Girlfriend

"Girlfriend"
Single by Avril Lavigne
from the album The Best Damn Thing
B-side	"Alone"
Released	March 5, 2007 (2007-03-05) (see release history)
Format	CD single
Recorded	2006
Genre	Pop punk, power pop, teen pop, cheerleader chant, bubblegum pop
Length	3:37
Writer(s)	Avril Lavigne, Lukasz "Dr. Luke" Gottwald
Producer	Lukasz "Dr. Luke" Gottwald
Certification	Platinum (ABPD) [1] 2x Platinum (RIAA) 4x Platinum[2] (ARIA)
Avril Lavigne singles chronology
"Keep Holding On" (2006) "Girlfriend" (2007) "When You're Gone" (2007) Audio sample file info · help

"Girlfriend" is a song by Canadian pop-punk singer Avril Lavigne, released as the lead single from her third studio album, The Best Damn Thing. It was produced by Lukasz Gottwald. "Girlfriend" became Lavigne's biggest hit in the United States, where it became her first number one single in the U.S. Billboard Hot 100. It topped the chart in Australia for 6 weeks, and reached number two in the United Kingdom. A remix featuring rapper Lil Mama was released in June 2007. The music video is notable for being the 3rd most watched YouTube video of all time, with over 130 million views as of November 2009, and being the first video ever that hit the one hundred million views mark.^[3] and also the most discussed music video.

Contents 1 Description 2 Critical reception and lawsuit 3 Music video 4 Chart performance and promotion 5 Live version 6 Remix 7 Track listings 8 Official versions 9 Uses in other media 10 Zebrahead cover 10.1 Music Video 10.2 Charts 11 Certifications 12 Release history 13 Charts 13.1 Year-end charts 14 Awards 15 References 16 External links

Description

The song involves Lavigne proclaiming a crush on a boy currently with his girlfriend and features the typical 80's pop-punk influence and power pop of her earlier songs. Lavigne said on the DVD side of the deluxe edition of The Best Damn Thing that in the bridge when the listener hears hand clapping, the accompanying giggling was created by Lavigne and Gottwald, despite it sounding like a girl. "Girlfriend" is in the video game Burnout Dominator in English, Japanese, Spanish, and Chinese.^[4] It also appears in Burnout Paradise but this time only in English. This song is recorded in 7 languages other than English.^[5] It is the theme song of Japanese talk show Cartoon KAT-TUN - on which Lavigne appeared on May 2, 2007 - as well as being the insert song for popular Japanese manga based drama Hanazakari no Kimitachi e. It is featured in the theatrical trailer for the 2007 live-action Bratz film, and in a trailer for the film I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry, and also for Bring It On: In It to Win It. Lavigne performed the song on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno on June 15, 2007.^[6].

Critical reception and lawsuit

Reviewers have noted that the chorus bears a resemblance to The Rubinoos' 1979 single "I Wanna Be Your Boyfriend", in which they sing "Hey hey, you you, I wanna be your boyfriend" similar to "Hey hey, you you, I could be your girlfriend" in "Girlfriend".^[7] The song can be heard on the Rubinoos' MySpace page.^[8]

On May 25, 2007, Lavigne, her songwriter Lukasz Gottwald, her record label, and Apple Inc. were sued by James Gangwer and Tommy Dunbar, songwriters for The Rubinoos, over claims that "Girlfriend" infringes their copyright on their 1979 song "I Wanna Be Your Boyfriend".^[9] Lavigne's manager, Terry McBride, denied that "Girlfriend" was copied from "I Wanna Be Your Boyfriend", and pointed out that "Boyfriend" itself is similar to The Rolling Stones' "Get off of My Cloud". McBride said he hired a musicologist to compare the songs; according to McBride the musicologist reported that the songs were totally dissimilar, even a different meter. Prominent music critics such as Stephen Thomas Erlewine of Allmusic have publicly noted that the song is a "total lift from the Rubinoos' song".^[10] McBride said that Lavigne has no current plans to settle the case, but will consider the costs of defending the case against those of settling.^[11] In January 2008, the lawsuit was settled and Gangwer and Dunbar released a statement saying that the similarities between the songs were based on "certain common and widely used lyrics" and that they "completely exonerate Avril and Luke from any wrongdoing of any kind in connection with the claims made by us in our lawsuit."^[12]

Critics have compared the middle section of the song with the bridge from Toni Basil's "Mickey".^[13]

The song was #35 on Rolling Stone's list of the 100 Best Songs of 2007.^[14] This song was also #77 on MTV Asia's list of Top 100 Hits of 2007.^[15] Also was listed as the number 1 hit of 2007 according to MTV Latin America. ^[16]. Note, Girlfriend peaked as number one in the North/Central Latin American Version of "Los 100 Más Pedidos 2007" (The 100 Top Hits of 2007), while in the South Latin American Version of "Los 100 Más Pedidos 2007" it peaked at number 3, losing the first place to "With Love" by Hilary Duff.^[17] "Girlfriend" also won the Best Song of the Year at the 2008 Kids' Choice Awards. It beat "Big Girls Don't Cry", "Don't Matter", and "Beautiful Girls".

Music video

The world premiere of the music video was announced to be on MTV's Total Request Live and MuchMusic's MuchOnDemand on February 26. However, it premiered in New Zealand on Music Station C4 on February 20. It was in heavy rotation on European music TV channel VIVA Polska on February 23 as well.^{[citation needed]}

The music video was directed by The Malloys and filmed at Golf 'n' Stuff in Norwalk, California. It features two girls: one with an innocent persona, glasses and red hair (Lavigne), and one with a rebellious persona and black hair (also Lavigne). The video begins inside the building where the red-haired girl and her boyfriend are walking together. Lavigne sees her and shows her an intimidating disposition.^{[citation needed]} As the couple walk away, Lavigne begins to sing the song and tries her luck on the red-haired girl's boyfriend. Featured in the video are scenes of Lavigne fighting over the man with the red-haired girl and trying to outdo her repeatedly. Between the scenes show Lavigne singing with her band accompanying her at the back. The video also featured Lavigne and her friends dancing within the comfort room background.^{[citation needed]} After the starting scene, the video shows them at Li'l Indy, where they ride bumper cars. Here, Lavigne is seen viciously bumping the car of the red-haired girl, causing her to spin around and lose control. Next, the red-haired girl and her boyfriend get inside a photo booth where Lavigne hears them and grabs the red-haired girl away before they take pictures. Lavigne's friends then block the red-haired girl's way to give her more time.^{[citation needed]}

The next scene shows the couple eating together, where Lavigne sees them, throws the food away and kisses the red-haired girl's boyfriend. It is nighttime when the next scene was shown. This scene takes place in a golf course where the couple are playing, and the red-haired girl cheerfully wins.^{[citation needed]}

Unfortunately for her, Lavigne and her friends are also present at the scene. As soon as she and her friends see them,Lavigne hits her in the head with a golf ball, and the red-haired girl splashes down below and into the water. Her boyfriend tries to grab her hand but misses. Finally, the last scene shows Lavigne waiting for the man. As he comes toward her, they soon hold hands together, and the red-haired girl sees them and tries to seize Lavigne (at the same time trying to get her boyfriend back). But Lavigne ducks down and the man moves sideways as soon as the red-haired girl charges towards Lavigne. She then tumbles all the way down and falls into a movable comfort room ahead, where she gives a look of desperation towards the camera, showing that she has failed to win back her boyfriend. Lavigne then finally wins the youth's affections.^{[citation needed]} The video ends when she takes her new boyfriend into a bathroom stall and slightly opens the door after a moment and gives a thumbs up. Lavigne's boyfriend in the video is played by American model Bryan McMullin and dresses similarly to the "rocker" Lavigne in the video. The video features Lavigne's previous guitarist Evan Taubenfeld, and Lavigne's brother Matt on bass. Lil Mama and Lavigne shot a video for the remix of "Girlfriend", which was directed by R. Malcolm Jones.^{[citation needed]}

The first 15 seconds of the video include an audio sampling of "Arcade Ambiance 1983".^{[citation needed]}

On July 18, 2008 "Girlfriend" became the most viewed video of all time on YouTube ^[18] and in August of that year, surpassed 100 million views, the first YouTube video to reach that milestone, overtaking "Evolution of Dance" by Judson Laipply. However, on April 30, 2009 "Evolution of Dance" reclaimed the lead as the most watched video on YouTube, because as of April 2009, music videos may only be watched on Youtube inside the U.S. Avril Bandaids members helped the Girlfriend music video to get over 100 million views on YouTube. It is expected that Avril's YouTube video views have earned in excess of $2 million (U.S). ^[19] As of July 29, 2009, this video has over 122.5 million views on Youtube, roughly 1 million views less than "Evolution of Dance". Despite its popularity and overall 5 star rating on the acclaimed site some users have had negative feelings toward a music video presenting a cowardly boyfriend bending to the rebellious Avril's every whim by letting her mistreat his original 'nerdy' innocent girlfriend. Avril the "popular" bully is shown making the 'nerdy' girl's life a living hell. Some users feel ultimately this is the wrong message to send about relationships as not all girls need to be popular and mean to get a boyfriend as the video seems to promote. ^[20]

Chart performance and promotion

"Girlfriend" was premiered on Edmonton radio station The Bounce 91.7 before the official date it was supposed to be aired; the two DJs who played it were taken off the air shortly after. The single appeared and was available for download on the U.S. iTunes Store on February 23, but was subsequently removed the following day. It was made available again on February 27.

Because of digital download sales in excess of 122,000, the song debuted at number five on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart, the highest debut of her career.^[21] Afterwards it became Lavigne's first song to reach number one on the Hot 100, in the issue dated May 5, 2007; her previous highest peak on the chart was with 2002's "Complicated", which reached number two.^[22] It remained in the top ten for eighteen weeks,^[23] and has since been downloaded over 3 million times.^[24]

"Girlfriend" debuted on the Australian ARIA Singles Chart at number three. The following week it reached number-one, and it remained at the top for six non-consecutive weeks, equalling Lavigne's previous number-one single on the ARIA Charts, "Complicated". After three weeks on the charts, it was certified gold by ARIA, then platinum after seven weeks for sales in excess of 70,000 copies.^[25] It was then certified double platinum, sales in excess of 140,000. In 2008, it was certified quadruple platinum for sales of 280,000. ^[26]

On the UK Singles Chart, "Girlfriend" peaked at number two, surpassing "Complicated" as Lavigne's highest peaking single on the chart. The song ended 2007 as the years 20th biggest-selling single in the UK and spent 27 weeks inside the chart and is Lavigne's biggest hit in the UK to date.^[27]

It won the Award for "Canción del Año" (Song Of The Year) in "Los Premios MTV Latinoamérica 2007" (The Latin American MTV Awards) and was nominated for "Monster Single" in the MTV Video Music Awards 2007.^[28][29] It won Most Addictive Track (Single Of The Year) at the MTV Europe Music Awards

Live version

There is a live video version of the song, which was part of The Best Damn Tour - Live in Toronto, and was sent to Brazil Music Channels (such as MTV and Multi Show) and was released to promote the DVD release for The Best Damn Tour 2008.

Remix

"Girlfriend (Dr. Luke Remix)"
Single by Avril Lavigne featuring Lil Mama
from the album The Best Damn Thing Limited Edition and VYP (Voice of the Young People) Deluxe Edition
Released	June 15, 2007 (Taiwan) July 25, 2007 (United States)
Format	CD single
Recorded	2007
Genre	Pop punk, Pop rap
Length	3:25
Writer(s)	Avril Lavigne, Lukasz "Dr. Luke" Gottwald, Niatia Kirkland
Producer	Lukasz "Dr. Luke" Gottwald
Lil Mama singles chronology
"Lip Gloss" (2007) "Girlfriend (Dr. Luke Remix)" (2007) "G-Slide (Tour Bus)" (2007)

Seven additional versions of the song are available to enhance its worldwide marketability with the chorus sung in French, German, Italian, Japanese, Mandarin, Portuguese and Spanish language. The other parts of the song are in English. According to Lavigne's lable, a Hindi version was attempted but Lavigne found it too difficult to record because the correctly pronounced lyrics did not best match the meter of the song.

There is also an edited version for radio, because of explicit lyrics. There are two official censored versions: one blanking the word "motherfucking" in the line "I'm the motherfucking princess" and the other replacing it with "I'm the one and only princess". It is played on Canadian and Malaysian radio stations, and on Z100 in New York City. However, on other radio stations the entire word is cut out or just the word "mother", as in the version on the clean edition of the album, is said.

The official remix was leaked onto the Internet in May 2007 and features rap verses from American hip-hop musician Lil Mama. Lavigne sings the chorus and bridge and Lil Mama's rap verses are substituted for the original verses.

Track listings

Worldwide edition

1. "Girlfriend" [Clean Version]
2. "Alone"

Japanese edition

(4988017647615; Released March 21, 2007)

1. "Girlfriend" [Radio Edit]
2. "Girlfriend" [Instrumental]

Junkie XL remix digital download

1. "Girlfriend [Junkie XL Mix]"
2. "Girlfriend [Junkie XL Extended Mix]"

Dr. Luke remix edition [iTunes only]

1. "Girlfriend (Dr. Luke Remix)" (featuring Lil Mama)
2. "Girlfriend" [Album Version]
3. "Girlfriend" [Original Music Video]
4. "Girlfriend [Dr. Luke remix]" [featuring Lil Mama] [Music Video]

Ringle edition

1. "Girlfriend (Dr. Luke remix)" [Featuring Lil Mama]
2. "Girlfriend" (Japanese version) [Clean Edit]
3. "Keep Holding On"
4. Ringtone¹

¹ A code included on the CD to download the ringtone online.

Promo

1. "Girlfriend" [Radio Edit]
2. "Girlfriend" [Spanish Version]
3. "Girlfriend" [CallOut Hook]

Official versions

• "Girlfriend" [Explicit Version] — 3:37
• "Girlfriend" [Clean Version] — 3:37
• "Girlfriend" [Instrumental] — 3:37
• "Girlfriend" [Radio Edit] — 3:37
• "Girlfriend" [French Version] — 3:37
• "Girlfriend" [German Version] — 3:37
• "Girlfriend" [Italian Version] — 3:37
• "Girlfriend" [Japanese Version] — 3:37
• "Girlfriend" [Mandarin Version] — 3:37
• "Girlfriend" [Portuguese Version] — 3:37
• "Girlfriend" [Spanish Version] — 3:37
• "Girlfriend" [Junkie XL Mix] — 3:56
• "Girlfriend" [Junkie XL Extended Mix] — 5:41
• "Girlfriend" [Dr. Luke] Remix feat. Lil Mama] — 3:24
• "Girlfriend" [Dr. Luke remix feat. Lil' Mama Nickelodeon Mix] — 3:05
• "Girlfriend" The Submarines' Time Warp '66 Mix] — 3:11
• "Girlfriend" [The Submarines' French Time Warp '66 Mix] — 3:11
• "Girlfriend" [The Submarines' German Time Warp '66 Mix] — 3:11
• "Girlfriend" [The Submarines' Japanese Time Warp '66 Mix] — 3:11
• "Girlfriend" [The Submarines' Mandarin Time Warp '66 Mix] — 3:11
• "Girlfriend" [The Submarines' Spanish Time Warp '66 Mix] — 3:11

Uses in other media

• An edited version of the Lil' Mama remix is featured on the iCarly soundtrack.
• An edited version of the song is featured in both the first episode and season-one finale of The Secret Life of the American Teenager.
• The song can be heard in the 2008 comedy, The House Bunny.
• The song is in the game soundtrack to Burnout Paradise and Burnout Dominator.
• The song was covered on UK TV show the X Factor by semi-finalist Diana Vickers
• The song features on track 2 of Girl Talks 2008 mash-up album Feed The Animals.
• The song was used in an episode of Hanazakari no Kimitachi e.
• A parody of the Remix entitled "Black Friend" was shown on MadTV
• CollegeHumor made a parody
• The Chipettes of Alvin and The Chipmunks sing a version of the song.

Zebrahead cover

"Girlfriend (Avril Lavigne Cover)"
Single by Zebrahead
from the album Panty Raid
Released	September 20, 2009
Recorded	March–April 2009
Genre	Pop punk, Rap rock
Length	3:05
Label	Sony BMG
Writer(s)	Avril Lavigne, Lukasz "Dr. Luke" Gottwald
Producer	Cameron Webb
Zebrahead singles chronology
"The Juggernauts" (2009) "Girlfriend" (2009)

In September, 2009, punk rock american band Zebrahead released "Girlfriend" as the first single of their new album Panty Raid, which was released on November 4, 2009, in Japan and December 8 in the rest of the world. The album is noticed to only have cover versions of famous pop songs of the past two decades. It runs 3:05 and is fast-paced, thanks to Ali rap sing style. It was peaked in the Hot Modern Rock Tracks in the first week in the #84 place.

Music Video

The music video of the song was released in mid October and is a parody of the original Girlfriend video, with Ali playing the "Bad Avril" and Matty playing the good one. It resembles numerous situations that occurr in the original video, but with a more comic sense into the video.

Charts

Chart (2009)	Peak position
U.S. Billboard Hot Modern Rock Tracks	84

Certifications

Country	Provider	Certification
United States	RIAA	2× Platinum [30]

Release history

"Girlfriend" was released in a number of countries over a three-month period. The remix featuring Lil Mama was released on June 15 in Taiwan, and on July 25 in the United States.

Region	Date
Canada	February 7, 2007
United States
Spain	February 10, 2007
El Salvador	February 28, 2007
Mexico	March 1, 2007
Venezuela
Peru	March 10, 2007
Chile
Italy	March 19, 2007
Japan	March 21, 2007
Republic of Ireland	March 30, 2007
Belgium
Australia	March 31, 2007
United Kingdom	April 2, 2007
Taiwan	April 3, 2007
Netherlands	April 4, 2007
Sweden
Cuba	April 28, 2007

Charts

Reaching number-one on numerous music charts worldwide, "Girlfriend" is Lavigne's most successful charting single.

Chart (2007) Peak position Australian ARIA Singles Chart[31] 1 Ö3 Austria Top 40[32] 1 Belgian Ultratop 50 1 Canadian Hot 100[33] 1 European Singles Chart 1 French Singles Chart [34] 2 German Singles Chart [31] 1 Irish Singles Chart 1 Italian Singles Chart 1 New Zealand RIANZ Singles Chart[31] 1 Swedish Singles Chart[31] 1 Swiss Singles Top 100 [35] 3 UK Singles Chart[31] 2 U.S. ARC Weekly Chart Top 40 1 U.S. Billboard Hot 100[31] 1 U.S. Billboard Pop 100 1 U.S. Billboard Top 40 Mainstream 1

Year-end charts Chart (2007) Peak position Australia ARIA Singles Chart[36] 2 New Zealand RIANZ Singles Chart[37] 14 UK Singles Chart 20 U.S. Billboard Hot 100[38] 11 U.S. Billboard Pop 100[39] 6

Awards

Year	Awards ceremony	Award	Results
2007	Virgin Media Music Awards	Best Track	Nominated
	MTV Europe Music Awards	Most Addictive Track	Won
	Los Premios MTV Latinoamérica	Song Of The Year	Won
	MTV Video Music Awards	Monster Single Of The Year	Nominated
	MuchMusic Video Awards	Best international video by a Canadian	Won
	Teen Choice Awards	Choice Music Single	Won
	UK Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards	Best Music Video	Won
2008	MTV Video Music Awards Japan	Best Pop Video	Won
	Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards	Favorite Song	Won
	Juno Awards	Single Of The Year	Nominated

References

External links

• Music video for "Girlfriend" at YouTube (requires Adobe Flash)
• Music video for remix of "Girlfriend", feat. Lil' Mama at YouTube (requires Adobe Flash)
• Vietnamese version
• Sony BMG Music Entertainment. "Avril Lavigne Announces New Album + Single In Blog" [5].
• MTV UK. "And she says her new album will be the Best Damn Thing you've seen..." [6].
• Billboard. "New Avril Lavigne Album Due In April" [7].
• Blender Magazine Online. "Shamelessly Anticipating Avril's New Album". January 18, 2007, 1:39:24 PM [8].
• Chile Top 40: [9]
• [10]
• Commentary on the video clip

Preceded by "Straight Lines" by Silverchair "Steer" by Missy Higgins	Australian ARIA Singles Chart number-one single April 9, 2007 – April 16, 2007 April 29, 2007 – June 3, 2007	Succeeded by "Steer" by Missy Higgins "Umbrella" by Rihanna
Preceded by "Give It to Me" by Timbaland featuring Nelly Furtado and Justin Timberlake	Billboard Hot 100 number-one single May 5, 2007	Succeeded by "Makes Me Wonder" by Maroon 5
	Swedish Singles Chart number-one single March 8 2007 - March 15 2007

v • d • e Avril Lavigne Studio albums Let Go · Under My Skin · The Best Damn Thing EPs Angus Drive · Live Acoustic · Control Room DVDs My World  · Live at Budokan · Live in Toronto Singles "Complicated" · "Sk8er Boi" · "I'm With You" · "Losing Grip" · "Don't Tell Me" · "My Happy Ending" · "Nobody's Home" · "He Wasn't" · "Girlfriend" · "When You're Gone" · "Hot" · "The Best Damn Thing" Promotional Singles "Mobile" · " Unwanted" · "Things I'll Never Say" · "Take Me Away" · "Fall to Pieces" · "Keep Holding On" · "Innocence" Films and Television Sabrina, the Teenage Witch · Going the Distance · Fast Food Nation · Over the Hedge · The Flock Tours Try To Shut Me Up Tour (2003) · Mall Tour (2004) · Bonez Tour (2004/2005) · Promotional Tour (2007) · The Best Damn Tour (2008) Related articles Discography · Awards and nominations · Abbey Dawn · Black Star · Make 5 Wishes · Deryck Whibley · "Breakaway" · "All Because of You"  · "I Will Be"  · "I Don't Wanna"

v • d • e Lil Mama Albums VYP (Voice of the Young People) Singles "Lip Gloss" · "G-Slide (Tour Bus)" · "Shawty Get Loose" · "What It Is (Strike a Pose)" Featured singles "Girlfriend (Dr. Luke remix)"  · "Block Party" Related article America's Best Dance Crew · 2009 MTV Video Music Awards controversy