What You Waiting For?

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"What You Waiting For?"
Single by Gwen Stefani
from the album Love. Angel. Music. Baby.
Released	September 28, 2004 (U.S.) November 15, 2004 (UK)
Format	12" single Digital download
Recorded	Home Recordings, London, England and Henson Recording Studios, Hollywood, California, United States
Genre	Dance-pop
Length	3:41
Label	Interscope
Writer(s)	Gwen Stefani, Linda Perry
Producer(s)	Nellee Hooper
Certification	Platinum (ARIA, RIAA)
Chart positions
#1 (Argentina, Australia) #2 (Ireland, Italy) #3 (New Zealand, Norway) #4 (Finland, UK) #24 (Canada) #47 (U.S.)
Gwen Stefani singles chronology
"Let Me Blow Ya Mind" (2001)	"What You Waiting For?" (2004)	"Rich Girl" (2004)

"What You Waiting For?" is a dance-pop song written by Gwen Stefani and Linda Perry for Stefani's debut solo album Love. Angel. Music. Baby (2004). The song is influenced by electro and New Wave music and discusses Stefani's lack of inspiration, fear of producing the album, and pressure from her record label.

The song was released as the album's lead single in 2004 (see 2004 in music) as Stefani's "explanation for doing the record".^[1] The single performed well, reaching the top twenty in most countries, and was certified platinum in the United States and in Australia. It received positive reviews from pop music critics, frequently noted as a highlight of the album, and at the 2005 Grammy Awards, it was nominated for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance.

Contents 1 Background and writing 2 Music and lyrics 3 Critical reception 4 Chart performance 5 Music video 6 Formats and track listings 7 Credits and personnel 8 Charts 9 References 10 External links

[edit] Background and writing

After the 2003 Grammy Awards, Linda Perry put Stefani in a chokehold, telling her, "we're gonna write songs together!", and Stefani hesitantly agreed.^[2] Soon after Stefani finished the Rock Steady Tour with No Doubt, she was sleeping and received a call from her label that Perry was in a studio ready to work with Stefani since Perry "only [had] five days out of the whole year to work with [her]."^[3][4] Stefani was frustrated with not having been able to see her husband, Bush singer Gavin Rossdale, and felt burned out from having just finished touring, so she broke down and laid in bed crying.^[3][4] During their first day of work, the two created a song titled "Fine by You", which Stefani called "a stupid love song, but really good", but the track was not included on the album.^[5] The session was generally unproductive due to Stefani's self-consciousness and writer's block, and Stefani broke down crying in the studio.^[6][7] Stefani found songwriting without the band much more difficult, commenting that it was "humiliating and intimidating even if they're sweet and excited, because you're drowning in their creativity."^[6]

That night, Perry began work on another track, which she played for Stefani the next day to motivate her.^[5] Stefani was impressed with the track, and Perry asked her "What are you waiting for?" as a dare.^[3] The two began writing lyrics for the New Wave song based on Stefani's writer's block and fears about making a solo record, and the track grew into "What You Waiting For?".^[1] Stefani came up with the idea of the Harajuku Girls while writing the song. Stefani first saw the women of Harajuku, known for their unique style drawing from Gothic Lolita and cyberpunk fashion, in 1996 and had admired them ever since then.^[5][8] Stefani decided to mention them in the line "Harajuku girls, you got the wicked style", and the concept grew into a running theme in Love. Angel. Music. Baby., with one song named after and dedicated to them.^[5]

[edit] Music and lyrics

"What You Waiting For?" is a club song composed in common time and in the key of G minor.^[9] The song opens with a slow, emotional piano solo as a tribute to Stefani's time with No Doubt.^[9][10] A beat set at 140 BPM then begins, and Stefani repeats the phrase "tick-tock", commonly interpreted as a reference to her maternal clock and the pressures she felt about producing the album.^[9][11] Stefani leads into an inner argument by alternating her vocal range and point of view; one side of Stefani's personality sings in a higher range in the first person, nervous about her future and going solo, and the other, more confident personality sings lower and in the second person.^[10] The chorus is a boost of confidence for her, and after a verse about her excitement for her future, the two personalities merge into one.^[10]

[edit] Critical reception

"What You Waiting For?" received very positive reviews from critics. Pitchfork Media gave the song a strong review, rating it four and a half stars and calling it "fucking great".^[12] Blender noted the song's New Wave influence by stating that it could start a revival of Missing Persons.^[13] PopMatters was mixed on the song, calling the opening "awkward" and the refrain "ridiculously dumb", but arguing that the song "is so frivolous and stupid that it winds up being brilliant; it pretends to be nothing more than party bubblegum and achieves its artistic criteria beautifully."^[14] PlayLouder found the track's production "crisp" and "edgy",^[15] and LAUNCHcast called the song "itchily irresistible".^[16] Contactmusic gave the song a nine out of ten rating, commenting that it has "irresistible commercial pull and a melody to die for" and that the track "makes the most of her unmistakable vocal and reflects that off-the-wall Stefani personality perfectly."^[17] OMH Media gave the song a negative review, stating that "it'll become one of those tracks that's irritatingly catchy - but on this initial listening, Ms Stefani's debut solo effort is just plain irritating."^[18]

Many reviewers highlighted the track as a highlight of Love. Angel. Music. Baby. Entertainment Weekly gave the album a C+ rating but called the track "one of the album's undeniable highs".^[19] In its review of the album, Pitchfork Media said that "we can't expect 12 more cuts as personal or urgent as debut single 'What You Waiting For'...one of the best electro songs this year."^[20] Eric Greenwood of Drawer B Media, who said that the album "fails on every level", also commented that "if this album had even two more songs this immediate and catchy, then I'd stick my neck out for it, but, sadly, it's the only song worth listening to."^[21]

[edit] Chart performance

In the United States, "What You Waiting For?" debuted on October 23, 2004 at number ninety-three on the Billboard Hot 100.^[22] It reached a peak at number forty-seven on December 4, 2004 and remained on the chart for a total of twenty weeks.^[22] The song topped the Hot Dance Music/Club Play chart, but only had moderate success on the pop charts, reaching number seventeen on the Top 40 Mainstream and number twenty-four on the Adult Top 40.^[23] In February 2005, the song was certified platinum by the RIAA,^[24] and the song was nominated for best Best Female Pop Vocal Performance at the 2005 Grammy Awards.^[25]

Elsewhere, the song's reception was stronger: in Canada it debuted inside the top forty on the singles chart before reaching number twenty-four in January 2005.^[26] In the UK it debuted at number four and remained on the chart for fifteen weeks, unable to reach a higher position.^[22] The single performed well across most of Europe, reaching the top ten in Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Russia, and Sweden.^[26] In Australia, the single debuted at the top of the chart on November 22, 2004 and stayed there for two weeks.^[22] It stayed within the top three through January 17, 2005 and dropped off the chart after fifteen weeks.^[22] The single was certified platinum by the Australian Recording Industry Association.^[27] On the 2004 end of year chart, the song charted at number twenty-six,^[28] and on the 2005 chart, it was listed at number forty.^[29]

[edit] Music video

The song's music video was directed by Francis Lawrence and deals directly with the lyrics of the song, featuring Stefani's search for inspiration in songwriting. The video starts off with a lengthy non-musical section in which Stefani arrives in Los Angeles from No Doubt's Rock Steady tour. Stefani receives several calls from manager Jimmy Iovine trying to convince her to push forward with her solo project, though Stefani states that she needs "to get inspired". After a failed studio attempt, Stefani sees a flyer advertising help for writer's block. Upon arrival she fills out a form and asks when she will be finished, at which point she realizes that she is back in the studio with a watch on the piano. A toy rabbit runs across the top of piano, causing her to fall back on her chair and freeze, and she is transported to a fantasy-like environment based on Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass. Stefani portrays several characters from the books, including Alice, the White Queen, and the Red Queen, in dresses by fashion designer John Galliano.^[30] It often cuts back to Gwen back in the studio, still in her frozen state singing as the song records itself. Stefani soon rediscovers her confidence and by the end of the song, she is transported back to reality and unfrozen, breaking into performance to the pleasure of her Harajuku Girls.

The music video was well-received, and Stylus Magazine called it "a short film", comparing it to Michael Jackson's "Thriller", and commented, "I sigh with admiration and wish every video was this alive."^[31] The video debuted on MTV's Total Request Live on October 18, 2004 at number eleven.^[32] It reached the top of the chart and stayed there for two days,^[33] lasting on the program for over five weeks.^[32] It only reached number eleven on the MuchMusic countdown, though it remained on the chart for eight weeks.^[26] At the 2005 MTV Video Music Awards, the video was nominated for Best Editing and won the award for Best Art Direction.^[34]

[edit] Formats and track listings

These are the formats and track listings of major single releases of "What You Waiting For?".

• CD single

1. "What You Waiting For?" (album version)
2. "What You Waiting For?" (Jacques Lu Cont's TWD mix)
3. "What You Waiting For?" (instrumental)
4. "Snippets/Gwen Stefani/L.A.M.B." (international version)
5. "What You Waiting For?" (video/director's cut: explicit version)

• North American vinyl single

1. "What You Waiting For?" (album version)
2. "What You Waiting For?" (instrumental)

• French single

1. "What You Waiting For?" (Armand Van Helden remix)
2. "What You Waiting For?" (The Rude Ho mix)
3. "What You Waiting For?" (Armand Van Helden dub)

[edit] Credits and personnel

Lead vocals: Gwen Stefani Producers: Nellee Hooper, Linda Perry Recording engineers: Greg Collins, Ian Rossiter Programmer: Samuel Littlemore Assistant engineer: Keving Mills Guitar: Linda Perry, Rusty Anderson

Keyboards: Linda Perry Background vocals: Mimi (Audia) Parker Audio mixing: Mark "Spike" Stent Assistant engineer: David Treaheam Second assistant engineer: Rob Haggett

[edit] Charts

Chart (2004)[23][26][35] Peak position Argentina Top 40 Singles 1 Australian ARIA Singles Chart 1 Austrian Singles Chart 7 Dutch Top 40 10 Finnish Singles Chart 4 German Singles Chart 22 Greek Singles Chart 18 Norwegian Singles Chart 3 Swiss Singles Chart 17 UK Singles Chart 4 United World Chart 2 U.S. Billboard Hot 100 47 U.S. Billboard Adult Top 40 24

Chart (2004)[23][26] Peak position U.S. Billboard Hot Dance Club Play 1 U.S. Billboard Hot Dance Single Sales 5 U.S. Billboard Top 40 Mainstream 17 U.S. Billboard Top 40 Tracks 22 Chart (2005) Peak position Canadian Singles Chart 24 French Singles Chart 5 Irish Singles Chart 2 Italian Singles Chart 2 New Zealand RIANZ Singles Chart 3 Swedish Singles Chart 6 U.S. Billboard Pop 100 14

Preceded by "Just Lose It" by Eminem

Australian number-one single November 14, 2004 (2 weeks)

Succeeded by "These Kids" by Joel Turner & The Modern Day Poets

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• GwenStefani.com – Gwen Stefani's official site
  • Love. Angel. Music. Baby. – lyrics and audio
  • Media – Gwen Stefani music videos