Underneath It All

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"Underneath It All"
Single by No Doubt
from the album Rock Steady
Released	August 2002 (North America) September 2002 (elsewhere)
Format	CD single (global)
Genre	Pop, Reggae, Ska
Length	5:02 (album version)
Label	Interscope
Writer(s)	Gwen Stefani, Dave Stewart
Producer(s)	No Doubt, Sly & Robbie
Certification	Uncertified
Chart positions
#3 (U.S.) #8 (New Zealand) #18 (UK) #28 (Australia) #36 (Canada)
No Doubt singles chronology
"Hella Good" (2002)	"Underneath It All" (2002)	"Running" (2003)
Music video screenshot
Gwen Stefani removing her coat in the video.

For Traci Lords' autobiography, see Traci Lords: Underneath It All.

"Underneath It All" is a pop song written by Gwen Stefani and Dave Stewart for No Doubt's fourth album Rock Steady (2001). The song features reggae production, vocals from deejay Lady Saw, and received mixed reviews from pop music critics. "Underneath It All" was released as the album's third single in mid-2002 (see 2002 in music) and was moderately successful. It was nominated for a Teen Choice Award in 2003 and received a Grammy Award for "Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal" in 2004.

Contents 1 Background and writing 2 Chart performance 3 Music video 4 Charts 5 References

[edit] Background and writing

The song was originally written by Gwen Stefani and Dave Stewart during Stefani's visit to boyfriend Gavin Rossdale in London. The two used backward string samples to write the song in only ten minutes. Producers Sly and Robbie later added guest vocals from dancehall artist Lady Saw.

[edit] Chart performance

"Underneath It All" peaked at number three on the U.S. Hot 100 chart and number two for ten non-consecutive weeks on the Adult Top 40 format. Although it was very successful in the U.S., reaction elsewhere was generally less enthusiastic. In Canada the song debuted on the singles chart at number thirty-six and descended from the top fifty the following week. It became No Doubt's second-least successful Canadian single after "Ex-Girlfriend" (2000).

In the UK "Underneath It All" debuted at number eighteen and fell off the chart five weeks later. This feat echoed in Australia, where it peaked at number twenty-eight, but saw more success by remaining on the chart for seven weeks. In New Zealand it peaked at number eight for two consecutive weeks and garnered substantial airplay.

The song reached the top thirty in Austria and Sweden, the top forty in Brazil and Germany, and the top sixty in Switzerland. It peaked at number eleven on the United World Chart for the week of November 23, 2002.

[edit] Music video

The song's music video was directed by Sophie Muller. It features the band bicycling and playing basketball. Stefani removes several pieces of clothing throughout the video, and in the last scene, she is jumping on a bed, in white undergarments and without makeup. A scene from the video was used for the cover of the song's CD single.

"Underneath It All" peaked at number two on MuchMusic's Countdown in late 2002. The video received nominations for Best Pop Video and Best Cinematography at the 2003 MTV Video Music Awards.

[edit] Charts

Chart (2002)	Peak position
Australian ARIA Singles Chart	28
Austrian Top 75	34
Brazilian Singles Chart	46
Canadian Singles Chart	36
German Singles Chart	42
New Zealand RIANZ Singles Chart	8
Swedish Top 60	39
Swiss Top 100	54
UK Singles Chart	18
U.S. Billboard Hot 100	3
U.S. Billboard Top 40 Mainstream	1
U.S. Billboard Adult Top 40	2
Chart (2003)	Peak position
French Top 100	71

[edit] References