Rich Girl (Gwen Stefani song)

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"Rich Girl"

Single by Gwen Stefani featuring Eve
from the album Love. Angel. Music. Baby.
Released	December 14, 2004 (U.S.) March 14, 2005 (UK)
Format	CD single (global) Digital download (global) Gramophone record (U.S.)
Recorded	Encore Studios, Ocean Way Record One, Henson Recording Studios
Genre	Ragga, Pop
Length	3:56
Label	Interscope
Writer(s)	Gwen Stefani, Eve, Dr. Dre, Kara DioGuardi, Chantal Kreviazuk, Mark Batson, Jerry Bock, Mike Elizondo, Sheldon Harnick
Producer(s)	Dr. Dre
Certification	2× platinum (RIAA) Platinum (ARIA)
Chart positions
#1 (Argentina) #2 (Australia, Ireland, Norway) #3 (Netherlands, New Zealand) #4 (France, Sweden, UK) #7 (Finland, Italy, U.S.) #12 (Canada)
Gwen Stefani chronology
"What You Waiting For?" (2004)	"Rich Girl" (2004)	"Hollaback Girl" (2005)
Eve singles chronology
"Not Today" (2003)	"Rich Girl" (2004)	"1 Thing" (2005)

"Rich Girl" is a pop-ragga song performed by singer Gwen Stefani featuring Eve. It was primarily written by Dr. Dre, Eve, and Stefani with other collaborators for Stefani's debut solo album Love. Angel. Music. Baby (2004). The song is based on the Louchie Lou and Michie One 1993 song of the same name, which is an adaptation of the Fiddler on the Roof song "If I Were a Rich Man".

The track was released as the album's second single in 2005 (see 2005 in music) to mixed reviews from music critics. It was a worldwide commercial success, reaching number two in Australia and the top twenty on the majority of the charts it entered. At the 48th Grammy Awards, the song was nominated for Best Rap/Sung Collaboration.

1 Writing process
2 Music and structure
3 Critical reception
4 Sales and chart performance
5 Music video
6 Charts
7 Formats and track listings
8 Credits and personnel
9 References
10 External links

[edit] Writing process

When Stefani first began recording solo material, Eve showed interest in working with Stefani again, having previously worked with her on "Let Me Blow Ya Mind", and commented, "She's fly, she's tight and she is talented. It's going to be hot regardless."^[1] The two decided to work together again while talking in Stefani's laundry room during a party.^[2] After Stefani had helped pen over twenty songs for her solo debut, she approached Dr. Dre, with whom she had worked while making Rock Steady with No Doubt and who had produced "Let Me Blow Ya Mind".^[3]

"Rich Girl" (2005) (file info) — play in browser (beta)
- The song is a ragga adaptation of "If I Were a Rich Man".
Problems playing the files? See media help.

After playing some of the songs on which she had been working, Dr. Dre told her, "You don't want to go back there."^[3] Instead of using one of the tracks, Dr. Dre instead suggested using the Louchie Lou and Michie One 1993 song "Rich Girl", which itself interpolated "If I Were a Rich Man" from the 1964 musical Fiddler on the Roof.^[3] Stefani and Eve helped each other with their parts, but when they presented Dr. Dre with the track, he told them to rewrite the song again.^[3] The idea which became the final version came to Stefani while brainstorming on her treadmill.^[3] She commented that the troubles in writing the song came because "Dre was really pushing me to write in a new way" but when she presented him with the song, "he just totally tricked the track out".^[4]

[edit] Music and structure

The chorus, which draws directly from "If I Were a Rich Man", is backed by a repeating dyad.

"Rich Girl" is composed in the key of E♭ major in common time, set at 100 beats per minute.^[5] The song is written in verse-chorus form,^[5] and its instrumentation includes the electronic keyboard, guitar, and keyboard bass.^[6] The beat is accompanied by an alternating perfect fifth dyad and a piano trichord.^[5]^[7] The introduction consists of the repeated use of the word na, during which Stefani reaches her highest note of the song, E₅, as part of a trichord.^[5] There is also a bridge preceding the chorus, in which Stefani's voice is overdubbed.^[5] Following Eve's rap, Stefani closes the song with an outro.^[5]

[edit] Critical reception

"Rich Girl" received mixed reviews from music critics. PlayLouder said that it brought "a much-needed element of diversity" to L.A.M.B. and called it a "potential hit single".^[8] NME, however, called it "a Dre-produced playground chant featuring a tough-girl ragga cameo from Eve".^[9] The BBC called the song "disco gold, impossibly girly and very easy to dance to".^[10] The song drew comparisons to the No Doubt album Rock Steady,^[11] and Stylus magazine described it as "a lite version of 'Hey Baby'".^[12]

The interpolation of "If I Were a Rich Man" also drew mixed reviews. PopMatters argued that the track "turns it into an anthem of urban bling-lust" and that its "simple pounding piano chord makes for great percussive backing".^[7] Entertainment Weekly disagreed, stating that the interpolation was used awkwardly,^[13] and Rolling Stone called the interpolation a goof.^[14] About.com called the track "a dancehall/classic house teardown of 'If I Were a Rich Man'" and commented, "if this is what Jay-Z’s fudging with Annie has wrought, I say, be glad of it."^[15]

[edit] Sales and chart performance

Stefani performing "Rich Girl" on tour.

"Rich Girl" performed moderately well in North America. The single debuted at number seventy-four on the Billboard Hot 100 on January 1, 2005 and reached a peak position ten weeks later at number seven, remaining on the chart for over six months.^[16] The song did well on pop-oriented charts, reaching number three on the Pop 100, number four on the Top 40 Mainstream, and number sixteen on the Adult Top 40.^[17] The single had little crossover success in the urban charts, only reaching number twenty-seven on the Rhythmic Top 40 and number seventy-eight on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks.^[17] "Rich Girl" was helped on the Hot 100 and Pop 100 by its strong digital downloads, peaking at number two on the Hot Digital Songs.^[17] Due to its high number of digital downloads, the song was certified double platinum by the RIAA for sales of 400,000 downloads.^[18] On the 2005 year-end chart, the song was listed at number thirty-one,^[19] and at the 2006 Grammy Awards, the song was nominated for Best Rap/Sung Collaboration but lost to Jay-Z and Linkin Park's "Numb/Encore".^[20] The single was less successful in Canada, where it debuted at number twenty-eight and reached a peak of number twelve for two non-consecutive weeks.^[21]

Across Europe, "Rich Girl" was largely successful, reaching number two on the Eurochart Hot 100.^[22] It reached the top five in Belgium, Denmark, France, the Netherlands, Ireland, Norway, and Sweden and the top ten in Austria, Finland, Greece, Italy, and Switzerland.^[21] The song also charted highly in the UK, debuting at number four on March 21, 2005.^[23] The track was unable to reach a higher position and remained on the chart for twelve weeks.^[16]

Elsewhere, "Rich Girl" peaked within the top twenty on the majority of the charts it entered. In Australia, it debuted February 28, 2005 at number two; it was unable to reach number one and dropped off the chart after thirteen weeks.^[16] On the ARIA end of year chart, the track charted at number twenty-six,^[24] and the single was certified platinum.^[25] It was also successful in South America and reached the top twenty in most countries including Argentina and Chile.^[21] On the United World Chart, the single debuted at number twenty-nine February 12, 2005.^[16] It reached number three for five non-consecutive weeks and stayed on the chart for twenty-three weeks, during fourteen of which it was in the top ten.^[16]

[edit] Music video

Gwen Stefani dancing in the treasure trove from the music video.

The music video for "Rich Girl" was directed by David LaChapelle and features a pirate theme. The video opens with four Japanese schoolgirls playing with a pirate ship and Bratz dolls, discussing what they would do if they were a "rich girl". The video features several sequences. Stefani is first shown on board the pirate ship bellow deck, dancing on a table, singing to the song. She is surrounded by other "pirates" and is soon joined by Eve, wearing an eyepatch. Above deck Stefani and her dancers, also dressed as pirates, dance. Stefani is also seen swinging from an anchor and dancing with the Harajuku Girls in a treasure trove. The video concludes with the four schoolgirls dropping the pirate ship in a fish tank, causing Stefani and her fellow pirates to fall all over the ship.

The music video was a success on video channels. The video debuted on MTV's Total Request Live on December 13, 2004 at number nine.^[26] It worked its way to number four, staying on the chart for a total of fourteen days.^[26] The video also reached number four on the MuchMusic countdown, remaining on the chart for sixteen weeks.^[21]

[edit] Charts

Chart (2004)^[17]^[21]	Peak position
U.S. Billboard Hot 100	7
U.S. Billboard Top 40 Mainstream	4
U.S. Billboard Top 40 Tracks	15
Chart (2005)	Peak position
Australian ARIA Singles Chart	2
Argentine Singles Chart	1
Austrian Singles Chart	10
Canadian Singles Chart	12
Dutch Top 40	3
Finnish Singles Chart	7
French Singles Chart	4
German Singles Chart	14
Irish Singles Chart	2

Chart (2005)^[17]^[21]	Peak position
Italian Singles Chart	7
New Zealand RIANZ Singles Chart	3
Norwegian Singles Chart	2
Swedish Singles Chart	4
Swiss Singles Chart	6
UK Singles Chart	4
United World Singles Chart	3
U.S. Billboard Pop 100	3
U.S. Billboard Rhythmic Top 40	27
U.S. Billboard Hot Dance Music/Club Play	39
U.S. Billboard Adult Top 40	16
U.S. Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks	78