Songs about Girls
Encyclopedia
Songs About Girls is the third studio album by rapper will.i.am
, known from his work with The Black Eyed Peas
. The original title of the album was "Keep the Beeper". The album was released on September 25, 2007. The first single released from the album was a club track titled "I Got It From My Mama
" which debuted on the Billboard Hot 100
at #93 on the 17th of August 2007. The album was recorded by Pardraic Kerin and will.i.am, and mixed by Dylan "3-D" Dresdow.
show that the album would feature collaborations with: Slick Rick
, Ice Cube
, Q-Tip
, Common
, Snoop Dogg
, Too Short, Busta Rhymes
and Ludacris
. Unfortunately, the only collaboration that made the final cut is the Snoop Dogg collaboration. An anonymous female singer appears in some of the songs. Cheryl Cole
also sang backing vocals for the single version of "Heartbreaker
". will.i.am also recorded a song with American R&B singer Justin Timberlake
on a song called: "Going Crazy" - though never made the final album cut. Also, "Fly Girl" was originally a collaboration with Michael Jackson
, but the version featuring Jackson did not make the final album cut.
and as a producer for numerous other artists, the album flopped. It debuted at a disappointing #38 on the Billboard 200
with sales of just 21,000 copies according to Nielsen SoundScan. This was significantly less than The Black Eyed Peas' "Elephunk
" (#14) and Monkey Business
(#2) and also Fergie's solo effort The Dutchess
(#2). The album leaked to the Internet on September 19, 2007. The album debuted on the Australian ARIA Albums Chart on October 1, 2007 at number 58 with sales of 870 copies. The album was released on Argentina
on October 5, 2007. The album went Gold in Poland three days before its release. "Dynamite Interlude" has no writing or production credits.
Will.i.am
William James Adams, Jr. , better known by his stage name will.i.am and occasionally by his other stage name Zuper Blahq, is an American rapper, musician, songwriter, singer, actor and producer...
, known from his work with The Black Eyed Peas
The Black Eyed Peas
The Black Eyed Peas are an American pop group , formed in Los Angeles, California, in 1995. The group includes rappers will.i.am, apl.de.ap, and Taboo, and singer Fergie. Since the release of their third album Elephunk in 2003, the group has sold an estimated 56 million records worldwide...
. The original title of the album was "Keep the Beeper". The album was released on September 25, 2007. The first single released from the album was a club track titled "I Got It From My Mama
I Got It from My Mama
"I Got It from My Mama" is a hip hop song by American rapper will.i.am. It was released as the lead single from will.i.am's third solo album, Songs About Girls. It is primarily concerned with the inheritance of sexual attractiveness of human females through the maternal genetic line...
" which debuted 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...
at #93 on the 17th of August 2007. The album was recorded by Pardraic Kerin and will.i.am, and mixed by Dylan "3-D" Dresdow.
Background
The album has been described by will.i.am as semi-autobiographical conceptual album "where all the songs could tell a story of falling in love, falling out of love, trying to get back in love, destructing love and destroying love and then starting a new situation. That journey is what makes this unique." The album is partially based on a seven year relationship that will.i.am experienced and the infidelities and the break-up of that relationship. According to will.i.am's video on MySpace TV, he considers Songs About Girls to be his debut album, with his first two being production compilations.Collaborations
will.i.am revealed on the Canadian MTV e2MTV e2
MTV e2 was a Canadian entertainment news program that aired on MTV and A; hosted by Anna Cyzon; produced at the Masonic Temple in downtown Toronto.The show was discontinued on July 16, 2008....
show that the album would feature collaborations with: Slick Rick
Slick Rick
Richard Walters , better known by his stage name Slick Rick is a Grammy-nominated English-American rapper...
, Ice Cube
Ice Cube
O'Shea Jackson , better known by his stage name Ice Cube, is an American rapper and actor. He began his career as a member of the hip-hop group C.I.A. and later joined the rap group N.W.A. After leaving N.W.A in December 1989, he built a successful solo career in music, and also as a writer,...
, Q-Tip
Q-Tip (rapper)
Kamaal Ibn John Fareed , better known by his stage name Q-Tip, is an American hip hop artist, producer, singer, and actor from St. Albans, Queens, New York, part of the critically acclaimed group A Tribe Called Quest...
, Common
Common (rapper)
Lonnie Rashid Lynn, Jr. , better known by his stage name Common , is an American hip-hop artist and actor....
, Snoop Dogg
Snoop Dogg
Calvin Cordozar Broadus, Jr. , better known by his stage name Snoop Dogg, is an American rapper, record producer, and actor. Snoop is best known as a rapper in the West Coast hip hop scene, and for being one of Dr. Dre's most notable protégés. Snoop Dogg was a Crip gang member while in high school...
, Too Short, Busta Rhymes
Busta Rhymes
Trevor Tahiem Smith, Jr., better known by his stage name Busta Rhymes ,Smith is an American rapper, producer and actor. Chuck D of Public Enemy gave him the alias Busta Rhymes after NFL wide receiver George "Buster" Rhymes...
and Ludacris
Ludacris
Christopher Brian Bridges , better known by his stage name Ludacris, is an American rapper and actor. Along with his manager, Chaka Zulu, Ludacris is the co-founder of Disturbing tha Peace, an imprint distributed by Def Jam Recordings...
. Unfortunately, the only collaboration that made the final cut is the Snoop Dogg collaboration. An anonymous female singer appears in some of the songs. Cheryl Cole
Cheryl Cole
Cheryl Ann Cole is an English pop and R&B recording artist, songwriter, dancer, actress and model. She rose to fame in late 2002 when she auditioned for the reality television show Popstars: The Rivals on ITV. The programme announced that Cole had won a place as a member of the girl group, Girls...
also sang backing vocals for the single version of "Heartbreaker
Heartbreaker (will.i.am song)
"Heartbreaker" is the second single from rapper will.i.am's third album Songs About Girls. The British single version features guest vocals from Cheryl Cole; this version was also featured on Cole's debut solo album 3 Words which was released in October 2009.-Release and reception:Cheryl Cole's...
". will.i.am also recorded a song with American R&B singer Justin Timberlake
Justin Timberlake
Justin Randall Timberlake is an American pop musician and actor. He achieved early fame when he appeared as a contestant on Star Search, and went on to star in the Disney Channel television series The New Mickey Mouse Club, where he met future bandmate JC Chasez...
on a song called: "Going Crazy" - though never made the final album cut. Also, "Fly Girl" was originally a collaboration with Michael Jackson
Michael Jackson
Michael Joseph Jackson was an American recording artist, entertainer, and businessman. Referred to as the King of Pop, or by his initials MJ, Jackson is recognized as the most successful entertainer of all time by Guinness World Records...
, but the version featuring Jackson did not make the final album cut.
Album release
In September 2006, will.i.am became the head of marketing of the online music distribution company Musicane. Musicane allows artists to directly sell their songs to the public without a record company overseeing the distribution of the album. will.i.am has stated that he intends for Songs About Girls to be an infinitely expandable collection of songs that are distributed through Musicane and other online music services. According to will.i.am; "If I have an album filled with songs about girls, what happens if tomorrow I write another song about a girl?", he explains. "So something that started off just with 15 songs, in the next ten years could have 100 songs. Having 12 songs on a record? That day is done". Despite Will's success with The Black Eyed PeasThe Black Eyed Peas
The Black Eyed Peas are an American pop group , formed in Los Angeles, California, in 1995. The group includes rappers will.i.am, apl.de.ap, and Taboo, and singer Fergie. Since the release of their third album Elephunk in 2003, the group has sold an estimated 56 million records worldwide...
and as a producer for numerous other artists, the album flopped. It debuted at a disappointing #38 on the Billboard 200
Billboard 200
The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists...
with sales of just 21,000 copies according to Nielsen SoundScan. This was significantly less than The Black Eyed Peas' "Elephunk
Elephunk
-Commercial response:In the United States, Elephunk reached number 14 on the Billboard Top 200 and is their first album to chart in the top 15. It gained even more commercial success in the UK Album Charts where it reached number 3. It has sold over 1.6 million copies in the UK and...
" (#14) and Monkey Business
Monkey Business
-Film and television:* Monkey Business , an Our Gang film* Monkey Business , a Marx Brothers film* Monkey Business * Monkey Business...
(#2) and also Fergie's solo effort 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...
(#2). The album leaked to the Internet on September 19, 2007. The album debuted on the Australian ARIA Albums Chart on October 1, 2007 at number 58 with sales of 870 copies. The album was released on Argentina
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
on October 5, 2007. The album went Gold in Poland three days before its release. "Dynamite Interlude" has no writing or production credits.
Track listing
Samples
- "Over" samples "It's OverIt's Over (Electric Light Orchestra song)"It's Over" is a song recorded by the Electric Light Orchestra.The song is the second track from the LP Out of the Blue. It was the last single to be lifted from the album and was released in the United States only, becoming a minor hit. The orchestral beginning was actually the end of "Mr...
" by Electric Light OrchestraElectric Light OrchestraElectric Light Orchestra were a British rock group from Birmingham who released eleven studio albums between 1971 and 1986 and another album in 2001. ELO were formed to accommodate Roy Wood and Jeff Lynne's desire to create modern rock and pop songs with classical overtones...
aka ELO - "I Got It from My Mama" samples "Don Quixiotte" by Magazine 60Magazine 60Magazine 60 is a French synthpop group that was active in the 1980s. Members included Jean-Luc Drion, Dominique Régiacorte, and female lead singer Véronique Oliver....
- "Get Your Money" samples "Body Language" by M.A.N.D.Y.M.A.N.D.Y.M.A.N.D.Y. is a Berlin-based electrohouse group consisting of Patrick Bodmer & Philipp Jung. Their first official release was a popular remix of a Galleon song. They were cofounders of Get Physical Records, along with Booka Shade and DJ T...
& Booka ShadeBooka ShadeBooka Shade is a German house duo. It is made up of Walter Merziger and Arno Kammermeier, described as veterans of the Frankfurt electronic music scene... - "Fantastic" samples "I Want You BackI Want You Back"I Want You Back" was released in 1969 and in early 1970s became a number-one hit single recorded by The Jackson 5 for the Motown label. The song, along with a b-side cover of Smokey Robinson & the Miracles' "Who's Lovin' You", was the only single from the first Jackson 5 album, Diana Ross Presents...
" by the Jackson 5 - "S.O.S. (Mother Nature)" samples "50 Ways to Leave Your Lover50 Ways to Leave Your Lover"50 Ways to Leave Your Lover" is a 1975 hit song by Paul Simon, from his album Still Crazy After All These Years. Backing vocals on the single were performed by Patti Austin, Valerie Simpson and Phoebe Snow.-Creation:...
" by Paul SimonPaul SimonPaul Frederic Simon is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist.Simon is best known for his success, beginning in 1965, as part of the duo Simon & Garfunkel, with musical partner Art Garfunkel. Simon wrote most of the pair's songs, including three that reached number one on the US singles... - "Mama Mia" samples "What'd I Say" by Ray CharlesRay CharlesRay Charles Robinson , known by his shortened stage name Ray Charles, was an American musician. He was a pioneer in the genre of soul music during the 1950s by fusing rhythm and blues, gospel, and blues styles into his early recordings with Atlantic Records...
Charts and Certifications
| Chart (2007) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australian ARIA Albums 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... |
58 |
| France Albums Chart | 89 |
| Switzerland Albums Chart | 27 |
| Russian Chart | 7 |
| UK Albums Chart | 68 |
| U.S. Billboard 200 Billboard 200 The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists... |
38 |