I Don't Need a Man

"I Don't Need a Man"
Single by Pussycat Dolls
from the album PCD
B-side "We Went as Far as We Felt Like Going"
Released September 25, 2006 (Europe, Canada)
October 21, 2006 (Australia)
May 2007 (U.S.)
Format Digital download, CD single
Recorded 2005
Genre Dance-pop, nu-disco, R&B
Length 3:40
Label A&M
Writer(s) Rich Harrison, Nicole Scherzinger, Kara DioGuardi, VV Brown
Producer Rich Harrison
Pussycat Dolls chronology
"Buttons"
(2006)
"I Don't Need a Man"
(2007)
"Wait a Minute"
(2007)
Music video
"I Don't Need a Man" on YouTube

"I Don't Need a Man" is the fifth single released from the Pussycat Dolls' debut album, PCD (2005). The European and Canadian release date for the single was September 25, 2006, and the release date in Australia (according to HMV) was October 21. In the United States, the video premiered on April 18, 2007 on MTV's show Total Request Live, leading to a single release in the U.S. in May 2007.

Contents

Music video

The music video for "I Don't Need a Man" was directed by Chris Applebaum and was first announced and described by group member Ashley Roberts in a blog entry on their official website.[1]

On August 25, 2006, the music video premiered on The Box in the UK, and on September 14, it premiered on MuchOnDemand in Canada. The video took the number one spot on MMMTop10.com multiple times. It reached number nine on MTV's Total Request Live and number one for 3 week on the MTV Asia Chart Attack. The video was uploaded to the iTunes Store on April 18, 2007.

The first verse begins with Roberts doing her nails dressed in white clothing. The video features Nicole Scherzinger singing, Carmit Bachar doing her hair and Jessica Sutta having a shower as they prepare to go out. In the chorus, the Dolls mimic a hair salon scene. During the second verse, the video shows Kimberly Wyatt in a bath getting ready to go out, Melody Thornton putting on her make-up and Scherzinger singing. In the second chorus, it shows the Dolls performing a dance routine before breaking into different slides of the Dolls dancing separately. Following this, it shows Scherzinger and Thornton singing "Let it Go", a bridge in the middle of the song but actually Scherzinger is singing to Carmit Bachar's vocals. This then breaks to more dance clips of the Dolls with Scherzinger singing. The video concludes with the Dolls performing another dance routine against a black background in the final chorus before confetti falls down.

To stay true to the Dolls live show routines, the video features the silhouette of bodies before the second verse of the song. The main background colour for the song is pink, contributing to the girly theme. There are two versions of the video: one full-version and the other which edits dance routines with clips/frames previously shown in the video.

The video of the single "Zgodna Mlada" of the duet Trik FX is a copy of the "I Don't Need a Man" video.[2]

Background

The song is co-written by lead singer Nicole Scherzinger, producer Rich Harrison and professional songwriter Kara DioGuardi. Scherzinger's previous group, Eden's Crush, had recorded one song by DioGuardi. Scherzinger and DioGuardi also co-wrote the PCD bonus track "Flirt". "I Don't Need a Man" is produced by Rich Harrison and co-produced by Ron Fair. The official instrumental version of this song, that is featured on the CD single, contains some other samples than the album version.

B-side

The single's B-side is a cover version of "We Went as Far as We Felt Like Going", written by Bob Crewe and Kenny Nolan. This was a 1975 single for Labelle and a follow-up to their previous hit "Lady Marmalade" (also on their album Phoenix). The Pussycat Dolls' version first appeared in September 2004 on the soundtrack to the animated film Shark Tale.

Formats and track listings

European maxi CD
  1. "I Don't Need a Man" (album version) – 3:39
  2. "I Don't Need a Man" (instrumental) – 3:39
  3. "We Went as Far as We Felt Like Going" – 3:50
  4. "I Don't Need a Man" (video) – 3:39
UK single
  1. "I Don't Need a Man" (album version) – 3:39
  2. "We Went as Far as We Felt Like Going" – 3:50

Chart performance

"I Don't Need A Man" became a moderate hit worldwide reaching the top ten in several countries whilst making the top five in others. "I Don't Need a Man" debuted and peaked at number-six in Australia and was certified Gold by ARIA for sales in excess of 35,000. "I Don't Need a Man" was ranked at number fifty-five on the Australian ARIA Year-End Singles Chart for 2006.[3] "I Don't Need A Man" performed similarly well in New Zealand, peaking at number-seven on the New Zealand RIANZ Singles Chart, but this ended the group's string of consecutive number-one hits.[4] The song also peaked at number-seven in the UK, breaking the group's string of top three hits. "I Don't Need A Man" has also performed slightly weaker in Germany where it has reached number twenty.

"I Don't Need A Man" debuted on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100, at number ninety-three in the issue dated May 12, 2007 but failed to chart any higher.

Charts

Chart (2006–07) Peak
position
Australia (ARIA)[5] 6
Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 75)[6] 19
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[7] 7
Belgium (Ultratop 40 Wallonia)[8] 8
Czech Republic (IFPI)[9] 62
Denmark (Tracklisten)[10] 32
European Hot 100 Singles[11] 34
Finland (Suomen virallinen lista)[12] 17
France (SNEP)[13] 12
Germany (Media Control AG)[14] 20
Hungary (Rádiós Top 40)[15] 7
Hungary (Dance Top 40)[16] 12
Ireland (IRMA)[17] 9
Italy (FIMI)[18] 13
Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[19] 4
Netherlands (Mega Single Top 100)[20] 5
New Zealand (RIANZ)[21] 7
Slovakia (IFPI)[22] 16
Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[23] 27
Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[24] 15
UK Singles (The Official Charts Company)[25] 7
US Billboard Hot 100[26] 93

References

  1. ^ http://www.pcdmusic.com/index.php?option=com_comprofiler&task=viewBlog&userID=89&Itemid=-1 PCDmusic.com
  2. ^ YouTube – Zgodna Mlada – Trik FX
  3. ^ http://www.australian-charts.com/showitem.asp?interpret=The+Pussycat+Dolls&titel=I+Don%27t+Need+A+Man&cat=s
  4. ^ http://charts.org.nz/showitem.asp?interpret=The+Pussycat+Dolls&titel=I+Don%27t+Need+A+Man&cat=s
  5. ^ "Australian-charts.com – The Pussycat Dolls – I Don't Need a Man". ARIA Top 50 Singles. Hung Medien.
  6. ^ "The Pussycat Dolls – I Don't Need a Man – Austriancharts.at" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40. Hung Medien.
  7. ^ "Ultratop.be – The Pussycat Dolls – I Don't Need a Man" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50. Ultratop & Hung Medien / hitparade.ch.
  8. ^ "Ultratop.be – The Pussycat Dolls – I Don't Need a Man" (in French). Ultratop 40. Ultratop & Hung Medien / hitparade.ch.
  9. ^ "ČNS IFPI" (in Czech). Hitparáda – Radio Top100 Oficiální. IFPI Czech Republic. Note: insert 200716 into search.
  10. ^ "The Pussycat Dolls – I Don't Need a Man Hitlisten.nu" (in Danish). Tracklisten. IFPI Danmark & Nielsen Music Control.
  11. ^ "The Pussycat Dolls Album & Song Chart History" European Hot 100 for The Pussycat Dolls. Prometheus Global Media.
  12. ^ "Finnishcharts.com – The Pussycat Dolls – I Don't Need a Man". Suomen virallinen lista. Hung Medien.
  13. ^ "Lescharts.com – The Pussycat Dolls – I Don't Need a Man" (in French). Les classement single. Hung Medien.
  14. ^ "Die ganze Musik im Internet: Charts, News, Neuerscheinungen, Tickets, Genres, Genresuche, Genrelexikon, Künstler-Suche, Musik-Suche, Track-Suche, Ticket-Suche - musicline.de" (in German). Media Control Charts. PhonoNet GmbH.
  15. ^ "Archívum – Slágerlisták – MAHASZ – Magyar Hanglemezkiadók Szövetsége" (in Hungarian). Rádiós Top 40 játszási lista. Magyar Hanglemezkiadók Szövetsége.
  16. ^ "Archívum – Slágerlisták – MAHASZ – Magyar Hanglemezkiadók Szövetsége" (in Hungarian). Dance Top 40 lista. Magyar Hanglemezkiadók Szövetsége.
  17. ^ "Chart Track". Irish Singles Chart. Irish Recorded Music Association.
  18. ^ "Italiancharts.com – The Pussycat Dolls – I Don't Need a Man". Top Digital Download. Hung Medien.
  19. ^ "Nederlandse Top 40 – week 44, 2006" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40 Stichting Nederlandse Top 40.
  20. ^ "Dutchcharts.nl – The Pussycat Dolls – I Don't Need a Man" (in Dutch). Mega Single Top 100. Hung Medien / hitparade.ch.
  21. ^ "Charts.org.nz – The Pussycat Dolls – I Don't Need a Man". Top 40 Singles. Hung Medien.
  22. ^ "SNS IFPI" (in Slovak). Hitparáda – Radio Top100 Oficiálna. IFPI Czech Republic. Note: insert 200641 into search.
  23. ^ "Swedishcharts.com – The Pussycat Dolls – I Don't Need a Man". Singles Top 60. Hung Medien.
  24. ^ "The Pussycat Dolls – I Don't Need a Man – swisscharts.com". Swiss Singles Chart. Hung Medien.
  25. ^ "Archive Chart" UK Singles Chart. The Official Charts Company.
  26. ^ "The Pussycat Dolls Album & Song Chart History" Billboard Hot 100 for The Pussycat Dolls. Prometheus Global Media.

External links