"Underneath It All" is a song written by Gwen Stefani and Dave Stewart for No Doubt's fourth album Rock Steady (2001). The song features reggae production and guest vocals from deejay Lady Saw. It received mixed reviews from pop music critics.
"Underneath It All" was released as the album's third single in mid-2002. It became No Doubt's highest-charting American single but was less successful elsewhere. The song won a Grammy Award for Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal at the 46th Grammy Awards. The song was featured in the film 50 First Dates (2004).
Background and writing[edit]
The song was originally written by Stefani and Stewart during Stefani's visit to boyfriend Gavin Rossdale in London. The two used backward string samples to write the song in only ten minutes.[1] 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 Rossdale.[2]Guitarist Tom Dumont commented that Stewart's experience helped them keep the song simple because he "would have way overthought those chord changes."[3] When the band was working on the album in Jamaica, producers Sly & Robbie called dancehallartist Lady Saw to have her contribute a guest toast.[4] After listening to the track, Lady Saw wrote and recorded her part on the spot.[5]
The song is a love song composed in the key of E major. It is written in common time and moves slowly at 69 beats per minute. Stefani avoids the heavy vocal vibrato that she often uses.[6] Her vocal range spans under an octave and a half during the song, from F#3 to B4.[7]
The song opens with a line spoken by Bob Clarke as if it were heard on a radio.[8] 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-beatsand 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.[7] Stefani then sings the chorus twice, and Clarke closes the song after Stefani repeats the line "Mm mm mm underneath it all" four times.
Music video[edit]
The song's music video was directed by Sophie Muller and directing collaborative Logan.[21] It opens with a sequence of Stefani, as shown on the cover of the CD 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, bassist Tony Kanal and drummer Adrian Young play basketball while Stefani stands against the wall. Stefani is then shown against a sparkling sky, followed by a scene of the whole band bicycling 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 in post-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 a bluescreen. Tracks were used to shoot two members riding next to each other, and Logan used computer-generated imagery to show the entire band bicycling in Jamaica.[21]
The music video was successful on video channels. It debuted on MTV's Total Request Live 7 October 2002 at number seven.[22] It reached number five on the countdown[23] and was on the program for twenty-four days.[22] "Underneath It All" peaked at number two on MuchMusic's Countdown in September 2002.[15] The video received nominations for Best Pop Video and Best Cinematography at the 2003 MTV Video Music Awards, but lost to Justin Timberlake's "Cry Me a River" and Johnny Cash's cover of "Hurt" respectively.[24]
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