Some Girls (Rachel Stevens song)

Infobox Single
Name = Some Girls


Artist = Rachel Stevens
Album = Funky Dory
B-side = "Spin That Bottle"
Released = 12 July 2004
Format = Enhanced CD
Recorded = 2004
Genre = Synthpop
Length = 3:35
Label = Polydor
Writer = Richard X, Hannah Robinson
Producer = Richard X
Last single = "Funky Dory"
(2003)
This single = "Some Girls"
(2004)
Next single = "More More More"
(2004)

"Some Girls" is a synthpop song written by Richard X and Hannah Robinson for British singer Rachel Stevens. It is included in the 2004 re-release of Stevens' debut album "Funky Dory" and her second studio album "Come and Get It". The song's music features a schaffel beat influenced by glam rock, and its lyrics describe a pop singer who performs sexual favors in her efforts to achieve stardom.

The song was released as a charity record for Sport Relief on 12 July 2004 (see 2004 in music). It received positive reviews from music critics. The single was commercially successful, reaching number two on the UK Singles Chart. Paul Weiland directed the accompanying music video, in which Stevens leads a parade of women out of the sewers and down the streets of London. American dance musician Henri released a cover version of "Some Girls" as a single in 2006.

Background and writing

"Some Girls" was written by producer Richard X and songwriter Hannah Robinson. They spent several days working on the song, with girl group Girls Aloud in mind as potential performers.Lynskey, Dorian and Simpson, Dave. "Born slippy was a greyhound we bet on". "The Guardian", page 5. 24 February 2006.] Warp Records and Simon Fuller of 19 Entertainment contacted Richard X by email to ask that he give the song to Geri Halliwell or Stevens, respectively, to record. He agreed to have Stevens record the song after Richard Curtis asked about using the song for Sport Relief 2004. [http://www.blackmelody.com/track.php?id=29 "Rachel Stevens - Some Girls"] . Black Melody. Retrieved 28 August 2008.] Richard X later stated that he was surprised Sport Relief chose such a sexually suggestive song. When Halliwell found out that the writers were having Stevens record the song, she locked herself in her car in an attempt to change their minds, and she later wrote Richard X a love song. The aftermath of the decision for Stevens to record the song became the subject of another song written by Richard X and Robinson, "Me Plus One" from Annie's 2004 album "Anniemal". [Ryan, Gary. [http://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/entertainment/music/rock_and_pop/s/1055769_annie__pop_with_an_edge "Annie - pop with an edge"] . "Manchester Evening News". 27 June 2008. Retrieved 27 August 2008.]

The lyrics of "Some Girls" describe a pop singer's dreams of stardom.Plagenhoef, Scott. [http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/article/feature/38513-staff-list-top-50-singles-of-2004 "Top 50 Singles of 2004"] . Pitchfork Media. 30 December 2004. Retrieved 27 August 2008.] She performs fellatio on a man promising to make her a star. Stevens stated that she had not interpreted the lyrics to be about oral sex when she recorded the song. [http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/showbiz/bizarre/article209760.ece "Rach single sex secret"] . "The Sun". 13 July 2004. Retrieved 27 August 2008.] Richard X explained that he wanted to illustrate how the music industry treats people, so he and Robinson based some of the song's lines on anecdotes that they had heard.

The song uses Richard X's "icy" synthpop sound.Hoffman, K. Ross. [http://allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:f9fyxqedld6e "Come and Get It > Overview"] . Allmusic. Retrieved 28 August 2008.] Sanneh, Kelefa. [http://www.nytimes.com/2005/12/22/arts/music/22sann.html "Stealth Sounds That Missed the Charts but Merit a Hearing"] . "The New York Times". 22 December 2005. Retrieved 28 August 2008.] The synthesiser used was a Fairlight synthesiser previously owned by pop group the Thompson Twins. It also features the German schaffel beat popularized by glam rock. Reviewers compared the song's glam-influenced sound to T.Rex's 1971 single "Hot Love" and the work of Adam Ant. [Begrand, Adrien. [http://www.popmatters.com/music/features/060113-slippeddiscs2.shtml "Slipped Discs"] . "PopMatters". 13 January 2006. Retrieved 28 August 2008.] They also noted similarities between "Some Girls" and the more recent electronic glam music on Goldfrapp's 2003 album "Black Cherry". [

• Ryan, Gary. [http://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/entertainment/music/rock_and_pop/s/1054841_chameleonlike_goldfrapp_return "Chameleon-like Goldfrapp return"] . "Manchester Evening News". 19 June 2008. Retrieved 28 August 2008.
• Price, Simon. [http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/reviews/goldfrapp-dome-brighton-510022.html "Goldfrapp, Dome, Brighton"] . "The Independent". 9 October 2005. Retrieved 28 August 2008.

]

Critical reception

"Some Girls" received positive reviews from music critics. PopMatters included it in its "Best Music of 2004" selection, where Adrien Begrand commented that "Stevens might have no singing voice to speak of, but did she ever score a slice of pop genius with her single 'Some Girls', on which the ever-crafty Richard X brazenly hijacks a contagious German schaffel beat and tarts it up with a killer hook in the chorus that never, ever leaves your head". [Begrand, Adrien. [http://www.popmatters.com/music/best2004/041228-begrand.shtml "The Best Music of 2004: An Assortment of Memorable Moments"] . PopMatters. Retrieved 28 August 2008.] In his review for "The Guardian", Alexis Petridis referred to the song as "remarkable" for turning Stevens' detached vocal delivery into a strength. [Petridis, Alexis. [http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2005/oct/14/popandrock.shopping2 "Rachel Stevens, Come And Get It"] . "The Guardian". 14 October 2005. Retrieved 29 August 2008.] Kelefa Sanneh of "The New York Times" stated that Richard X's production allowed Stevens' vocals to " [melt] into the icy beat". Ranking "Some Girls" the twentieth best single of 2004, Stylus Magazine's Nick Southall praised the song's chorus for how "that double-enunciation on 'wanna-wanna' was delightfully sexy (in a strictly non-threatening way)" and "the melody breathlessly tried to race past its own ends". [Southall, Nick. [http://www.stylusmagazine.com/feature.php?ID=1384 "The Top 40 Singles of 2004"] . Stylus Magazine. 6 December 2004. Retrieved 28 August 2008.] Pitchfork Media listed the song twenty-fourth on its "Top 50 Singles of 2004", with Scott Plagenhoef praising its "sharp production" and "Adam Ant-esque 'whoa's".

Commercial performance

"Some Girls" was commercially successful in the United Kingdom. It debuted at number two on the UK Singles Chart. [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/3905145.stm "Rachel Stevens beaten to top spot"] . BBC. 18 July 2004. Retrieved 10 September 2008.] Shapeshifters's "Lola's Theme" kept the song from topping the chart; noting the song's lyrics about an exasperated singer whose "dreams of number one last forever", "The Guardian" remarked that the song's chart performance was "as if [it were] following a script". [Lynskey, Dorian. [http://arts.guardian.co.uk/readersrecommend/story/0,16513,1607747,00.html "Readers recommend: songs about celebrity"] . "The Guardian". 4 November 2005. Retrieved 10 September 2008.] BBC Radio 1 and 2 added "Some Girls" to their C playlists in late June 2004, ["Upfront 26.06.04: Radio Playlists". "Music Week", page 20. 26 June 2004.] and in early July, Radio 1 moved the song to its B playlist."Records released 12.07.04". "Music Week", page 21. 3 July 2004.] The song quickly picked up airplay and was the most played song for the week of 24 July. ["Top 10 Radio Growers". "Music Week", page 20. 24 July 2004.] "Some Girls" remained on the UK Singles Chart for twelve weeks. [http://acharts.us/song/1651 "Rachel Stevens - Some Girls - Music Charts"] . αCharts.us. Retrieved 28 August 2008.] The song ended the year as the fortieth best-selling single in the UK. [ [http://www.bpi.co.uk/pdf/BestSellingSingles01-05.pdf "Best Selling Singles 2005"] (PDF). British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 30 August 2008.] Largely due to the success of "Some Girls", "Funky Dory" re-entered the UK Albums Chart at number thirteen in August 2004, selling 14,561 copies that week. ["Albums 07.08.04: Rachel Stevens". "Music Week", page 35. 7 August 2004.] The song was somewhat less successful in Ireland, where it debuted at number fifteen. It peaked at number thirteen after four weeks and remained on the chart for a total of twelve weeks.

Music video

The song's music video was written by Richard Curtis and directed by Paul Weiland. [http://www.bbc.co.uk/pressoffice/pressreleases/stories/2004/07_july/10/sport_relief.shtml "It's official - Sport Relief '04 raises record £11,078,359 and stages biggest Mile ever!"] . BBC. 10 July 2004. Retrieved 28 August 2008.] It was filmed at Borough Market in South London. [ [http://www.mvdbase.com/video.php?id=36981 "Rachel Stevens - 'Some girls'"] . mvdbase. Retrieved 29 August 2008.] Athletes Colin Jackson, Pat Cash, and Audley Harrison make appearances in the music video. The video received heavy play from MTV Hits and The Box. Richard X strongly disapproved of the music video. In an interview with the "NME", he stated, "That video is s**t", and he briefly commented on his official website that seeing it "made [him] want to give up [his] life".

The video opens with shots of a dank underground sewer. Stevens and a group of women walk through the sewer and put on sunglasses before climbing out of manholes and shafts. A large crowd of women, with Stevens leading them, parades down the streets as men observe the spectacle. The women begin spraying each other with bottles of water, before Stevens returns to the sewer. Throughout the video, sequences of Stevens and a group of backup dancers performing in the sewer are shown.

Cover version

Infobox Single
Name = Some Girls


Artist = Henri
Released = 2006
Format = CD maxi single
Recorded =
Genre = Dance-pop
Length = 3:29
Label = Dauman
Producer = The Alumni
Last single = "When You Walk Away"
(2005)
This single = "Some Girls"
(2006)
Next single = "Push the Button"
(2007)

In 2006, American dance vocalist Henri covered "Some Girls" as a follow-up to her 2005 debut single, a cover version of Cher's 2002 song "When You Walk Away". Her version did not achieve mainstream success. It did, however, reach number six on the U.S. "Billboard" Hot Dance Club Play and remain on the chart for fifteen weeks. [ [http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/esearch/chart_display.jsp?cfgn=Singles&cfn=Hot+Dance+Club+Play&cdi=9258001&cid=06%2F02%2F2007 "Top Music Charts - Hot 100 - Billboard 200 - Music Genre Sales"] . "Billboard". Retrieved 28 August 2008.] A club mix, dub, and radio edit by Norty Cotto are included on the CD maxi single release.

Tracklist and formats

* Rachel Stevens enhanced CD single
# "Some Girls" – 3:33
# "Spin That Bottle" – 3:23
# "Some Girls" (The Sharp Boys Hot Fridge vocal) – 8:35
# "Some Girls" (CD-ROM video)

* Henri CD maxi single
# "Some Girls" (The Alumni radio mix) – 3:29
# "Some Girls" (Norty Cotto Champagne club mix) – 7:33
# "Some Girls" (Norty Cotto dub mix) – 6:35
# "Some Girls" (Norty Cotto dance radio mix) – 3:40

Notes

External links

* [http://www.rachelstevensofficial.com/ Rachel Stevens' official site]
*