| "Underneath It All" | ||||
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| Single byNo Doubt featuringLady Saw | ||||
| from the albumRock Steady | ||||
| Released | July 22, 2002 (2002-07-22) | |||
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| Label | Interscope | |||
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| No Doubt singles chronology | ||||
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| Music video | ||||
| "Underneath It All" onYouTube | ||||
"Underneath It All" is a song by Americanrock bandNo Doubt, released in July 2002 as the thirdsingle from their fourthstudio album,Rock Steady (2001). Written by the band's lead singerGwen Stefani andDavid Stewart, the song features areggae production fromSly and Robbie and guest vocals fromLady Saw. The song received mixed reviews from contemporarymusic critics and became No Doubt's highest-charting US single, but it was less successful elsewhere. It won aGrammy Award for Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal at the46th Grammy Awards.
During a visit to her then-boyfriendGavin Rossdale inLondon,Gwen Stefani andDavid Stewart used backward stringsamples to write the song in only ten minutes.[7] GuitaristTom Dumont commented that Stewart's experience helped them keep the song simple because he "would have way overthought those chord changes."[8] When the band was working on the albumRock Steady inJamaica, producersSly and Robbie calledLady Saw to have her contribute a guesttoast.[9] After listening to the song, Lady Saw wrote and recorded her part on the spot.[10]
Alove song composed in the key ofE major, the track is written incommon time and moves slowly at 69beats per minute. Stefani avoids the heavy vocalvibrato that she often uses.[11] Her vocal range spans under an octave and a half during the song, from F#3 to B4.[12] The song describes Stefani's relationship with Rossdale, and the line "You're really lovely underneath it all" comes from a journal entry that Stefani made after spending a day in the park with him.[13]
The song opens with a sample from Bob Clarke's Sunday radio show on IRIE FM, and a recording of Rossdale stating "You don't have to forget, just remember this Sunday, alright?"[14] The verses use a simple I-vichord progression, alternating between afirst inversion E major chord and a second inversionC♯ minor chord, played on theoff-beats and switch to a IV-iii progression. Each verse is followed by the chorus, which uses a I-IV-V-IV progression. After thebridge, Lady Saw performs her toast.[12] Stefani then sings the chorus twice, and Clarke closes the song after Stefani repeats the line "Mm mm mm underneath it all" four times.[12][14]
An alternative version of "Underneath It All" with a morepop-centric structure was released to pop radio stations, omitting Lady Saw's verse.[15][16]
"Underneath It All" received mixed reviews from contemporarymusic critics.Rolling Stone found itsska sound and Stefani's questioning whether or not Rossdale is her soulmate tired.[17]LAUNCHcast agreed the beat was one "that Sly & Robbie can do in their sleep" but added that the song "keeps its modern edge thanks to Lady Saw's cooling rap."[18]Kitty Empire writing inNME also gave Lady Saw's toast a positive review, stating that it "does an excellent job of sexing up all the sugar."[19]Stylus Magazine was pleased with Stefani's performance on the song, stating that "she lets her voice ride gently on top of themelody, pushed along by the gentlesteel drums in the background."[20]PopMatters commented that "No Doubt isn't afraid of working with new ideas" but that the dancehall of "Underneath It All" was unsuccessful and sloppy.[5] In its review ofThe Singles 1992-2003, OMH Media described the song as "an embarrassingly self-consciousreggae pastiche, unimproved by a guest rap from Jamaicandancehall queen Lady Saw."[4]
On their end-of-year list,The Village Voice named the song as one of the Singles of the Year for 2002.[citation needed]
"Underneath It All" peaked at number three on theBillboard Hot 100 for two weeks,[21] becoming No Doubt's highest charting US single; "Don't Speak" had not been allowed onto the Hot 100 as it did not have a commercial single release.[22] It was successful in mainstream music, topping theTop 40 Mainstream and reaching number two on theTop 40 Tracks. The single was also successful in theadult contemporary radio market, reaching number two on theAdult Top 40 chart with a 2004 re-appearance atop the Top 40 Adult Recurrents and peaking at number 27 on theAdult Contemporary chart. It had somecrossover success onurban contemporary stations, reaching the top 40 on theRhythmic Top 40 chart.[23] The single fared poorer on theCanadian Singles Chart, on which it peaked at number 35.[21]
"Underneath It All" debuted at number 18 on theUK Singles chart but was unable to reach a higher position. It was unsuccessful across mainland Europe, only reaching the top 40 in Austria and Sweden.[21] On theARIA Charts, the single peaked at number 28 and remained on the chart for seven weeks.[24] In New Zealand, the single peaked at number eight for two consecutive weeks and stayed on the chart for over four months.[25]
The accompanyingmusic video for the song, directed bySophie Muller and directing collaborative Logan,[26] opens with a sequence of Stefani, as shown on the cover of the single, removing several pieces of clothing and later lying on a bed. After a scene with her in front of a white heart with roses, bassistTony Kanal and drummerAdrian Young playbasketball while Stefani stands against the wall. Stefani is then shown against a sparkling sky, followed by a scene of the whole bandbicycling during Lady Saw's toast. The video closes with a scene of Stefani jumping on a bed in white undergarments and without makeup.
Muller wanted to add more sexual themes to the look of the video to contrast with the innocence of the song's lyrics. The original idea for the video was to show Stefani with heavy makeup "really over done like a stripper" and have her remove her clothing throughout the video. Muller found that this complicated the video too much, so each sequence shows Stefani with progressively less makeup instead. Muller decided to use a color scheme with bright colors such as orange, lime green and pink, and the contrast was increased using Symphony inpost-production. The bicycling scene was to originally show footage that the band shot while recording in Jamaica since Stefani wanted to include a Jamaican theme. Instead, the scene was created by filming the individual band members on a twelve-foot turntable in front of abluescreen. Tracks were used to shoot two members riding next to each other and Logan usedcomputer-generated imagery to show the entire band bicycling in Jamaica.[26]
The video was successful on video channels. It debuted onMTV'sTotal Request Live October 7, 2002, at number seven.[27] It reached number five on the countdown[28] and was on the program for twenty-four days.[27] "Underneath It All" peaked at number two onMuchMusic'sCountdown in September 2002.[21] The video received nominations forBest Pop Video andBest Cinematography at the2003 MTV Video Music Awards, but lost toJustin Timberlake's "Cry Me a River" andJohnny Cash's cover of "Hurt" respectively.[29]
CD maxi-single
2-track CD single
Weekly charts[edit]
| Year-end charts[edit]
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| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| New Zealand (RMNZ)[55] | Platinum | 30,000‡ |
| United States (RIAA)[56] | Platinum | 1,000,000‡ |
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone. | ||
| Region | Date | Format(s) | Label(s) | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| United States | July 22, 2002 | Contemporary hit radio | Interscope | [57] |
| Australia | September 2, 2002 | CD | [58] | |
| United States | September 23, 2002 | Hot adult contemporary radio | [59] | |
| United Kingdom | September 30, 2002 |
| [60] |
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