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Underneath It All
"Underneath It All" is a song by American rock band No Doubt, released in July 2002 as the third single from their fourth studio album, Rock Steady (2001). Written by the band's lead singer Gwen Stefani and David Stewart, the song features a reggae production from Sly and Robbie and guest vocals from Lady Saw. The song received mixed reviews from contemporary music critics and became No Doubt's highest-charting US single, but it was less successful elsewhere. It won a Grammy Award for Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal at the 46th Grammy Awards.
During a visit to her then-boyfriend Gavin Rossdale in London, Gwen Stefani and David Stewart used backward string samples to write the song in only ten minutes. Guitarist Tom Dumont commented that Stewart's experience helped them keep the song simple because he "would have way overthought those chord changes." When the band was working on the album Rock Steady in Jamaica, producers Sly and Robbie called Lady Saw to have her contribute a guest toast. After listening to the song, Lady Saw wrote and recorded her part on the spot.
A love song composed in the key of E major, the track is written in common time and moves slowly at 69 beats per minute. Stefani avoids the heavy vocal vibrato that she often uses. Her vocal range spans under an octave and a half during the song, from F#3 to B4. 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.
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?" The verses use a simple I-vi chord progression, alternating between a first inversion E major chord and a second inversion C♯ minor chord, played on the off-beats and switch to a IV-iii progression. Each verse is followed by the chorus, which uses a I-IV-V-IV progression. After the bridge, Lady Saw performs her toast. Stefani then sings the chorus twice, and Clarke closes the song after Stefani repeats the line "Mm mm mm underneath it all" four times.
An alternative version of "Underneath It All" with a more pop-centric structure was released to pop radio stations, omitting Lady Saw's verse.
"Underneath It All" received mixed reviews from contemporary music critics. Rolling Stone found its ska sound and Stefani's questioning whether or not Rossdale is her soulmate tired. 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." Kitty Empire writing in NME also gave Lady Saw's toast a positive review, stating that it "does an excellent job of sexing up all the sugar." Stylus Magazine was pleased with Stefani's performance on the song, stating that "she lets her voice ride gently on top of the melody, pushed along by the gentle steel drums in the background." 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. In its review of The Singles 1992-2003, OMH Media described the song as "an embarrassingly self-conscious reggae pastiche, unimproved by a guest rap from Jamaican dancehall queen Lady Saw."
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 the Billboard Hot 100 for two weeks, 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. It was successful in mainstream music, topping the Top 40 Mainstream and reaching number two on the Top 40 Tracks. The single was also successful in the adult contemporary radio market, reaching number two on the Adult Top 40 chart with a 2004 re-appearance atop the Top 40 Adult Recurrents and peaking at number 27 on the Adult Contemporary chart. It had some crossover success on urban contemporary stations, reaching the top 40 on the Rhythmic Top 40 chart. The single fared poorer on the Canadian Singles Chart, on which it peaked at number 35.
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Underneath It All
"Underneath It All" is a song by American rock band No Doubt, released in July 2002 as the third single from their fourth studio album, Rock Steady (2001). Written by the band's lead singer Gwen Stefani and David Stewart, the song features a reggae production from Sly and Robbie and guest vocals from Lady Saw. The song received mixed reviews from contemporary music critics and became No Doubt's highest-charting US single, but it was less successful elsewhere. It won a Grammy Award for Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal at the 46th Grammy Awards.
During a visit to her then-boyfriend Gavin Rossdale in London, Gwen Stefani and David Stewart used backward string samples to write the song in only ten minutes. Guitarist Tom Dumont commented that Stewart's experience helped them keep the song simple because he "would have way overthought those chord changes." When the band was working on the album Rock Steady in Jamaica, producers Sly and Robbie called Lady Saw to have her contribute a guest toast. After listening to the song, Lady Saw wrote and recorded her part on the spot.
A love song composed in the key of E major, the track is written in common time and moves slowly at 69 beats per minute. Stefani avoids the heavy vocal vibrato that she often uses. Her vocal range spans under an octave and a half during the song, from F#3 to B4. 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.
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?" The verses use a simple I-vi chord progression, alternating between a first inversion E major chord and a second inversion C♯ minor chord, played on the off-beats and switch to a IV-iii progression. Each verse is followed by the chorus, which uses a I-IV-V-IV progression. After the bridge, Lady Saw performs her toast. Stefani then sings the chorus twice, and Clarke closes the song after Stefani repeats the line "Mm mm mm underneath it all" four times.
An alternative version of "Underneath It All" with a more pop-centric structure was released to pop radio stations, omitting Lady Saw's verse.
"Underneath It All" received mixed reviews from contemporary music critics. Rolling Stone found its ska sound and Stefani's questioning whether or not Rossdale is her soulmate tired. 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." Kitty Empire writing in NME also gave Lady Saw's toast a positive review, stating that it "does an excellent job of sexing up all the sugar." Stylus Magazine was pleased with Stefani's performance on the song, stating that "she lets her voice ride gently on top of the melody, pushed along by the gentle steel drums in the background." 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. In its review of The Singles 1992-2003, OMH Media described the song as "an embarrassingly self-conscious reggae pastiche, unimproved by a guest rap from Jamaican dancehall queen Lady Saw."
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 the Billboard Hot 100 for two weeks, 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. It was successful in mainstream music, topping the Top 40 Mainstream and reaching number two on the Top 40 Tracks. The single was also successful in the adult contemporary radio market, reaching number two on the Adult Top 40 chart with a 2004 re-appearance atop the Top 40 Adult Recurrents and peaking at number 27 on the Adult Contemporary chart. It had some crossover success on urban contemporary stations, reaching the top 40 on the Rhythmic Top 40 chart. The single fared poorer on the Canadian Singles Chart, on which it peaked at number 35.