2006 version of Wild Orchid
.
" as her highest charting solo single thus far, peaking at number two (behind only Rihanna
's 10 week chart topping "Umbrella
"); the single has spent 23 weeks on the UK Singles Chart Top 40 and 9 weeks in the Top 10. After spending several weeks in the number two and three positions on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100
, "Big Girls Don't Cry" finally ascended to number one, becoming Fergie's third Hot 100 number-one single, and second consecutive after "Glamorous
" in early 2007. Thanks to this achievement Fergie has become only the second American female solo artist in the '00s to have three chart-toppers from one album after Christina Aguilera
in 1999-2000. In addition to the Hot 100, the song topped the Billboard Pop 100
, Pop 100 Airplay
, Hot 100 Airplay
, and Hot Digital Songs
charts. It also became her first number one on both the Billboard Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks
chart and the Adult Top 40, where she later became the first female artist to top that chart after 52 weeks of number ones by male artists. The song is one of the most successful singles of 2007 in the U.S., as it stayed in the top ten of the Hot 100 for 21 consecutive weeks, 18 of those in the top five. The song also became the 13th most successful hit of the decade on the Billboard Hot 100.
It is the most played song of 2007 on U.S. Mainstream Top 40 radio (becoming the number-one single of 2007 on the and the eighth most successful track of 2000s on the same tally), and the most successful song of 2007 by peak position on American Top 40
(eight weeks at number one). The song debuted at number 32 and reached number one on its 13th week, staying there for five consecutive weeks. The song stayed in the chart for 49 weeks, 26 of which were in the top ten. In Australia it was certified 2x Platinum by ARIA
for combined sales of over 140,000 copies, and ended as the year's biggest hit, ranked at number-one on the ARIA
Year-End singles chart for 2007. It was also the longest running number one single at the top spot with 9 consecutive weeks (10 in the Download Chart) and the last to do so. Also, despite only spending a week at #1 on the New Zealand RIANZ singles chart, "Big Girls Don't Cry" has become the fourth most successful single in RIANZ music history and the second best seller in the country for 2007. It spent a total of 38 weeks on the chart.
The music video
was directed by Anthony Mandler
and began production on March 30, 2007. The video had a 'First Look' on MTV
's TRL
on May 16, 2007 and peaked at #5 on May 24, 2007. The video topped VH1's Top 40 Videos of 2007 list. Milo Ventimiglia
plays Fergie's love interest. The video begins with Fergie getting out of her car (a red 1969 Mustang
fastback) and going inside a warehouse where she meets her band and practices. Meanwhile, she is seen singing next to her boyfriend, who is sleeping. She starts walking through the house, and is then watching herself and her boyfriend from a different point of view getting out of her car. They go into the house, and her boyfriend gets out a guitar and starts playing, while Fergie is singing. Later on, she sees her boyfriend out the window with several guys, one of whom passes him a small package, which is presumably drugs, and it upsets her. Fergie then starts singing the chorus while she is taking her clothes off a clothes line and putting them into a suitcase. As the third verse begins, Fergie is walking around a warehouse singing while wearing a tan-gray baby doll dress. At the end of the song, she is seen getting into her car and driving down the road.
There are other music videos for this song as well. The one described above is the so-called "Personal" version; it is approximately 5 minutes in length and the song is played once. There is also the so-called "Extended" version; it is approximately 9 minutes in length and the song is played twice. It begins with Fergie driving to the warehouse, then uses flashbacks which include the plot scenes run in sequence. At the conclusion of this first playing of the song, Fergie has arrived at the warehouse and, with her band, the song is played again, this time with all of the warehouse scenes run in sequence.
A remix was made of the song in late 2007, which retained the vocals of the original, but with a new, 1980s-reminiscent sound, with none of the acoustic guitars present in the original. Titled the "Big Girls Remix", it featured reggae star Sean Kingston
, who records his vocals over the new beat and after his verses, it goes into the chorus of the original and basically maintains Fergie's vocals for the rest of the song. A video was also made for this version.
Toby Gad
Tobias "Toby" Gad is a Los Angeles-based hit producer and songwriter from Germany, perhaps best known for co-writing Fergie's Grammy nominated hit song "Big Girls Don't Cry" as well as co-writing and producing Beyoncé's worldwide #1 hit "If I Were a Boy", and The Veronicas multi-platinum #1...
for pop
Pop music
Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...
singer Fergie's debut solo album The Dutchess
The Dutchess
The Dutchess is the debut and only studio album by American recording artist Fergie, who is a member of The Black Eyed Peas. The album was released on September 19, 2006. As of 2008, the album has sold more than six million copies worldwide...
(2006). The song was released as the album's fourth single in 2007 (see 2007 in music
2007 in music
This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 2007.-January:*January 1 - George Shearing is knighted for services to music in the Queen's New Year Honours List. Evelyn Glennie becomes a Dame...
) and topped the charts in several countries, most notably in Australia (for nine consecutive weeks—also becoming the number-one single in the ARIA
ARIA Charts
The ARIA charts are the main Australian music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling singles and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA commenced compiling its own charts in-house from the week ending 26 June...
's Year End Charts for 2007), and in the United States. It was the most downloaded track in the U.S., with sales of more than 3,080,000 copies sold. In July 2007, Fergie performed the song at the Concert for Diana
Concert for Diana
Concert for Diana was a concert held at the then new Wembley Stadium in London, England, United Kingdom in honour of Diana, Princess of Wales, on 1 July 2007, which would have been her 46th birthday; 31 August that year brought the 10th anniversary of her death...
and Live Earth
Live Earth
-Background:Founded by Emmy-winning producer Kevin Wall, in partnership with former U.S. Vice President Al Gore, Live Earth was built upon the belief that entertainment has the power to transcend social and cultural barriers to move the world community to action...
. By the end of August 2007, the song became Fergie's third number one single on the Billboard Hot 100
Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
chart. It was nominated in the 'Best Female Pop Vocal Performance' category at the 50th Annual Grammy Awards, which was held February 10, 2008. The song appears in Dance Dance Revolution X
Dance Dance Revolution X
Dance Dance Revolution X, abbreviated DDR X or simply X, is a music video game, and a part of the Dance Dance Revolution series. DDR X was originally announced by Konami on May 15, 2008 for the North American PlayStation 2. The arcade version was announced on July 7, 2008, July 9, 2008 in Europe,...
, Singstar Pop Vol 2
SingStar
SingStar is a competitive music video game series for PlayStation consoles, developed by London Studio and published by Sony Computer Entertainment. 23 English-language instalments of the series have been released for the PlayStation 2, and six versions for the PlayStation 3 have been released...
, and Karaoke Revolution Presents American Idol Encore 2
Karaoke Revolution
Karaoke Revolution and its many sequels are video games for the PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, Nintendo GameCube, Wii, Xbox, and Xbox 360, developed by Harmonix Music Systems and Blitz Games and published by Konami in its Bemani line of music games. The Original Concept for Karaoke Revolution was...
. The song was listed at #89 on Billboard: All-Time Hot 100 Top Songs and the 13th most successful song of the decade at the end of 2009 on the Billboard Hot 100 Songs of the Decade. It was also named the 8th most successful pop song of the decade (Mainstream Top 40).
Background
After "Big Girls Don't Cry" was written, Fergie and her management felt that the song did not fit the theme of her album and decided not to record it. However, her management felt that the song was too strong to let go, so they decided to shop the song around to different record labels. Eventually, the song was sold to Bad Boy RecordsBad Boy Records
Bad Boy Records is a record label founded in 1993 by producer/rapper/entrepreneur Sean "Diddy" Combs. Today it operates as a subsidiary of Warner Music Group, and is distributed by Atlantic Records.-Beginnings:...
, where it was handed to Jordan McCoy
Jordan McCoy
Jordan Elizabeth McCoy is an American singer, guitarist, and American Juniors finalist.After the show, she went to Los Angeles to start developing her music career and auditioned for TV and movie roles. While recording in Los Angeles, her label head mentioned he was in town and he wanted to hear...
. McCoy's team felt they had a huge hit on their hands and quickly recorded the song, assuring Fergie and her management that they were going to release it as a single. However, according to McCoy, after Fergie heard their finished version, she had a change of heart and recorded the song as well. Without the knowledge of Bad Boy Records, Fergie went ahead and tagged it on to her album at the last minute. Jordan and her team were upset by Fergie's decision, scrapped the entire project and considered suing Fergie. However, because Fergie co-wrote the song, she had partial ownership and they could not sue her.
Composition
"Big Girls Don't Cry" is a moderate popPop music
Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...
song written in the key of G major
G major
G major is a major scale based on G, with the pitches G, A, B, C, D, E, and F. Its key signature has one sharp, F; in treble-clef key signatures, the sharp-symbol for F is usually placed on the first line from the top, though in some Baroque music it is placed on the first space from the bottom...
. The tempo is composed in common time
Common Time
"Common Time" is a science fiction short story written by James Blish. It first appeared in the August 1953 issue of Science Fiction Quarterly and has been reprinted several times: in the 1959 short-story collection Galactic Cluster; in The Testament of Andros ; in The Penguin Science Fiction...
and the verse follows the major chord G/B-Csus2-D5, the chorus C-G-D-(Em). The song was compared to as an exact 2006 version of Wild Orchid
Wild Orchid (album)
Wild Orchid is the self-titled debut and most successful album by American group Wild Orchid , released in 1996...
.
Chart performance
The song has achieved high success worldwide, topping the charts in over ten countries, including Australia, Brazil, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, Mexico, Austria, Romania, Croatia and the U.S. In Brazil the song was the most played on the radio in 2007. In the UK it surpassed "London BridgeLondon Bridge (Fergie song)
"London Bridge" is a hip hop/R&B 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 her highest charting solo single thus far, peaking at number two (behind only Rihanna
Rihanna
Robyn Rihanna Fenty , better known as simply Rihanna, is a Barbadian recording artist. Born in Saint Michael, Barbados, Rihanna moved to the United States at the age of 16 to pursue a recording career under the guidance of record producer Evan Rogers...
's 10 week chart topping "Umbrella
Umbrella (song)
"Umbrella" is a song recorded by Barbadian singer Rihanna, featuring a rap verse by Jay-Z. The song was written by The-Dream, Christopher Stewart, Kuk Harrell and Jay-Z, and was produced by Stewart and The-Dream for Rihanna's third studio album, Good Girl Gone Bad...
"); the single has spent 23 weeks on the UK Singles Chart Top 40 and 9 weeks in the Top 10. After spending several weeks in the number two and three positions on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100
Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
, "Big Girls Don't Cry" finally ascended to number one, becoming Fergie's third Hot 100 number-one single, and second consecutive after "Glamorous
Glamorous (song)
"Glamorous" is a R&B single taken from R&B singer Fergie's solo debut album, The Dutchess. In March 2007, the song became Fergie's second number-one single in the United States. The single was released on March 19, 2007 in the UK and was the second single taken from the album...
" in early 2007. Thanks to this achievement Fergie has become only the second American female solo artist in the '00s to have three chart-toppers from one album after Christina Aguilera
Christina Aguilera
Christina María Aguilera is an American recording artist and actress. Aguilera first appeared on national television in 1990 as a contestant on the Star Search program, and went on to star in Disney Channel's television series The Mickey Mouse Club from 1993–1994...
in 1999-2000. In addition to the Hot 100, the song topped the Billboard Pop 100
Pop 100
The Pop 100 was a songs chart that debuted in February 2005 and was released weekly by Billboard magazine in the United States until its discontinuation in 2009...
, Pop 100 Airplay
Pop 100 Airplay
The Pop 100 Airplay was a chart created in 2005 and released weekly by Billboard in the United States. It measured mainstream radio airplay, and was one of the three component charts, along with the Hot 100 Singles Sales and Hot Digital Songs charts, that determined the chart positions of singles...
, Hot 100 Airplay
Hot 100 Airplay
The Hot 100 Airplay chart is a chart released weekly by Billboard magazine in the United States. It measures radio airplay, and is one of the three component charts, along with the Hot Singles Sales and the Hot Digital Songs charts, that determine the chart positions of singles on the Billboard...
, and Hot Digital Songs
Hot Digital Songs
The Hot Digital Songs chart ranks the best-selling digital singles in the United States, according to Billboard.Beginning in February 2005, digital sales have been incorporated into many of Billboards music single charts. It was decided to do so mainly because of the dramatic rise in popularity of...
charts. It also became her first number one on both the Billboard Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks
Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks
The Adult Contemporary chart is a weekly chart published in Billboard magazine that lists the most popular songs on adult contemporary and "lite-pop" radio stations in the United States...
chart and the Adult Top 40, where she later became the first female artist to top that chart after 52 weeks of number ones by male artists. The song is one of the most successful singles of 2007 in the U.S., as it stayed in the top ten of the Hot 100 for 21 consecutive weeks, 18 of those in the top five. The song also became the 13th most successful hit of the decade on the Billboard Hot 100.
It is the most played song of 2007 on U.S. Mainstream Top 40 radio (becoming the number-one single of 2007 on the and the eighth most successful track of 2000s on the same tally), and the most successful song of 2007 by peak position on American Top 40
American Top 40
American Top 40 is an internationally syndicated, independent radio program created by Casey Kasem, Don Bustany, Tom Rounds and Ron Jacobs. Originally a production of Watermark Inc...
(eight weeks at number one). The song debuted at number 32 and reached number one on its 13th week, staying there for five consecutive weeks. The song stayed in the chart for 49 weeks, 26 of which were in the top ten. In Australia it was certified 2x Platinum by ARIA
ARIA Charts
The ARIA charts are the main Australian music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling singles and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA commenced compiling its own charts in-house from the week ending 26 June...
for combined sales of over 140,000 copies, and ended as the year's biggest hit, ranked at number-one on the ARIA
ARIA Charts
The ARIA charts are the main Australian music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling singles and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA commenced compiling its own charts in-house from the week ending 26 June...
Year-End singles chart for 2007. It was also the longest running number one single at the top spot with 9 consecutive weeks (10 in the Download Chart) and the last to do so. Also, despite only spending a week at #1 on the New Zealand RIANZ singles chart, "Big Girls Don't Cry" has become the fourth most successful single in RIANZ music history and the second best seller in the country for 2007. It spent a total of 38 weeks on the chart.
Music video
Music video
A music video or song video is a short film integrating a song and imagery, produced for promotional or artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a marketing device intended to promote the sale of music recordings...
was directed by Anthony Mandler
Anthony Mandler
Anthony Mandler is a commercial and music video director, who has written and directed music videos for several artists. His most notable and frequent collaborator is Rihanna...
and began production on March 30, 2007. The video had a 'First Look' on MTV
MTV
MTV, formerly an initialism of Music Television, is an American network based in New York City that launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs....
's TRL
Total Request Live
Total Request Live is a television series on MTV that featured popular music videos. TRL was MTV's prime outlet for music videos as the network continues to concentrate on reality-based programming. In addition to music videos, TRL featured daily guests...
on May 16, 2007 and peaked at #5 on May 24, 2007. The video topped VH1's Top 40 Videos of 2007 list. Milo Ventimiglia
Milo Ventimiglia
Milo Anthony Ventimiglia is an American television actor best known for his role of Peter Petrelli on the TV series Heroes...
plays Fergie's love interest. The video begins with Fergie getting out of her car (a red 1969 Mustang
Ford Mustang
The Ford Mustang is an automobile manufactured by the Ford Motor Company. It was initially based on the second generation North American Ford Falcon, a compact car. Introduced early on April 17, 1964, as a "1964½" model, the 1965 Mustang was the automaker's most successful launch since the Model A...
fastback) and going inside a warehouse where she meets her band and practices. Meanwhile, she is seen singing next to her boyfriend, who is sleeping. She starts walking through the house, and is then watching herself and her boyfriend from a different point of view getting out of her car. They go into the house, and her boyfriend gets out a guitar and starts playing, while Fergie is singing. Later on, she sees her boyfriend out the window with several guys, one of whom passes him a small package, which is presumably drugs, and it upsets her. Fergie then starts singing the chorus while she is taking her clothes off a clothes line and putting them into a suitcase. As the third verse begins, Fergie is walking around a warehouse singing while wearing a tan-gray baby doll dress. At the end of the song, she is seen getting into her car and driving down the road.
There are other music videos for this song as well. The one described above is the so-called "Personal" version; it is approximately 5 minutes in length and the song is played once. There is also the so-called "Extended" version; it is approximately 9 minutes in length and the song is played twice. It begins with Fergie driving to the warehouse, then uses flashbacks which include the plot scenes run in sequence. At the conclusion of this first playing of the song, Fergie has arrived at the warehouse and, with her band, the song is played again, this time with all of the warehouse scenes run in sequence.
A remix was made of the song in late 2007, which retained the vocals of the original, but with a new, 1980s-reminiscent sound, with none of the acoustic guitars present in the original. Titled the "Big Girls Remix", it featured reggae star Sean Kingston
Sean Kingston
Sean Kingston is a Jamaican-American singer. He pursued a music career and debuted in 2007 with the album Sean Kingston.-Early life:...
, who records his vocals over the new beat and after his verses, it goes into the chorus of the original and basically maintains Fergie's vocals for the rest of the song. A video was also made for this version.
Track listing
- US CD and Download Single
- "Big Girls Don't Cry" (Big Girls Remix) - 3:55
- UK CD Single
- "Big Girls Don't Cry" - 4:28
- "Pedestal" - 3:23
- Australian CD Single
- "Big Girls Don't Cry" - 4:28
- "Pedestal" - 3:22
- "Finally" (Live) - 3:50
- "Big Girls Don't Cry" (Music Video) - 5:08
Charts
| Chart (2007) | Peak position |
|---|
Certifications
| Country | Certification (sales thresholds) |
|---|---|
| Australia Australian Recording Industry Association The Australian Recording Industry Association is a trade group representing the Australian recording industry which was established in 1983 by six major record companies, EMI, Festival, CBS, RCA, WEA and Universal replacing the Association of Australian Record Manufacturers which was formed in 1956... |
2× Platinum |
| Brazil Associação Brasileira dos Produtores de Discos The Associação Brasileira dos Produtores de Discos is an official representative body of the record labels in the Brazilian phonographic market.- About :... |
Platinum |
| Denmark | Platinum |
| New Zealand Recording Industry Association of New Zealand The Recording Industry Association of New Zealand is a non-profit trade association of record producers, distributors and recording artists who sell music in New Zealand... |
Platinum |
| Norway | Gold |
| Sweden | Gold |
| United States Recording Industry Association of America The Recording Industry Association of America is a trade organization that represents the recording industry distributors in the United States... |
3× Platinum |
End of year charts
| Charts (2007) | Position |
|---|---|
| Australian Singles Chart ARIA Charts The ARIA charts are the main Australian music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling singles and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA commenced compiling its own charts in-house from the week ending 26 June... |
1 |
| German Singles Chart Media Control Charts The official music charts in Germany are gathered and published by the company Media Control GfK International on behalf of Bundesverband Musikindustrie... |
22 |
| New Zealand Singles Chart Recording Industry Association of New Zealand The Recording Industry Association of New Zealand is a non-profit trade association of record producers, distributors and recording artists who sell music in New Zealand... |
2 |
| UK Singles Chart UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ... |
21 |
| US Billboard Hot 100 Billboard Hot 100 The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday... |
4 |
Decade-end charts
| Charts (2000–2009) | Position |
|---|---|
| Australian Singles Chart | 44 |
| US Billboard Hot 100 | 13 |
See also
- List of number-one singles in Australia in 2007
- List of number-one hits of 2007 (Austria)
- List of Hot 100 number-one singles of 2007 (Canada)
- List of number-one singles of 2007 (Ireland)
- List of number-one singles from the 2000s (New Zealand)
- List of Hot 100 number-one singles of 2007 (U.S.)
- List of Mainstream Top 40 number-one hits of 2007 (U.S.)
- List of number-one adult contemporary singles of 2007 (U.S.)