Are You Gonna Be My Girl

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"Are You Gonna Be My Girl"
Jet - Are You Gonna Be My Girl%3F CD cover.jpg
Single by Jet
from the album Get Born
B-side
Released18 August 2003 (2003-08-18)
Genre Garage rock revival [1]
Length3:33
Label
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s) Dave Sardy
Jet singles chronology
"Are You Gonna Be My Girl"
(2003)
"Rollover DJ"
(2003)
Music video
"Are You Gonna Be My Girl" on YouTube

"Are You Gonna Be My Girl" is a song by Australian rock band Jet from their 2003 debut album, Get Born . It was released as the first single from the album on 18 August 2003 in the United States and on 1 September 2003 in Australia.

Contents

The song peaked at number 20 in Australia and reached the top 20 in Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom. In the United States, it reached number 29 on the Billboard Hot 100, making it their first top-40 hit and their highest charting single; it also peaked at number three on the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart and number seven on the Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks chart. The single has sold 1.3 million copies in the United States since 2012. [2]

In January 2018, as part of Triple M's "Ozzest 100", the 'most Australian' songs of all time, "Are You Gonna Be My Girl" was ranked number 38. [3]

Structure

Written by Nic Cester and Cameron Muncey, the song is often cited for similarities to Iggy Pop's "Lust for Life" (particularly its drum pattern and near-identical guitar riff). [4] [5] The band, however, argues that "Are You Gonna Be My Girl" has more in common with 1960s Motown songs, namely "I'm Ready for Love" by Martha and the Vandellas and "You Can't Hurry Love" by the Supremes. Nic Cester said he was influenced by the stop-start structure of "My Generation" by the Who, as well as singers like Mick Jagger and Van Morrison who could "speak" verses and choose lyrics based on diction rather than poetry. [6]

Chris Cester responded to media commentary regarding the similarities, stating in a 2009 interview that the beat was taken from Motown, referring to a meeting between Pop and himself:

It's funny because I asked him point blank about that. He said I was crazy. He said that when he and David Bowie were writing "Lust for Life", they were ripping off Motown's beat. It's funny that he said that to me because we also thought we were ripping off Motown more than "Lust for Life". To be honest with you that kind of annoyed me a lot, because I always thought it was really lazy. People just go well Lust for Life is more well-known so that's what they go for, but if you listen to a song like "You Can't Hurry Love" (The Supremes) I think you'll find its closer to "Are You Gonna Be My Girl" than "Lust for Life" ever was. And that's what Iggy said as well. [7]

Background

Nic Cester wrote an early version of the song sometime between the ages of 17-19. The original lyrics were about being rejected by a girl - with the original hook being "She's just like every other girl". [8] The song was fleshed out by Cameron Muncey, who also convinced Caster to make the lyrics more positive, so he changed the hook to "Are you gonna be my girl". [6] The cough was an accident in the demo, but the producers thought it should be in the final mix. Nic refused to fake the cough, so they copied it from the demo and put it in the final mix. [6]

Music video

The music video is shot in black and white, and shows Jet performing in a blank studio. As they play, black ink starts pouring out of their equipment and forms a landscape resembling the cover art on their album Get Born, the Beatles album Revolver and silhouettes of dancing girls. The video was shot at Vinopolis, London. Cameron Muncey can be seen wearing an AC/DC shirt.

Awards and nominations

APRA Awards

The APRA Awards are presented annually from 1982 by the Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA). [9] [10]

YearNominee / workAwardResult
APRA Awards for "Are You Gonna Be My Girl"
2004 "Are You Gonna Be My Girl"Song of the YearNominated
2005 Most Performed Australian Work OverseasWon
2006 Most Performed Australian Work OverseasWon
2007 Most Performed Australian Work OverseasWon

MTV Video Music Awards

YearNominee / workAwardResult
VMA Awards for "Are You Gonna Be My Girl"
2004 "Are You Gonna Be My Girl"Best New ArtistNominated
Best Rock VideoWon
Best EditingNominated

Track listings

Personnel

Charts

Certifications

Certifications and sales for "Are You Gonna Be My Girl"
RegionCertification Certified units/sales
Australia (ARIA) [41] Gold35,000^
Italy (FIMI) [42] Platinum100,000
United Kingdom (BPI) [43] Platinum600,000
United States (RIAA) [44] Gold500,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.
Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

Release history

Release dates and formats for "Are You Gonna Be My Girl"
RegionDateFormat(s)Label(s)Ref.
United States18 August 2003 Elektra [45]
United Kingdom25 August 2003
  • 12-inch vinyl
  • CD
[46]
Australia1 September 2003 Capitol [47]
United States8 December 2003 Triple A radio Elektra [48]
26 January 2004 Contemporary hit radio [49]
United Kingdom (re-release)24 May 2004
  • 12-inch vinyl
  • CD
  • DVD
[50]

An edited version of the track is used as the signature tune for the UK BBC comedy showcase show Live at the Apollo .

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jet (band)</span> Australian rock band

Jet are an Australian rock band formed in 2001. Founding mainstays are brothers Nic and Chris Cester together with Cameron Muncey. They were joined in the following year by Mark Wilson. The quartet released three studio albums Get Born (2003), Shine On (2006) and Shaka Rock (2009) before disbanding in 2012. Get Born is their highest charting work, which peaked at number one in Australia, top 20 in the United Kingdom and top 30 in the United States. Its lead single "Are You Gonna Be My Girl" (2003) reached the top 20 in Australia and UK and top 30 in the US. Both Shine On and Shaka Rock are Australian top five albums, while their other top 20 singles are "Look What You've Done" (2004), "Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is" (2006) and "She's a Genius" (2009).

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