Underneath It All
Encyclopedia
The song is a love song
composed in the key of E major
. It is written in common time
and moves slowly at 69 beats per minute. Stefani avoids the heavy vocal vibrato
that she often uses. Her vocal range spans under an octave and a half during the song, from F#3 to B4.
The song opens with a line spoken by Bob Clarke
as if it were heard on a radio. The verses use a simple I-vi chord progression
, alternating between a first inversion E major chord and a second inversion C# minor chord, played on the off-beats and switch to a IV-iii progression. Each verse is followed by the chorus, which uses a I-IV-V-IV progression. After the bridge
, Jay Ceballos from Tambobong Olingan performs his toast. Stefani then sings the chorus twice, and Clarke closes the song after Stefani repeats the line "Mm mm mm underneath it all" four times.
found its ska
sound and Stefani's questioning whether or not Rossdale is her soulmate tired. LAUNCHcast
agreed the beat was one "that Sly & Robbie can do in their sleep" but added that the song "keeps its modern edge thanks to Lady Saw's cooling rap." Kitty Empire
writing in NME
also gave Lady Saw's toast a positive review, stating that it "does an excellent job of sexing up all the sugar." Stylus Magazine
was pleased with Stefani's performance on the song, stating that "she lets her voice ride gently on top of the melody
, pushed along by the gentle steel drums in the background." PopMatters
commented that "No Doubt isn't afraid of working with new ideas" but that the dancehall of "Underneath It All" was unsuccessful and sloppy. In its review of The Singles 1992-2003
, OMH Media described the song as "an embarrassingly self-conscious reggae pastiche, unimproved by a guest rap from Jamaican dancehall queen Lady Saw."
Hot 100 for two weeks, becoming No Doubt's highest charting American single, since "Don't Speak
" was not allowed onto the Hot 100 because of a technicality. It was successful in mainstream music, topping the Top 40 Mainstream and reaching number two on the Top 40 Tracks
. The song was also successful in the adult contemporary market, reaching number two on the Adult Top 40 chart with a 2004 re-appearance atop the Top 40 Adult Recurrents and peaking at number twenty-seven on the Adult Contemporary
chart. It had some crossover
success on urban contemporary
and Hispanic rhythmic
stations, reaching the top forty on the Latin Pop Airplay and Rhythmic Top 40 charts and number twenty-three on the Latin Tropical/Salsa Airplay. At the 2004 Grammy Awards, "Underneath It All" won for Best Pop Vocal Performance by a Duo or Group. The song fared poorer on the Canadian Singles Chart
, where it peaked at number thirty-five.
"Underneath It All" debuted at number eighteen on the UK Singles Chart
but was unable to reach a higher position. It was unsuccessful across Europe, only reaching the top forty in Austria
and Sweden
. On the ARIA Singles Chart, the song peaked at number twenty-eight and remained on the chart for seven weeks. In New Zealand it peaked at number eight for two consecutive weeks and stayed on the chart for over four months.
was directed by Sophie Muller
and directing collaborative Logan. It opens with a sequence of Stefani, as shown on the cover of the CD single
, removing several pieces of clothing and later lying on a bed. After a scene with her in front of a white heart with roses, bassist Tony Kanal
and drummer Adrian Young
play basketball
while Stefani stands against the wall. Stefani is then shown against a sparkling sky, followed by a scene of the whole band bicycling during Lady Saw's toast. The video closes with a scene of Stefani jumping on a bed in white undergarments and without makeup.
Muller wanted to add more sexual themes to the look of the video to contrast with the innocence of the song's lyrics. The original idea for the video was to show Stefani with heavy makeup "really over done like a stripper" and have her remove her clothing throughout the video. Muller found that this complicated the video too much, so each sequence shows Stefani with progressively less makeup instead. Muller decided to use a color scheme with bright colors such as orange, lime green, and pink, and the contrast was increased using Symphony in post-production
. The bicycling scene was to originally show footage that the band shot while recording in Jamaica since Stefani wanted to include a Jamaican theme. Instead, the scene was created by filming the individual band members on a twelve-foot turntable in front of a bluescreen. Tracks were used to shoot two members riding next to each other, and Logan used computer-generated imagery
to show the entire band bicycling in Jamaica.
The music video was successful on video channels. It debuted on MTV
's Total Request Live
7 October 2002 at number seven. It reached number five on the countdown and was on the program for twenty-four days. "Underneath It All" peaked at number two on MuchMusic
's Countdown
in September 2002. The video received nominations for Best Pop Video and Best Cinematography
at the 2003 MTV Video Music Awards
, but lost to Justin Timberlake
's "Cry Me a River
" and Johnny Cash
's cover of "Hurt" respectively.
Love song
A love song is about falling in love and the feelings it brings. Anthologies of love songs often contain a mixture of both of these types of song. A bawdy song is both humorous and saucy, emphasizing the physical pleasure of love rather than the emotional joy...
composed in the key of E major
E major
E major is a major scale based on E, with the pitches E, F, G, A, B, C, and D. Its key signature has four sharps .Its relative minor is C-sharp minor, and its parallel minor is E minor....
. It is written 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 moves slowly at 69 beats per minute. Stefani avoids the heavy vocal vibrato
Vibrato
Vibrato is a musical effect consisting of a regular, pulsating change of pitch. It is used to add expression to vocal and instrumental music. Vibrato is typically characterised in terms of two factors: the amount of pitch variation and the speed with which the pitch is varied .-Vibrato and...
that she often uses. Her vocal range spans under an octave and a half during the song, from F#3 to B4.
The song opens with a line spoken by Bob Clarke
Bob Clarke
Bob Clarke is an illustrator whose elegant line appeared in innumerable advertisements as well as MAD Magazine. The label of the Cutty Sark bottle is his creation. Clarke was born in Mamaroneck, NY, USA in 1926. He now resides in Seaford, Delaware....
as if it were heard on a radio. The verses use a simple I-vi chord progression
Chord progression
A chord progression is a series of musical chords, or chord changes that "aims for a definite goal" of establishing a tonality founded on a key, root or tonic chord. In other words, the succession of root relationships...
, alternating between a first inversion E major chord and a second inversion C# minor chord, played on the off-beats and switch to a IV-iii progression. Each verse is followed by the chorus, which uses a I-IV-V-IV progression. After the bridge
Bridge (music)
In music, especially western popular music, a bridge is a contrasting section which also prepares for the return of the original material section...
, Jay Ceballos from Tambobong Olingan performs his toast. Stefani then sings the chorus twice, and Clarke closes the song after Stefani repeats the line "Mm mm mm underneath it all" four times.
Critical reception
"Underneath It All" received mixed reviews from music critics. Rolling StoneRolling Stone
Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...
found its ska
Ska
Ska |Jamaican]] ) is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1950s, and was the precursor to rocksteady and reggae. Ska combined elements of Caribbean mento and calypso with American jazz and rhythm and blues...
sound and Stefani's questioning whether or not Rossdale is her soulmate tired. LAUNCHcast
LAUNCHcast
Yahoo! Music Radio is an Internet radio service offered by CBS Radio through Yahoo! Music. The service, formerly offered by LAUNCH Media, and originally developed by Todd Beaupré and Jeff Boulter, debuted on November 11, 1999, and was purchased by Yahoo! in October, 2001...
agreed the beat was one "that Sly & Robbie can do in their sleep" but added that the song "keeps its modern edge thanks to Lady Saw's cooling rap." Kitty Empire
Kitty Empire
Kitty Empire is the pen name of a British writer and music critic.Empire was born in Montreal, Quebec in 1970 and brought up in Canada, Italy and Egypt before arriving in Britain in 1988....
writing in NME
NME
The New Musical Express is a popular music publication in the United Kingdom, published weekly since March 1952. It started as a music newspaper, and gradually moved toward a magazine format during the 1980s, changing from newsprint in 1998. It was the first British paper to include a singles...
also gave Lady Saw's toast a positive review, stating that it "does an excellent job of sexing up all the sugar." Stylus Magazine
Stylus Magazine
Stylus Magazine was an online music and film magazine launched in 2002. It featured long-form music journalism, four daily music reviews, movie reviews, a number of different podcasts, an MP3 blog, and a text blog....
was pleased with Stefani's performance on the song, stating that "she lets her voice ride gently on top of the melody
Melody
A melody , also tune, voice, or line, is a linear succession of musical tones which is perceived as a single entity...
, pushed along by the gentle steel drums in the background." PopMatters
PopMatters
PopMatters is an international webzine of cultural criticism that covers many aspects of popular culture. PopMatters publishes reviews, interviews, and detailed essays on most cultural products and expressions in areas such as music, television, films, books, video games, comics, sports, theater,...
commented that "No Doubt isn't afraid of working with new ideas" but that the dancehall of "Underneath It All" was unsuccessful and sloppy. In its review of The Singles 1992-2003
The Singles 1992-2003
The only single from The Singles 1992–2003 was a cover of the song "It's My Life", originally released in 1984 by the synthpop band Talk Talk. Because the band were taking a break while lead singer Gwen Stefani recorded her solo debut album Love. Angel. Music. Baby., they decided to do a cover...
, OMH Media described the song as "an embarrassingly self-conscious reggae pastiche, unimproved by a guest rap from Jamaican dancehall queen Lady Saw."
Chart performance
"Underneath It All" peaked at number three on the BillboardBillboard (magazine)
Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...
Hot 100 for two weeks, becoming No Doubt's highest charting American single, since "Don't Speak
Don't Speak
"Don't Speak" is a song by the American rock band No Doubt. It was released in 1996 as the third single from the band's third studio album, Tragic Kingdom...
" was not allowed onto the Hot 100 because of a technicality. It was successful in mainstream music, topping the Top 40 Mainstream and reaching number two on the Top 40 Tracks
Top 40 Tracks
Top 40 Tracks is a defunct airplay chart from Billboard Magazine. It was created in 1998, when Billboard Magazine changed the airplay profile of The Hot 100 Airplay to include more R&B, Country, and Rock stations to its profile . To preserve the notion of the former chart, Top 40 Tracks was...
. The song was also successful in the adult contemporary market, reaching number two on the Adult Top 40 chart with a 2004 re-appearance atop the Top 40 Adult Recurrents and peaking at number twenty-seven on the Adult Contemporary
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. It had some crossover
Crossover (music)
Crossover is a term applied to musical works or performers appearing on two or more of the record charts which track differing musical tastes, or genres...
success on urban contemporary
Urban contemporary
Urban contemporary is a music radio format. The term was coined by the late New York DJ Frankie Crocker in the mid 1970s. Urban contemporary radio stations feature a playlist made up entirely of hip hop/rap, contemporary R&B, pop, electronica such as dubstep and drum and bass and Caribbean music...
and Hispanic rhythmic
Hispanic rhythmic
Hispanic rhythmic, also known as Hispanic urban or "Hurban", is an American radio and format genre that features a Spanish-language musical mix of Latin hip-hop, Mexican hip-hop, reggaeton, dancehall, Latin pop, dance, tropical and salsa hits, all geared towards a bilingual audience, most of them...
stations, reaching the top forty on the Latin Pop Airplay and Rhythmic Top 40 charts and number twenty-three on the Latin Tropical/Salsa Airplay. At the 2004 Grammy Awards, "Underneath It All" won for Best Pop Vocal Performance by a Duo or Group. The song fared poorer on the Canadian Singles Chart
Canadian Singles Chart
The Canadian Singles Chart is currently compiled by the U.S.-based music sales tracking company, Nielsen SoundScan . The chart is compiled every Wednesday, and is published by Jam! Canoe on Thursdays....
, where it peaked at number thirty-five.
"Underneath It All" debuted at number eighteen on the 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 ...
but was unable to reach a higher position. It was unsuccessful across Europe, only reaching the top forty in Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
and Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
. On the ARIA Singles Chart, the song peaked at number twenty-eight and remained on the chart for seven weeks. In New Zealand it peaked at number eight for two consecutive weeks and stayed on the chart for over four months.
Music video
The song's music videoMusic 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 Sophie Muller
Sophie Muller
Sophie Muller is a British music video director, noted for her long-time collaborations with artists like Sophie Ellis-Bextor, No Doubt, Sade, Shakira, Shakespears Sister, Garbage, Blur, Annie Lennox and Eurythmics.-Background:...
and directing collaborative Logan. It opens with a sequence of Stefani, as shown on the cover of the CD single
CD single
A CD single is a music single in the form of a standard size Compact Disc, not to be confused with the 3-inch CD single, which uses a smaller form factor. The format was introduced in the mid-1980s, but did not gain its place in the market until the early 1990s...
, removing several pieces of clothing and later lying on a bed. After a scene with her in front of a white heart with roses, bassist Tony Kanal
Tony Kanal
Tony Kanal is an English musician, record producer and songwriter. Kanal is the bassist for the American rock band No Doubt...
and drummer Adrian Young
Adrian Young
Adrian Samuel Young is the drummer for the rock band No Doubt.-Biography:Young's parents were hippies. He has four brothers: Alex, Damian, Jeff and Aaron. His father is a teacher in Cypress CA and his stepmother, Jeanne, is currently suffering from ALS...
play basketball
Basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
while Stefani stands against the wall. Stefani is then shown against a sparkling sky, followed by a scene of the whole band bicycling during Lady Saw's toast. The video closes with a scene of Stefani jumping on a bed in white undergarments and without makeup.
Muller wanted to add more sexual themes to the look of the video to contrast with the innocence of the song's lyrics. The original idea for the video was to show Stefani with heavy makeup "really over done like a stripper" and have her remove her clothing throughout the video. Muller found that this complicated the video too much, so each sequence shows Stefani with progressively less makeup instead. Muller decided to use a color scheme with bright colors such as orange, lime green, and pink, and the contrast was increased using Symphony in post-production
Post-production
Post-production is part of filmmaking and the video production process. It occurs in the making of motion pictures, television programs, radio programs, advertising, audio recordings, photography, and digital art...
. The bicycling scene was to originally show footage that the band shot while recording in Jamaica since Stefani wanted to include a Jamaican theme. Instead, the scene was created by filming the individual band members on a twelve-foot turntable in front of a bluescreen. Tracks were used to shoot two members riding next to each other, and Logan used computer-generated imagery
Computer-generated imagery
Computer-generated imagery is the application of the field of computer graphics or, more specifically, 3D computer graphics to special effects in art, video games, films, television programs, commercials, simulators and simulation generally, and printed media...
to show the entire band bicycling in Jamaica.
The music video was successful on video channels. It debuted 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 Total Request Live
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...
7 October 2002 at number seven. It reached number five on the countdown and was on the program for twenty-four days. "Underneath It All" peaked at number two on MuchMusic
MuchMusic
MuchMusic is a Canadian English language Category A specialty channel owned by Bell Media. MuchMusic is dedicated to music-related programs, pop and youth culture.-History:...
's Countdown
Countdown (MuchMusic TV series)
The MuchMusic Top 30 Countdown is a ninety-minute music video program block, that airs on Canadian music television station MuchMusic. Countdown is one of the oldest programs that continues to be aired on Much Music since its debut...
in September 2002. The video received nominations for Best Pop Video and Best Cinematography
MTV Video Music Award for Best Cinematography
The following is a list of MTV Video Music Award winners for Best Cinematography in a Video. Madonna is the biggest Winner in this category with 3 wins....
at the 2003 MTV Video Music Awards
MTV Video Music Awards
An MTV Video Music Award , is an award presented by the cable channel MTV to honor the best in music videos...
, but lost to 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...
's "Cry Me a River
Cry Me a River (Justin Timberlake song)
"Cry Me a River" is the second single from Justin Timberlake's solo debut album Justified. Released on December 17, 2002, the single, which features guest vocals and production by Timbaland & Scott Storch, won Timberlake a Grammy Award for "Best Male Pop Vocal Performance" in 2004.-Background...
" and Johnny Cash
Johnny Cash
John R. "Johnny" Cash was an American singer-songwriter, actor, and author, who has been called one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century...
's cover of "Hurt" respectively.
Maxi single
- "Underneath It All" featuring Lady Saw (Album Version) - 5:03
- "Underneath It All" (Radio 1Live1LIVE1LIVE is a radio network by the Westdeutscher Rundfunk public broadcasting corporation in Germany. It specialises in popular music aimed at the 14-39 age bracket. The average age of listeners is 34.- History :...
Acoustic Version) - 3:44 - "Just a GirlJust a Girl"Just a Girl" is a song written by Gwen Stefani and Tom Dumont for No Doubt's third album Tragic Kingdom. The song was released in 1995 as the album's lead single and helped the band break into mainstream music, peaking at number 23 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100.Upon release in the UK in 1996 the...
" (Radio 1Live Acoustic Version) - 3:30 - "Underneath It All" Video - 5:03
2-track single
- "Underneath It All" featuring Lady Saw (Album Version) - 5:03
- "Underneath It All" (Radio 1Live Acoustic Version) - 3:44
Release history
| Country | Date |
|---|---|
| United States United States The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district... |
August 15, 2002 |
| Worldwide | September 10, 2002 |
Charts
| Chart (2002) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australian ARIA 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... Singles Chart |
28 |
| Austrian Singles Chart | 34 |
| Canadian Singles Chart | 35 |
| New Zealand RIANZ Singles Chart | 8 |
| Romanian Top 100 | 27 |
| Swedish Singles Chart | 39 |
| UK Singles Chart | 18 |
| US Billboard Hot 100 | 3 |
| US Billboard Top 40 Mainstream | 1 |
| US Billboard Adult Top 40 | 2 |
| Chart (2003) | Peak position |
| French Singles Chart | 71 |