Hollaback Girl (3:20)

“Hollaback Girl” is a song written by singer Gwen Stefani and Pharrell for Stefani’s debut solo album Love. Angel. Music. Baby… As part of Stefani’s vision of creating “a silly dance record,” the song is influenced by 1980s dance and pop music. They wrote the song as a response to Courtney Love’s statement that Stefani was a “cheerleader” in an interview with Seventeen magazine.

The song was released as the album’s third single in early 2005 and was one of the year’s most popular songs, peaking inside the top ten on the majority of the charts it entered. It reached number one in Australia and the United States, where it became the first digital download to sell one million copies. “Hollaback Girl” received many award nominations, including Best Female Pop Vocal Performance and Record of the Year at the 48th Grammy Awards, yet it divided pop music critics. On an interesting note, the CD single has a “Parental Advisory: Explicit Content” label, while the album, Love. Angel. Music. Baby., does not