Sexy! No No No

"Sexy! No No No..." is a song by British girl group Girls Aloud from their fourth studio album, '' Tangled Up'' (2007). In 2007, the group announced that they would release a new album, due in November of that year. In July 2007, it was announced that "Sexy! No No No...", due to be released in September, would be as the first single from ''Tangled Up'', with a radio premiere scheduled for 20 July. The track leaked a few hours prior to the premiere. "Sexy! No No No..." was written by Girls Aloud and Xenomania, and is an electropunk song that incorporates a sample of Nazareth's 1975 song "Hair of the Dog", for which they received a writing credit. Composed of three songs welded together, the song avoids the verse-chorus form present in most contemporary pop music, similar to their previous single "Biology" (2005).

"Sexy! No No No..." received generally favourable reviews from music critics, and peaked at number 5 on the UK Singles Chart, continuing the band's string of hits by becoming their fifteenth consecutive single to chart within the top ten. The song also peaked at number 11 on the Irish Singles Chart. The accompanying music video was directed by Trudy Bellinger, and features the group singing and dancing through pins and wires in black latex catsuits and red dresses. To promote the song, Girls Aloud performed "Sexy! No No No..." at '' Dance X'', ITV1 special ''Saturday Night Divas'' and T4 on the Beach. The track was also included in three of the group's concert tours, 2008's Tangled Up Tour, 2009's Out of Control Tour and 2013's Ten: The Hits Tour.

Background and release

In 2007, the group announced that they would release a new album in November of that year. The production and songwriting began with producer Brian Higgins meeting each member of the group individually, and discussing their life since the release of ''Chemistry'' (2005). Higgins took inspiration from these discussions in his songwriting, with bandmate Nicola Roberts explaining that "it's important he's up to date with where we are. Our songs have to reflect us so that's why we do it." "Sexy! No No No..." was then written by Girls Aloud with production team Xenomania. Roberts, Cheryl Cole, Sarah Harding and Kimberley Walsh recorded vocals for the song in London, England, while Nadine Coyle recorded her vocals in Los Angeles, California. In July 2007, Girls Aloud announced that they would release "Sexy! No No No...", as the first single from '' Tangled Up'', in September 2007. The radio premiere of the song was scheduled for the morning of 20 July 2007 on BBC Radio 1, however, it leaked in full online earlier the same day at 02:21 GMT. "Sexy! No No No..." was released for digital download on 31 August 2007, while it was also made available on two different CD single formats on 3 September 2007. The first disc included a live version of "Something Kinda Ooooh" (2006), recorded at the Bournemouth International Centre. The second CD format featured Tony Lamezma's "Yes Yes Yes" Mix of "Sexy! No No No..." and also a new track as a b-side, entitled "Dog Without a Bone". The b-side was originally written in 2006 in an attempt to come up with a lead single for the group's first compilation album, '' The Sound of Girls Aloud: The Greatest Hits'', however, "Something Kinda Ooooh" was released instead. "Dog Without a Bone" was Popjustice's song of the day on 20 August 2007.

Composition

"Sexy! No No No..." is an electropunk song, which consists of three songs welded together, according to journalist Peter Robinson: one with a samba rhythm, one with a sped-up sample and a breakbeat, and an intro from elsewhere. The track opens with Cole singing over a "spooky" instrumentation. Her vocals have been vocodered and she sings "Cause I've been sitting back, no chance of falling / Hoping that nothing ever blows, no no / Boy, did you ever think that loving would be / Nothing more than walking me home, no no". As the chorus begins, the song incorporates a sample from Scottish rock band Nazareth's 1975 track "Hair of the Dog", and the group starts singing, "Did you tell him? No no no / Give him kisses? No no no / Whisper honey? No no no / You're delicious? Hell no". John Murphy of musicOMH noted that "Sexy! No No No.." is not "structured like a proper pop song - there's no verse-chorus-verse". The instrumentation of "Sexy! No No No..." is composed of multi-layered guitar riffs and "euphoric woo woo-oo harmonies", while the song's structure follows as introduction, chorus, chorus, verse, bridge, chorus, middle eight, verse. A ''Newsround'' reviewer described the lyrical content, saying that Girls Aloud are "trying a different approach to getting the guy", in that "instead of being 'sexy', they've backed off."

Reception

Critical response

"Sexy! No No No..." received positive reviews from music critics. John Lucas of Allmusic described the "pounding electro-punk number" as "one of the most daring songs they've yet released," while a reviewer for ''Newsround'' deemed it "yet another sample of their perfect pop: bold, sassy, slightly loopy and unbelievably catchy." Fraser McAlpine of BBC
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