Serious (Gwen Stefani song)
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"Serious" is a song by American singer and songwriter Gwen Stefani from her debut solo studio album, Love. Angel. Music. Baby. (2004). The track was written by Stefani and her No Doubt bandmate, Tony Kanal. Kanal also produced the song with Mark "Spike" Stent, who Stefani and Kanal previously worked with on No Doubt's fifth studio album, Rock Steady (2001). Musically "Serious" is a synthpop and new wave song that drew comparisons to Madonna's work during the early 1980s. An accompanying music video for the song was filmed in Los Angeles but never released for undisclosed reasons; however, a low-quality clip of the video surfaced on YouTube in 2006.
"Serious" received highly positive reviews from music critics upon release and was frequently compared to the works of both early Madonna and Kylie Minogue, particularly Minogue's track, "Fever". The song was also received well for its mirror production to '80s songs, with additional praise for being "catchy". Stefani performed the track on her 2005 Harajuku Lovers Tour during the encore of the show, where she danced with the Harajuku Girls in nurse costumes.
Contents
Background and lyrics
In early 2003, Stefani began embarking on recording sessions for her debut album.[1] After listening to songs recommended to her by No Doubt bassist and former boyfriend Tony Kanal, she considered recording material that "modernized 1980s music".[2] After writing a series of several songs, including "Serious", "Crash", and "Luxurious", the pair gave up after Stefani didn't find anything worth recording from the sessions.[3] "Serious" became of the more "club friendly" tracks on L.A.M.B., as it was heavily influenced by 1980s music, particularly the works of Madonna and Club Nouveau. "Serious" is a synthpop song that drew comparisons to Madonna's work during the early 1980s. [4][5] Lyrically, the songs discusses jealously while being in love, shown in lyrics like "So get off of my man / And don't try to mess with me / 'Cause our love is serious" and "And you know how I can't stand / How the girls all wanna be getting all up in my place".[6]
Critical reception
Upon release, the song received highly positive reviews for its production and catchiness. Many critics also noted similarities to works of early Madonna and Kylie Minogue, with the song being compared to several of the singers' songs. Lisa Haines of BBC Music stated that "the cheeky upstart charm Madonna sported in the 80s is embraced to shrewd effect on 'Serious'".[7] Jason Damas praised the track for being "a sure contender for future single release", further adding that "No Doubt fans who always secretly suspected that Stefani may someday move to become a Madonna-like dance diva will find their proof in this cut, which plagiarizes Kylie Minogue's "Fever" but makes the song even bigger and catchier".[8] Winnie McCroy of The Villager claimed that "'Serious' has staying power. Despite your best attempts to shake it, you will find yourself humming the chorus", later comparing the track to Madonna's 1992 single, "Erotica".[9]
Also in a highly positive review, Sal Cinquemani of Slant Magazine favored "Serious" for "flawlessly recreat[ing] the throwaway lyrics, vocal phrasing and background vocals, and synth sounds of the '80s".[10]
Music video
A music video was produced for the song, but the video was never officially released.[4] Stefani's long time collaborator, Sophie Muller, directed the music video during Gwen's first concert tour entitled Harajuku Lovers Tour.[11] The music video features Stefani and the Harajuku Girls dancing on various rooftops throughout Los Angeles. A minute long clip of the music video surfaced on YouTube on October 13, 2006.[12] No explanation was given for the video being unreleased, but it is likely because the track was never given a single release.[13]
Live performances
Stefani included the song on the setlist for her 2005 concert tour entitled Harajuku Lovers Tour. The track was performed as an encore with "Bubble Pop Electric" during the original setlist of the show, but was performed earlier in later shows as "Hollaback Girl" became the new encore.[13][14] In the performance, Stefani was carried out in a stretcher by the Harajuku Girls, dressed up as nurses.[15] The song was excluded from her 2006 world concert tour entitled The Sweet Escape Tour.[16]
Credits and personnel
- Management
- Recorded at Kingsbury Studios, Los Feliz, California
- Mixed at The Mix Suite, Olympic Studios, London, England
- Personnel
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Credits adapted from the liner notes of Love. Angel. Music. Baby.[17]
Notes
References
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- ↑ 13.0 13.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. Archived at Jam! on November 17, 2005.
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- ↑ Macias, Chris "Stefani's sweet escape to Sleep Train" Sacbee Retrieved on 2007-12-24
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