Гвен Стефани – «Неге күтесің?» жайында

2004 song by Gwen Stefani
the Gwen Stefani song

"What You Waiting For?" is a song by American singer Gwen Stefani from her debut solo studio album, Love. Angel. Music. Baby. (2004). Written by Stefani and Linda Perry, the song is the album's opening track and was released as Stefani's debut solo single. Lyrically, "What You Waiting For?" details Stefani's lack of inspiration and fear of producing the album, as well as her reaction to pressures exerted by her record label. It is primarily an electropop song and introduces Stefani's four backup dancers, the Harajuku Girls, who had a major input into the album's production. "What You Waiting For?" was released as the album's lead single; according to Stefani, as an "explanation for doing the record". Soon after, Stefani finished the Rock Steady Tour with her band No Doubt, and took a call from her label, who informed her that Perry was in a studio ready to collaborate and that Perry "only [had] five days out of the whole year to work with [her]." Stefani has since admitted that she was frustrated by not being able to see her husband Gavin Rossdale, and was intimidated at the thought of collaboration, in particular with Perry, who she did not feel was qualified to write dance music. Stefani was exhausted by the recently completed tour, Perry remarked that the song "wasn't right", and the track was excluded from the album. The session was unproductive, due in part to Stefani's self consciousness and writer's block, and she at one stage broke down in tears in the studio. Stefani has since admitted that writing songs without her band members felt "humiliating and intimidating even if they're sweet and excited, because you're drowning in their creativity". That night, Perry began work on another track, which she played for Stefani the next day to motivate her. Perry set up multiple microphones to record different lines of verses, with each labeled as a different "character," leading to the battling back and forth in Stefani's delivery. She decided to mention them in the line "You Harajuku Girls, damn you got some wicked style", and the concept grew into a running theme on Love. Angel. Music. Baby., which went as far as to feature one song named after and dedicated to them. and was composed in common time and in the key of G minor. It is written in verse chorus form, The song opens with an emotional piano solo as a tribute to Stefani's time with No Doubt. The verse begins at only 60 beats per minute and gradually slows, A beat set at 138 BPM 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. Stefani creates an argument between lyrical personas by alternating her vocal range and point of view. Stefani's vocal range spans two octaves in the song, from G3 to G5. one side of Stefani's personality sings in a higher range in the first person, and the other, more confident personality sings lower in the second person. The chorus is a boost of confidence for her RJ Smith of Blender noted the song's new wave influence by stating that it could start a revival of Missing Persons, and Amy Linden of The Village Voice compared the "giddy, yodeling vocals" to those of Lene Lovich's 1981 song "New Toy". Jason Damas from 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." Slant Magazines Sal Cinquemani agreed, stating that "it's this impishness that helps make 'What You Waiting For' one of the hottest 'arrival' songs of all time". Richard Smirke of Playlouder found the track's production "crisp" and "edgy", and Jennifer Nine of Dotmusic called the song "itchily irresistible". Jemma Volp Fletcher, writing for Contactmusic. com, rated the song nine out of 10, 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." Natasha Tripney from musicOMH 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." Many reviewers considered the track one of the album's highlights. Entertainment Weekly critic David Browne gave Love. Angel. Music. Baby. a C+ rating but called the track "one of the album's undeniable highs". In its review of the album, Nick Sylvester of Pitchfork believed that "we can't expect 12 more cuts as personal or urgent as debut single 'What You Waiting For'", while naming it "one of the best electro songs this year". Lisa Haines of BBC Music stated that it "stands out as the best track on the album for the way it pits storming beats against enthusiastic lyrics" and compared the song to Goldfrapp's 2003 single "Strict Machine". Eric Greenwood of Drawer B, who felt 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." And in 2009, The Daily Telegraph listed the song at number 82 on their list "100 songs that defined the Noughties."

In the United States, "What You Waiting For?" debuted at number 93 on the Billboard Hot 100 on the issue dated October 16, 2004. It reached a peak of number 47 on November 27, 2004, and remained on the chart for a total of 20 weeks. The song topped the Hot Dance Club Play chart, but only had moderate success on the pop charts, reaching number 17 on the Mainstream Top 40 and number 24 on the Adult Top 40. Elsewhere, the song's reception was stronger. In the United Kingdom, "What You Waiting For?" debuted and peaked at number four on the UK Singles Chart and remained on the chart for 15 weeks. The video deals directly with the lyrics' theme of Stefani's search for inspiration in songwriting. It opens with a lengthy non musical section in which Stefani arrives in Los Angeles from No Doubt's Rock Steady Tour. She receives several calls from Interscope label head Jimmy Iovine, who attempts to push her forward with her solo debut project, but she replies that she is tired and uninspired. After a failed studio attempt, Stefani sees a flyer advertising help for writer's block. Upon arrival, she is asked to fill out a suspicious questionnaire, where the camera pans to the questions which will be important. She is then told that she will be billed when she is finished. She asks for clarification only to discover that she is already back in the studio by herself. When Stefani picks up an oversized pocket watch from the piano, a rabbit knick knack that she had previously seen jumps across the room. She throws the watch at the knick knack, causing her to fall back on her wooden chair and find herself transported to a fantasy world 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 British Gibraltarian fashion designer John Galliano. The video frequently cuts to Stefani back in the studio to show her singing and performing in semi synchronization with her actions within her fantasy world. As this transpires the song is recording itself. Stefani ultimately rediscovers her confidence, and her full awareness is transported back to the ordinary reality of the studio just as she dances in front of her four giggling Harajuku Girls. She then is presented with her bill by the consultant as the chair topples to the floor. There are four versions of the video. The full, long version is one minute longer than the Making the Video version, while the cut version omits the scenes in which she leaves the airport and is sleepy and in which she fills out the questionnaire. The short version begins with Stefani practicing on the piano and her finding the watch just seconds after that. Her being billed is not shown in this version, so the video ends with the Harajuku Girls laughing at her performance. The music video was well received by many reviewers. Sam Bloch from Stylus Magazine referred to it as a short film, comparing it to Michael Jackson's Thriller, and commented, "I sigh with admiration and wish every video was this alive." The video debuted on MTV's Total Request Live on October 19, 2004, at number 11. The following month it reached the top of the chart and was there for three non consecutive days, remaining over five weeks on the program. At the 2005 MuchMusic Video Awards, the video was nominated for Best International Video but lost to Usher's "Caught Up". It won the award for Best Dressed Video at the first MTV Australia Video Music Awards, and was also nominated for Video of the Year and Best Pop Video.

Stuart Price (also known as Jacques Lu Cont) made the most well known remix of the song, titled the Thin White Duke Mix, which was included on the CD single. The track, over eight minutes long, is carried by a guitar riff and occasional chimes. The remix received positive reviews from music critics. Aaron Mandel of Pitchfork labeled it "outstanding", and John M. Cunningham of Stylus Magazine stated that it "endowed [the song] with a sense of grandeur". DJ InVincible from About. com viewed the remix as "moody and a bit hypnotic", commenting that it is "best suited for early evening sets". Armand van Helden created two remixes, the Armand van Helden Remix and the Armand van Helden Dub, which use only some of the original vocals and a new bassline constructed with synthesizers and some electric guitar. Felix da Housecat created the Rude Ho Mix, which uses more bass guitar and leaves out the original background vocals by Mimi Parker until the final verse. In December 2005, the band performed a cover version of the song on Live Lounge, a segment of The Jo Whiley Show on BBC Radio 1. The cover includes the chorus from Billy Idol's 1983 song "White Wedding". In October 2006, the song was released as a part of the Radio 1's Live Lounge compilation, and the cover received mixed reviews. Jack Foley from IndieLondon called the track "completely insane", stating that it "really has to be heard to be believed." The Guardians Dorian Lynskey found the cover smug, adding that "one of Alex Kapranos's eyebrows [is] raised so high that it practically vacates his head." Welsh indie pop singer Marina Diamandis covered "What You Waiting For?" during some of her early live performances in 2009. Mary Bellamy of Drowned in Sound referred to her debut album The Family Jewels (2010) as "an extended album length re write" of "What You Waiting For? ".

+ Release dates and formats for "What You Waiting For?" Region Date Format Label Ref. (Reference) United States October 4, 2004 Contemporary hit radio Interscope Australia November 8, 2004 CD single Universal Germany Japan November 10, 2004 Universal Music Japan United Kingdom November 15, 2004 Polydor United States December 7, 2004 12 inch vinyl Interscope