Stupid Girls

Infobox Single
Name = Stupid Girls


Artist = Pink
from Album = I'm Not Dead
B-side = "Heartbreaker"
Released = February 2006 (USA)
March 20, 2006 (UK)
Format = Digital download, CD single, 12" maxi single
Recorded = The Magic Shop, NYC; Turtle Sound Studios, NYC
Genre = Pop
Length = 3:15
Label = LaFace
Writer = Billy Mann, Pink, Niklas Olovson, Robin Mortensen Lynch
Producer = Billy Mann, MachoPsycho
Certification = Platinum (ARIA, CRIA)
Gold (RIAA)
Last single = "Last to Know"
(2004)
This single = "Stupid Girls"
(2006)
Next single = "Who Knew"
(2006)"Stupid Girls" is a song written by Billy Mann, Pink, Niklas Olovson and Robin Mortensen Lynch, and produced by billyman and MachoPsycho for Pink's fourth album, "I'm Not Dead" (2006). It was released as the album's first single in 2006 (see 2006 in music).

Background

Pink has explained that she noticed many young girls near her Los Angeles home aspire to the hypersexual personae of female celebrities rather than for their careers or talents. She was inspired to write "Stupid Girls", in which she deplores the lack of good role models for girls while encouraging them to cultivate independence and individuality. "There's a certain thing the world is being fed, and my point is there should be a choice", Pink said.Vineyard, Jennifer. [http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1521044/01182006/pink.jhtml "Pink's 'Stupid' New Video Features Fake Breasts, Fake 50 Cent"] . MTV News. January 18 2006. Retrieved October 22 2006.] Pink said the song was "brought on by several conversations I've had with women and girls. Women have fought so long and hard for our rights and equality, and now all our attention is put on being a size 0", adding that some are "living vicariously through these people who seem to shop all day" rather than focusing on issues such as war and poverty.Gardner, Elysa. [http://www.usatoday.com/life/music/news/2006-02-14-pink_x.htm "Pink's video pokes fun at 'Stupid Girls'"] . "USA Today". February 14 2006. Retrieved October 22 2006.] According to International Association of Eating Disorder Professionals, the song "highlights the culture's relentless and unrealistic pursuit of thinness and unattainable drive for physical beauty".Conniff, Tamara. [http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/feature/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1002156895 "Think Pink"] . "Billboard". March 10 2006. Retrieved October 22 2006.] Pink discussed what she called the "Stupid Girl epidemic" during an appearance on "The Oprah Winfrey Show".

Reception

The single entered the U.S. "Billboard" Hot 100 chart in the week of February 25 at number twenty-four, the week's highest debut [Hope, Clover. [http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1002034027 "'Check On It' Nets Fourth Week At No. 1"] . "Billboard". February 16, 2006. Retrieved October 22 2006.] and the highest debut of Pink's career (later topped by her brand new single, So What. [Bronson, Fred. [http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/chart_beat/bonus_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1002034321 "Chart Beat - As 'Stupid' Does"] . "Billboard". February 16, 2006. Retrieved October 22 2006.] In the week of March 4, it climbed to number thirteen, becoming Pink's eighth top twenty single in the United States and her highest peaking single since "Just like a Pill" (2002). Its peak on the Top 40 Mainstream airplay chart, however, did not match that of most of her previous singles. "Stupid Girls" remained on the Hot 100 for sixteen weeks, and it reached the top twenty on the Pop 100 and appeared on the Adult Top 40. It received airplay in nightclubs, peaking inside the top twenty on the Hot Dance Club Play chart. "Stupid Girls" was certified Gold by RIAA on February 13, 2008. [http://www.riaa.com/goldandplatinumdata.php?resultpage=1&table=SEARCH_RESULTS&action=&title=&artist=Pink&format=&debutLP=&category=&sex=&releaseDate=&requestNo=&type=&level=&label=&company=&certificationDate=&awardDescription=&catalogNo=&aSex=&rec_id=&charField=&gold=&platinum=&multiPlat=&level2=&certDate=&album=&id=&after=&before=&startMonth=1&endMonth=1&startYear=1958&endYear=2008&sort=Artist&perPage=25]

The single was a bigger chart hit elsewhere—it reached number two on the Canadian Singles Chart, and on the Australian ARIA Singles Chart, it entered at number four and is certified gold for sales of over 35,000. It was ranked number thirty-ninth on ARIA's top 100 singles of 2006 list. [ [http://www.aria.com.au/pages/ARIACharts-EndofYearCharts-Top100Singles2006.htm ARIA Charts - End of Year Charts - Top 100 Singles 2006 ] ] It also peaked at number four on the UK Singles Chart, becoming Pink's highest charting single in the UK since "Feel Good Time" (2003). It reached the top ten in most countries in Europe, and it topped the United World Singles Chart for the week ending May 6.

"Stupid Girls" was nominated in the category of Best Female Pop Vocal Performance at the 2007 Grammy Awards. [ [http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,235200,00.html "FOX Facts: Complete List of Grammy Award Nominations"] . Associated Press. December 7 2006. Retrieved December 9 2006.]

The single was praised by "Harry Potter" author J. K. Rowling on her official website. She wrote, "'Stupid Girls', is the antidote-anthem for everything I had been thinking about women and thinness." She also said 'I mean, is 'fat' really the worst thing a human being can be? Is 'fat' worse than 'vindictive', 'jealous', 'shallow', 'vain', 'boring' or 'cruel'? Not to me; but then, you might retort, what do I know about the pressure to be skinny? I'm not in the business of being judged on my looks, what with being a writer and earning my living by using my brain...' and 'I've got two daughters who will have to make their way in this skinny-obsessed world, and it worries me, because I don't want them to be empty-headed, self-obsessed, emaciated clones; I'd rather they were independent, interesting, idealistic, kind, opinionated, original, funny – a thousand things, before 'thin'. And frankly, I'd rather they didn't give a gust of stinking chihuahua flatulence whether the woman standing next to them has fleshier knees than they do.' [ [http://www.jkrowling.com/textonly/en/extrastuff_view.cfm?id=22 "Section: Extra Stuff - For Girls Only, probably"] . jkrowling.com.]

Music video

The single's video was directed by Dave Meyers and premiered on MTV's broadband channel Overdrive on January 26 2006. [Cohen, Jonathan. [http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1001884078 "Pink Asserts Vitality On New Album"] . "Billboard". January 24 2006. Retrieved October 22 2006.] Meyers and Pink shot the videos for "Stupid Girls" and "U + Ur Hand", the album's third single, before the decision was made as to which would become the album's lead single. Pink described the video as "sick and twisted and insane" and said of Meyers, "He has an insane imagination. I don't think anyone ever stopped laughing during 'Stupid Girl'. I don't think everyone else is going to laugh, but just know that we all did." Pink did her own stunts for the video. [Vineyard, Jennifer and Bowyer, Patrick. [http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1519101/12212005/pink.jhtml "Pink Would Rather Fall Off A Car Than Get Glammed Up For Her Videos"] . MTV News. December 21 2005. Retrieved October 22 2006.] According to Barry Weiss, president of Zomba Music Group, executives at Pink's label were reluctant to release the song as the album's first single until the video "hit a chord" with them. They decided to release the video before issuing the song to radio, and 8.6 million people downloaded the video when it was made available on the internet. Zomba's senior vice president of marketing Janet Kleinbaum said that radio programmers "went online to download the audio from the video in order to get it on radio".

The video shows Pink as an angel and a demon who try to influence the future of a young girl. The angel shows her a series of images demonstrating the stupidity of current trends in female celebrity, and the images feature Pink in various roles, including a dancer in a 50 Cent video, a girl attempting to attract the attention of an instructor at the gym, a girl who uses her emergency inflatable breasts at a bowling alley, a girl at a tanning salon, a girl with purging disorder who considers calories "so" not sexy", an old woman in a pink tracksuit, a girl getting plastic surgery, a girl making a sex tape, a girl washing her car and rubbing a facecloth and soap all over herself, and a girl who goes into what looks like a pet shop, buys an "itsy bitsy doggy", and drives her car so carelessly while putting on makeup that she runs over two people. Pink also plays characters meant to represent the opposite of "stupid girls", such as a finishing school teacher, female president and a girl winning a game of football. The video ends with the girl choosing a football, a computer, books, dance shoes, and a keyboard over makeup and a set of dolls; the demon is defeated.

Some of the negatively portrayed characters in the video are parodies of young female celebrities such as Mary Kate Olsen, who provides the basis for the Boho-chic dressing style of the girl who visits a Fred Segal clothing store. The redheaded girl who accidentally hits pedestrians with her car is a parody of Lindsay Lohan. The scene in which Pink washes a car in a bikini is a parody of similar scenes in the video for Jessica Simpson's "These Boots Are Made for Walkin'" (2005) and a 2005 Carl's Jr. television commercial featuring Paris Hilton. The digital video shots showing Pink in bed with a man parallel those in the Paris Hilton sex tape "1 Night in Paris".

The video debuted on the U.S. MTV "Total Request Live" countdown on January 31 and peaked at number six; it remained on the countdown for fourteen days, until February 23. [ [http://www.popfusion.net/records/recaparchive/2006_01.html "The TRL Archive - January 2006"] , [http://www.popfusion.net/records/recaparchive/2006_02.html "The TRL Archive - February 2006"] . popfusion.net. Retrieved January 1 2007.] The video was retired on the Poland version of MTV's "Total Request Live", and it won the MTV Video Music Award for Best Pop Video in August 2006 (see 2006 MTV Video Music Awards). [Cohen, Jonathan and Hope, Clover. [http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003086267 "Upsets, Upstarts Prevail At Quirky VMAs"] . "Billboard". September 1 2006. Retrieved October 22 2006.] When she was receiving the award, Pink parodied Paris Hilton by talking in a higher pitched voice and acting overly excited. Nicole Richie, Hilton's co-star on "The Simple Life", co-presented the award. [Amos, Joel D. [http://sheknows.com/entertainment/2006/09/music/the-vmas-best-moment-of-2006-pink-and-her-stupid-girls/ "The VMA’s best moment of 2006: Pink and 'Stupid Girls'"] . SheKnows. September 1 2006. Retrieved October 22 2006.]

Track listings and formats

;2 Tracks CD Single
#Stupid Girls 3:16
#Heartbreaker 3:08

;Maxi CD Single
#Album Version 3:16
#D-Bop 3am at Crash Mix 6:51
#Junior Vasquez & Dynamix Club Remix 8:59
#Noize Trip Remix 3:13
#Includes "Stupid Girls" Video Enhancement

;UK 12" VinylSide A:
#Junior Vasquez & Dynamix Club Remix 8:59
#Noize Trip Remix 3.13Side B:
#D-Bop 3am at Crash Mix 6.51
#Kardinal Beatz Remix 3:23

Charts

References

External links

* [http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4155/is_20060216/ai_n16216597 "Chicago Sun-Times" article]
* [http://www.guardian.co.uk/women/story/0,,1780230,00.html "The Guardian" article]
* [http://education.independent.co.uk/magazines/article1204412.ece "The Independent" article]
* [http://www.popmatters.com/columns/coberlake/060321.shtml "PopMatters" article]
* [http://www.womensenews.org/article.cfm/dyn/aid/2744 "Women's eNews" article]
* [http://www2.oprah.com/tows/slide/200604/20060410/slide_20060410_350_105.jhtml "The Oprah Winfrey Show" episode summary]
* [http://www.mtv.com/bands/p/pink/news_feature_060220/ MTV interview]