Big Girls Don't Cry (Fergie Song)
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"Big Girls Don't Cry" (also known as "Big Girls Don't Cry (Personal)") is a song by American singer-songwriter Fergie from her debut
studio album An album is a collection of audio recordings (e.g., music) issued on a medium such as compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl (record), audio tape (like 8-track cartridge, 8-track or Cassette tape, cassette), or digital distribution, dig ...
, '' The Dutchess'' (2006). It was written by Fergie and Toby Gad while the production was helmed by will.i.am. The song was released as the fourth single from the album on May 22, 2007. "Big Girls Don't Cry" deviates from the
hip hop Hip-hop or hip hop (originally disco rap) is a popular music genre that emerged in the early 1970s from the African-American community of New York City. The style is characterized by its synthesis of a wide range of musical techniques. Hip- ...
and urban music of Fergie's previous singles and opts for a more simplistic pop
ballad A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads were particularly characteristic of the popular poetry and song of Great Britain and Ireland from the Late Middle Ages until the 19th century. They were widely used across Eur ...
sound that incorporates acoustic elements. It features credits from about thirty instrumentalists, many of which play the
violin The violin, sometimes referred to as a fiddle, is a wooden chordophone, and is the smallest, and thus highest-pitched instrument (soprano) in regular use in the violin family. Smaller violin-type instruments exist, including the violino picc ...
s,
viola The viola ( , () ) is a string instrument of the violin family, and is usually bowed when played. Violas are slightly larger than violins, and have a lower and deeper sound. Since the 18th century, it has been the middle or alto voice of the ...
s and celli on the track. Lyrically, the song talks about moving on from the pain of a breakup. The critical reception of "Big Girls Don't Cry" was positive, with many praising the maturity and simplicity displayed on the single as well as the message. The song was a commercial success domestically, attaining the top position on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. It became her third single to do so and earned her the accolade of being the first female artist with three number-one singles from one album since
Christina Aguilera Christina María Aguilera ( , ; born December 18, 1980) is an American singer-songwriter, actress and television personality. Recognized as Cultural impact of Christina Aguilera, an influential figure in music and having received Public imag ...
in 2000. "Big Girls Don't Cry" also became Fergie's longest-charting and highest-selling single in the US with 3,833,000 units sold as of August 2012. The song also reached number one in eleven international territories, including Australia, where it spent nine weeks at the top position, became the highest-selling song of 2007, and was
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quintuple platinum. It was also the highest-selling song of 2007 in Brazil. The accompanying music video for the song was directed by Anthony Mandler and released in May 2007. It depicts Fergie and her love interest, portrayed by actor
Milo Ventimiglia Milo Anthony Ventimiglia ( ; born July 8, 1977) is an American actor. Making his screen acting debut on '' The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air'' in 1995, he portrayed the lead role on the short-lived series '' Opposite Sex'' in 2000 before landing his br ...
, in their turbulent relationship that ultimately ends with Fergie packing up her belongings and driving away in her car. The music video featured Fergie in apparel designed by Candie's and was used by the brand to promote their clothing line.


Background

"Big Girls Don't Cry" was written by Fergie (credited as Stacy Ferguson) and Toby Gad. The song was recorded at the Metropolis Recording Studio in London, England. will.i.am produced the song as well as playing the bass, supervising in programming the drums and engineering the song. In discussing the album with Clover Hope of ''
Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...
'', will.i.am described the production of this song to be his most challenging yet, saying that "I did an Edie Brickell type of production." He was aided by Neil Tucker and Tal Herzberg, who also provided additional editing with the use of
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technology. The song features a large number of instrumentalists on the song. On the basses are Trey Henry and Mike Valerio while Keith Harris plays the drums, keyboard bass and keys. George Pajon Jr. plays the guitar. "Big Girls Don't Cry" features eighteen violinists, four people on the violas, and four people on the celli. The strings were arranged and conducted by Ron Fair, who also produced the additional vocals on the song. They were recorded by Allen Sides at the Signet Sound. The song was mixed at Ocean Way Recordings in
Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywood ...
,
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, by Jack Joseph Puig and Dean Nelson.
A&M Records A&M Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group and functions as a branch of Interscope Geffen A&M Records, Interscope-Geffen-A&M. Established in 1962 by Herb Alpert and Jerry Moss, the label initially operated independent ...
, in association with will.i.am Music Group and
Interscope Records Interscope Records is an American record label based in Santa Monica, California, owned by Universal Music Group through its Interscope Geffen A&M imprint. Founded in late 1990 by Jimmy Iovine and Ted Field as a $20 million joint venture ...
, sent the song to contemporary hit radio on May 22, 2007, in the United States.


Composition

"Big Girls Don't Cry" has a length of 4 minutes and 28 seconds. It incorporates elements from different genres such as acoustic folk and is composed by simple drums, synthesizers, violins, strings, viola, and celli. The song is written in the key of
G major G major is a major scale based on G (musical note), G, with the pitches G, A (musical note), A, B (musical note), B, C (musical note), C, D (musical note), D, E (musical note), E, and F♯ (musical note), F. Its key signature has one sharp (music ...
and is set in
time signature A time signature (also known as meter signature, metre signature, and measure signature) is an indication in music notation that specifies how many note values of a particular type fit into each measure ( bar). The time signature indicates th ...
of common time with a moderate pop
tempo In musical terminology, tempo (Italian for 'time'; plural 'tempos', or from the Italian plural), measured in beats per minute, is the speed or pace of a given musical composition, composition, and is often also an indication of the composition ...
of 113
beats per minute Beat, beats, or beating may refer to: Common uses * Assault, inflicting physical harm or unwanted physical contact * Battery (crime), a criminal offense involving unlawful physical contact * Battery (tort), a civil wrong in common law of in ...
. Fergie's vocal range spans from the high-tone of C5 to the lower register of G3. The song has a basic sequence of G–Csus2–D5 as its
chord progression In a musical composition, a chord progression or harmonic progression (informally chord changes, used as a plural, or simply changes) is a succession of chords. Chord progressions are the foundation of harmony in Western musical tradition from ...
. The song is a
ballad A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads were particularly characteristic of the popular poetry and song of Great Britain and Ireland from the Late Middle Ages until the 19th century. They were widely used across Eur ...
about the end of a relationship and dealing with personal issues.


Critical reception

"Big Girls Don't Cry" received general acclaim. Spence D. of ''
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'' writes that the album's aura diminishes as "Big Girls Don't Cry" plays and comments "Listening to this song it begins to dawn on you that by this juncture the album has strategically delivered a song tailor made for each of the varying commercial radio formats." Mike Joseph of ''
PopMatters ''PopMatters'' is an international online magazine of cultural criticism that covers aspects of popular culture. ''PopMatters'' publishes reviews, interviews, and essays on cultural products and expressions in areas such as music, television, ...
'' praised the song for permitting her vocal ability to shine. Bill Lamb of ''
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'' rated the song four out of five stars, praising the mood, lyrics and vocals as "mellow, still sexy", "intelligent" and "strong". He noted however that there could be a moment in the song where it all catches fire. Lamb further added that the simple, gentle back lets the track unfolds on its own and that the song represents artistic growth on Fergie and will.i.am's part after time off from the Black Eyed Peas. Kelly Smith of '' The Maneater'' felt differently about the song, finding it disappointing and the lyrics. Alex MacGregor of ''UKMix.org'' compared the single to Gwen Stefani's " 4 in the Morning", stating that they both have a timeless, Cyndi Lauper feel to them; he gave a four-star rating to "Big Girls Don't Cry". James Simon of CHARTattack describes the song as having an "emotive acoustic sentimentalism," while Dan Gennoe compared it and "Voodoo Doll" to Pink's style of music, calling them "pure Pink!".


Chart performance

On May 5, 2007, "Big Girls Don't Cry" entered the ''
Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...
''
Hot 100 The ''Billboard'' Hot 100, also known as simply the Hot 100, is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), o ...
at number 41, becoming the week's highest debut, and the
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chart at number 21. In its sixth week on the chart, it entered the top 10 tier at number eight. The following week it moved up four places to number four. After 12 weeks of fluctuating in the top five, the song reached the summit of the Hot 100 on the week of September 8, 2007, replacing Sean Kingston's " Beautiful Girls". The song became Fergie's third number one single in the United States as a solo artist as well as the fourth top five single from ''The Dutchess'' album. The song earned her the accolade of being the first female artist to attain three number one US singles from an album since 2000, when
Christina Aguilera Christina María Aguilera ( , ; born December 18, 1980) is an American singer-songwriter, actress and television personality. Recognized as Cultural impact of Christina Aguilera, an influential figure in music and having received Public imag ...
did so with her third single, " Come On Over Baby (All I Want Is You)", from her eponymous debut album. The song also charted at number one on the Radio Songs chart, the Pop Songs chart and the
Adult Contemporary Adult contemporary music (AC) is a form of radio-played popular music, ranging from 1960s vocal and 1970s soft rock music to predominantly ballad-heavy music of the 1980s to the present day, with varying degrees of easy listening, pop, soul ...
chart. The song was certified platinum on December 6, 2007, by the
Recording Industry Association of America The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/o ...
(RIAA). Its digital download sales stand at 3,549,000, becoming her first single to surpass sales of three million downloads. "Big Girls Don't Cry" is Fergie's most downloaded song, ahead of " Fergalicious", " Glamorous", " Clumsy", and "
London Bridge The name "London Bridge" refers to several historic crossings that have spanned the River Thames between the City of London and Southwark in central London since Roman Britain, Roman times. The current crossing, which opened to traffic in 197 ...
". In Canada, the song debuted on the
Canadian Hot 100 The Canadian Hot 100 is a music industry record chart in Canada for songs, published weekly by ''Billboard (magazine), Billboard'' magazine. It was launched on the issue dated March 31, 2007 as the standard record chart in Canada; a new chart ...
at number 17 on the issue dated June 2, 2007. "Big Girls Don't Cry" entered the top five in its third week and reached number one in its seventh week on the chart. It logged three consecutive weeks at the summit and a total of 53 weeks on the chart. In Australia, "Big Girls Don't Cry" debuted and peaked at number one on the issue dated July 22, 2007. It ended Rihanna's six-week hold at the top position with "
Umbrella An umbrella or parasol is a folding canopy supported by wooden or metal ribs that is mounted on a wooden, metal, or plastic pole. It is usually designed to protect a person against rain. The term ''umbrella'' is traditionally used when protec ...
" and barred the song from entering the position for three weeks. The song logged nine weeks at the top position, from July 22 to September 16, 2007, and continued to chart for 32 weeks. It became her highest-charting single in the country as well as her longest-charting and highest-selling single there, beating out her previous single " Glamorous". The song was Australia's best-selling single of 2007 and has been certified double platinum by the
Australian Recording Industry Association The Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) is a trade association representing the Australian recording industry which was established in the 1970s by six major record companies, EMI, Festival Records (Australia), Festival, Sony Music ...
(ARIA) for sales of 140,000 units. On May 28, 2007, the song entered the chart in New Zealand at number 28. The song entered the top three in its fourth week on the chart. "Big Girls Don't Cry" reached number one on the issue dated July 23, 2007, and has been certified platinum by the
Recording Industry Association of New Zealand Recorded Music NZ (formerly the Recording Industry Association of New Zealand (RIANZ)) is a non-profit trade association of record producers, distributors and recording artists who sell recorded music in New Zealand. Membership of Recorded ...
(RIANZ) for sales of 15,000 units. It was the second highest-selling single of the year, only behind Rihanna's "Umbrella". The song also achieved chart success in the European market. "Big Girls Don't Cry" first entered the UK Singles Chart on June 17, 2007, at number 60. It quickly rose into the top 10 region and peaked at number two during its fifth week on the chart. The song reached number three in Switzerland in its 11th week and logged 34 weeks on the chart. In Sweden, the song entered the top 20 of the Singles chart on July 19, 2007, rising from number 54 the previous week. On August 23, 2007, the song peaked on the chart at number four and maintained that position for two non-consecutive weeks. It was later certified gold by the
International Federation of the Phonographic Industry The International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI) is the organisation that represents the interests of the recording industry worldwide. It is a non-profit members' organisation registered in Switzerland and founded in Italy in 1 ...
(Sweden). The song was also certified gold in Norway and reached the top position of the chart on the issue dated September 11, 2007, lasting three consecutive weeks at its peak position. The song has been ranked 115th by ''Billboard'' on its 600 most massive smashes over the chart's six decades.


Music video

The
music video A music video is a video that integrates a song or an album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing device intended to ...
was directed by Anthony Mandler and began production on March 30, 2007. The video had a 'First Look' on
MTV MTV (an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable television television channel, channel and the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group sub-division of the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. Launched on ...
's '' TRL'' on May 16, 2007, and peaked at #5 on May 24, 2007. The video topped VH1's Top 40 Videos of 2007 list.
Milo Ventimiglia Milo Anthony Ventimiglia ( ; born July 8, 1977) is an American actor. Making his screen acting debut on '' The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air'' in 1995, he portrayed the lead role on the short-lived series '' Opposite Sex'' in 2000 before landing his br ...
plays Fergie's love interest. The video begins with Fergie getting out of her car (a red 1969
Mustang The mustang is a free-roaming horse of the Western United States, descended from horses brought to the Americas by the Spanish conquistadors. Mustangs are often referred to as wild horses, but because they are descended from once-domesticate ...
fastback) and going inside a warehouse where she meets her band and practices. Meanwhile, she is seen singing next to her boyfriend, who is sleeping. She starts walking through the house, and is then watching herself and her boyfriend from a different point of view getting out of her car. They enter the house, and her boyfriend gets out a guitar and starts playing, while Fergie is singing. Later on, she sees her boyfriend out the window with several men, one of whom passes him a small package, which is presumably drugs, and it upsets her. Fergie then starts singing the chorus while she is taking her clothes off a clothes line and putting them into a suitcase. As the third verse begins, Fergie is walking around a warehouse singing while wearing a tan-gray baby doll dress. At the end of the song, she is seen getting into her car and driving down the road. There are other music videos for this song. The one described above is labeled as the "Personal" version; it is approximately five minutes in length and the song is played once. There is also the so-called "extended" version; it is approximately nine minutes in length and the song is played twice. It begins with Fergie driving to the warehouse, then uses flashbacks which include the plot scenes run in sequence. At the conclusion of this first playing of the song, Fergie has arrived at the warehouse and, with her band, the song is played again, this time with all of the warehouse scenes run in sequence.


Track listings

* US remix download single # "Big Girls Don't Cry (Personal)" (remix featuring Sean Kingston) – 3:53 * UK, European, and Australian CD single # "Big Girls Don't Cry" # "Pedestal" * European maxi-CD single # "Big Girls Don't Cry" – 4:28 # "Pedestal" – 3:23 # " Finally" (live) – 3:48 # "Big Girls Don't Cry" (video)


Credits and personnel

Credits adapted from the liner notes of ''The Dutchess''. Recording * Recorded at the Metropolis Recording Studio in London, England * Strings recorded at Signet Sound * Mixed Ocean Way Recordings in Hollywood, California Personnel * Songwriting –
Stacy Ferguson Stacy Ann Ferguson; born March 27, 1975), professionally known as Fergie, ( ) is an American singer, songwriter, rapper, actress, and businesswoman. After earning recognition as a child actor, child actress in the 1980s, Fergie achieved inter ...
, Toby Gad * Production – will.i.am * Bass and drum programming – will.i.am * Basses – Trey Henry, Mike Valerio * Drums, keyboard bass, keys – Keith Harris * String arrangement and conductor – Ron Fair * Violins – Bruce Dukov, Natalie Leggett, Charlie Bisharat, Sarah Thornblade, Julie Gigante, Josefina Vergara, Sid Page, Roberto Cani, Anatoly Rosinsky, Liane Mautner, Barbra Porter, Darius Campo, Helen Nigthengale, Tiffany Hu, Becky Bunnell, Shoshana Claman, Lisa Sutton, Armen Annasian * Violas – Brian Dembo, Matt Funes, Thomas Diener, Andrew Duckles * Celli – Cecilia Tsan, Larry Corbett, David Low, Suzie Katayma * Engineering – will.i.am, Neil Tucker, Tal Herzberg * Pro Tools – Tal Herzberg * Guitars – George Pajon Jr. * Mixing – Jack Joseph Puig, Dean Nelson (assistant)


Charts


Weekly charts


Year-end charts


Decade-end charts


All-time charts


Certifications and sales


Release history


See also

*
List of number-one singles of 2007 (Australia) The ARIA Charts, ARIA Singles Chart ranks the best-performing Single (music), singles in Australia. Its data, published by the Australian Recording Industry Association, is based collectively on each single's weekly CD single, physical and Dig ...
* List of number-one hits of 2007 (Austria) * List of Hot 100 number-one singles of 2007 (Canada) * List of number-one singles of 2007 (Ireland) * List of number-one singles from the 2000s (New Zealand) *
List of Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles of 2007 The Billboard Hot 100, ''Billboard'' Hot 100 is a chart that ranks the best-performing single (music), singles of the United States. Published by ''Billboard (magazine), Billboard'' magazine, the data are compiled by Nielsen SoundScan based col ...
* List of Billboard Mainstream Top 40 number-one songs of 2007 * List of Billboard Adult Contemporary number ones of 2007 * List of Romanian Top 100 number ones of the 2000s


References

{{Authority control 2000s ballads 2006 songs 2007 singles A&M Records singles Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles Canadian Hot 100 number-one singles Fergie (singer) songs Interscope Records singles Irish Singles Chart number-one singles Music videos directed by Anthony Mandler Number-one singles in Australia Number-one singles in Austria Number-one singles in New Zealand Number-one singles in Norway Number-one singles in Poland Number-one singles in Romania Number-one singles in Slovakia Pop ballads Song recordings produced by will.i.am Songs written by Fergie (singer) Songs written by Toby Gad Breakup songs