Are You Gonna Be My Girl

"Are You Gonna Be My Girl"
Single by Jet
from the album Get Born
B-side
Released18 August 2003 (2003-08-18)
GenreGarage 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.

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]

Year Nominee / work Award Result
APRA Awards for "Are You Gonna Be My Girl"
2004 "Are You Gonna Be My Girl" Song of the Year Nominated
2005 Most Performed Australian Work Overseas Won
2006 Most Performed Australian Work Overseas Won
2007 Most Performed Australian Work Overseas Won

MTV Video Music Awards

Year Nominee / work Award Result
VMA Awards for "Are You Gonna Be My Girl"
2004 "Are You Gonna Be My Girl" Best New Artist Nominated
Best Rock Video Won
Best Editing Nominated

Track listings

Personnel

Charts

Certifications

Certifications and sales for "Are You Gonna Be My Girl"
Region Certification Certified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[41] Gold 35,000^
Italy (FIMI)[42] Platinum 100,000‡
United Kingdom (BPI)[43] Platinum 600,000‡
United States (RIAA)[44] Gold 500,000^

^ 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"
Region Date Format(s) Label(s) Ref.
United States 18 August 2003
Elektra [45]
United Kingdom 25 August 2003
  • 12-inch vinyl
  • CD
 [46]
Australia 1 September 2003 Capitol [47]
United States 8 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.

References

  1. ^ Heather Phares. "Are You Gonna Be My Girl review on Allmusic". AllMusic. Retrieved 2 July 2013. 'Are You Gonna Be My Girl?' is one of the most immediate – if not creative – singles to come out of the garage-rock revival of the early 2000s.
  2. ^ "Jet Breaks up". Billboard.
  3. ^ "Here Are The Songs That Made Triple M's 'Ozzest 100'". Musicfeeds. 27 January 2018. Retrieved 4 January 2020.
  4. ^ Eliscu, Jenny (8 April 2004). "Jet's High Times". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 27 November 2006. Retrieved 28 January 2014.
  5. ^ "musicOMH.com single review". Archived from the original on 6 August 2007.
  6. ^ a b c Slater, Aaron (11 March 2019). "How I Wrote 'Are You Gonna Be My Girl' by Jet's Nic Cester". Songwriting Magazine. Retrieved 13 December 2022.
  7. ^ "Jet gets reborn". Uptown Magazine. 15 October 2009. Archived from the original on 20 October 2009.
  8. ^ Wetherall, Greg (23 September 2024). "'Tom Petty heard it and said: "Wow!"' Jet on how they made Are You Gonna Be My Girl". The Guardian.
  9. ^ "APRA History". Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA). Archived from the original on 23 March 2010. Retrieved 2 May 2010.
  10. ^ "2007 Winners – APRA Music Awards". Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA). Archived from the original on 19 April 2014. Retrieved 2 May 2010.
  11. ^ Are You Gonna Be My Girl (Australian CD single liner notes). Jet. Capitol Records. 2003. 5529432.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  12. ^ Are You Gonna Be My Girl (Australian 12-inch single sleeve). Jet. Capitol Records. 2003. 724355294364.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  13. ^ Are You Gonna Be My Girl (UK CD1 liner notes). Jet. Elektra Records. 2003. E7456CD1.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  14. ^ Are You Gonna Be My Girl (UK CD2 liner notes). Jet. Elektra Records. 2003. E7456CD2.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  15. ^ Are You Gonna Be My Girl (UK DVD single liner notes). Jet. Elektra Records. 2003. E7599DVD.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  16. ^ Are You Gonna Be My Girl (European CD single liner notes). Jet. Elektra Records. 2003. E7599CD.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
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  20. ^ "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Are You Gonna Be My Girl". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved 4 April 2022.
  21. ^ "Nederlandse Top 40 – week 51, 2003" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40. Retrieved 7 December 2018.
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  31. ^ "Jet Chart History (Mainstream Rock)". Billboard.
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  34. ^ "Jet – Are You Gonna Be My Girl" (in French). Les classement single. Retrieved 4 April 2022.
  35. ^ "Archívum – Slágerlisták – MAHASZ" (in Hungarian). Single (track) Top 40 lista. Magyar Hanglemezkiadók Szövetsége. Retrieved 16 February 2023.
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  38. ^ "Billboard Top 100 – 2004". Billboardtop100of.com. Retrieved 3 January 2021.
  39. ^ "Year in Music & Touring: Hot Modern Rock Tracks". Billboard. Vol. 116, no. 52. 25 December 2004. p. YE-70.
  40. ^ "2004 The Year in Charts: Most-Played Triple-A Songs". Billboard Radio Monitor. Vol. 12, no. 51. 17 December 2004. p. 54.
  41. ^ "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 2003 Singles" (PDF). Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved 7 December 2018.
  42. ^ "Italian single certifications – Jet – Are You Gonna Be My Girl" (in Italian). Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana. Retrieved 12 November 2023. Select "2023" in the "Anno" drop-down menu. Type "Are You Gonna Be My Girl" in the "Filtra" field. Select "Singoli" under "Sezione".
  43. ^ "British single certifications – Jet – Are You Gonna Be My Girl". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 1 May 2020.
  44. ^ "American single certifications – Jet – Are You Gonna Be My Girl". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved 7 December 2018.
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