"Modern Girl" is the debut single by Scottish pop singer Sheena Easton. The song was originally released in February 1980, reaching #56 in the UK charts, before being re-released to top ten success in August of the same year. The song would also go on to reach the US top 20, when it was released in 1981 as her second single, following the #1 hit "

Morning Train (9 to 5) "9 to 5" (or "Morning Train") is a popular song written by British songwriter Florrie Palmer and recorded by Scottish singer Sheena Easton in 1980, becoming her biggest hit. It peaked at number three in the United Kingdom in August 1980 and was ...

Background

Exposure on the

BBC television BBC Television is a service of the BBC. The corporation has operated a public broadcast television service in the United Kingdom, under the terms of a royal charter, since 1927. It produced television programmes from its own studios from 193 ...

production '' The Big Time'' not only resulted in a record deal with

EMI EMI Group Limited (originally an initialism for Electric and Musical Industries, also referred to as EMI Records Ltd. or simply EMI) was a British transnational conglomerate founded in March 1931 in London. At the time of its break-up in 201 ...

, but also pushed Easton's 1980 debut singles, "Modern Girl" and "

9 to 5 Working(laboring) time is the period of time that a person spends at paid Wage labour, labor. Unpaid work, Unpaid labor such as personal housework or caring for children or pets is not considered part of the working week. Many countries regula ...

," into the UK top ten. Her debut LP, ''

Take My Time ''Take My Time'' is the debut album by UK pop singer Sheena Easton. Released in January 1981, the album reached #17 in the UK and earned her a Gold Disc. Two months later, a ten track version of the album was released in the USA and Canada as ''S ...

'', followed in January 1981. In the US, "9 to 5" was released in February 1981 under the title "Morning Train", to avoid confusion with

Dolly Parton Dolly Rebecca Parton (born January 19, 1946) is an American singer-songwriter, actress, philanthropist, and businesswoman, known primarily for her work in country music. After achieving success as a songwriter for others, Parton made her album d ...

's recent hit of the same name; regardless, the single topped the U.S. pop charts. "Modern Girl" was then released as the second US single in May and peaked at #18 in July. In 1997 Easton re-recorded this song for her album ''

Freedom Freedom is understood as either having the ability to act or change without constraint or to possess the power and resources to fulfill one's purposes unhindered. Freedom is often associated with liberty and autonomy in the sense of "giving on ...

'' for the Japanese market and released it as the first single. Freedom at Allmusic/ref>

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Cover versions

Mona Carita recorded "Modern Girl" in Finnish as "Nykyaikainen" as the title cut for her 1981 album. "Modern Girl" was covered by Japanese pop group Sonia on their 1995 album, ''Tenchi Muyo!''. This version used the chorus and the first verse, but changed the second and third verses to Japanese lyrics. "Modern Girl" was covered by the UK's Camera Obscura for the Q Magazine disc, ''Q Covered the Eighties'' in 2005.

Uses in media

"Modern Girl" is included in the arcade game '' Dance Dance Revolution SuperNova'' worldwide, and in that game's PlayStation 2 version in Japan. In the arcade sequel, ''Dance Dance Revolution SuperNova 2'', it is the default song in Beginner mode. "Modern Girl" makes a final arcade appearance in ''

Dance Dance Revolution X ''Dance Dance Revolution X'' is a music video game developed by Konami. A part of the ''Dance Dance Revolution'' series, it was announced in 2008 for Japan and on May 15, 2008 for the North American PlayStation 2. The arcade version was announced ...

'' before being removed from the series. "Modern Girl" was used in the 2015

KFC KFC (Kentucky Fried Chicken) is an American fast food restaurant chain headquartered in Louisville, Kentucky, that specializes in fried chicken. It is the world's second-largest restaurant chain (as measured by sales) after McDonald's, with 2 ...

(Kentucky Fried Chicken) new Rice box campaign commercials in the UK.

References

{{authority control 1980 debut singles Sheena Easton songs Songs written by Frank Musker Song recordings produced by Christopher Neil 1980 songs EMI Records singles Songs with feminist themes Songs written by Dominic Bugatti