"When I Grow Up" is a 1998 song written, recorded and produced by

alternative rock Alternative rock, or alt-rock, is a category of rock music that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1970s and became widely popular in the 1990s. "Alternative" refers to the genre's distinction from Popular culture, mainstre ...

band

Garbage Garbage, trash, rubbish, or refuse is waste material that is discarded by humans, usually due to a perceived lack of utility. The term generally does not encompass bodily waste products, purely liquid or gaseous wastes, or toxic waste produc ...

. The song was released as the fourth international single to be taken from the band's

multi-platinum Music recording certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped, sold, or streamed a certain number of units. The threshold quantity varies by type (such as album, single, music video) and by nation or territory (see ...

second album '' Version 2.0'' over the course of the following year. "When I Grow Up" was the first split-single release in Europe for Garbage, in some countries, " The Trick Is to Keep Breathing" was released in its place. "When I Grow Up" proved to be a charting hit in both United Kingdom and Spain, before going on to become Garbage's most successful single release in Australia and New Zealand at that point in their career. In North America, "When I Grow Up" served as one of two singles (along with

Sheryl Crow Sheryl Suzanne Crow (born February 11, 1962) is an American musician, singer, songwriter and actress. Her music incorporates elements of rock, pop, country, folk, and blues. She has released eleven studio albums, five compilations and three li ...

cover version In popular music, a cover version, cover song, remake, revival, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording by a musician other than the original performer or composer of the song. Originally, it referred to a version of a song release ...

of "

Sweet Child o' Mine "Sweet Child o' Mine" is a song by American rock band Guns N' Roses. It appears on their debut album, ''Appetite for Destruction''. In the United States, the song was released in June 1988 as the album's third single, topping the ''Billboard'' ...

") released from the soundtrack of the

Adam Sandler Adam Richard Sandler (born September 9, 1966) is an American comedian, actor, screenwriter, producer and singer. He was a cast member on ''Saturday Night Live'' from 1990 to 1995, before going on to star in numerous Hollywood films, those of wh ...

comedy film '' Big Daddy''.

Composition

"When I Grow Up" was written and recorded at

Smart Studios Smart Studios was a recording studio located in Madison, Wisconsin. It was set up in 1983 by Butch Vig and Steve Marker to produce local bands. The studio produced bands such as Killdozer, The Smashing Pumpkins, L7, Tad, and Nirvana. After in ...

during the 1997 sessions for '' Version 2.0''. For the intro, the band routed a Nord synthesizer through a

guitar pedal An effects unit or effects pedal is an electronic device that alters the sound of a musical instrument or other audio source through audio signal processing. Common effects include distortion/overdrive, often used with electric guitar in ele ...

and distorted the sound in a 48-track

ProTools Pro Tools is a digital audio workstation (DAW) developed and released by Avid Technology (formerly Digidesign) for Microsoft Windows and macOS. It is used for music creation and production, sound for picture (sound design, audio post-productio ...

set up. Drummer

Butch Vig Bryan David "Butch" Vig (born August 2, 1955) is an American musician, songwriter, and record producer, best known as the drummer and co-producer of the alternative rock band Garbage and the producer of the diamond-selling Nirvana album ''Neve ...

used three different

snare drum The snare (or side drum) is a percussion instrument that produces a sharp staccato sound when the head is struck with a drum stick, due to the use of a series of stiff wires held under tension against the lower skin. Snare drums are often used ...

s, each hit consecutively and each processed (one through a

flanger Flanging is an audio effect produced by mixing two identical signals together, one signal delayed by a small and (usually) gradually changing period, usually smaller than 20 milliseconds. This produces a swept comb filter effect: peaks and not ...

, one

pitch shift Pitch shifting is a sound recording technique in which the original pitch of a sound is raised or lowered. Effects units that raise or lower pitch by a pre-designated musical interval ( transposition) are called pitch shifters. Pitch and ti ...

ed down and one gated), and made into a

loop Loop or LOOP may refer to: Brands and enterprises * Loop (mobile), a Bulgarian virtual network operator and co-founder of Loop Live * Loop, clothing, a company founded by Carlos Vasquez in the 1990s and worn by Digable Planets * Loop Mobile, an ...

and matched with the Nord for that opening sequence. The scratchy

vinyl record A phonograph record (also known as a gramophone record, especially in British English), or simply a record, is an analog sound storage medium in the form of a flat disc with an inscribed, modulated spiral groove. The groove usually starts nea ...

sound came from a

Victrola The Victor Talking Machine Company was an American recording company and phonograph manufacturer that operated independently from 1901 until 1929, when it was acquired by the Radio Corporation of America and subsequently operated as a subsidia ...

gramophone A phonograph, in its later forms also called a gramophone (as a trademark since 1887, as a generic name in the UK since 1910) or since the 1940s called a record player, or more recently a turntable, is a device for the mechanical and analogu ...

that belonged to

engineer Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who invent, design, analyze, build and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while considering the l ...

Billy Bush William Hall Bush (born October 13, 1971) is an American radio and television host. He is a member of the Bush family, a nephew of President George H. W. Bush and cousin of President George W. Bush and Florida governor Jeb Bush. After appearin ...

's grandfather. The percolating keyboard parts were created by programming some sounds on a Planet Phatt

synth module A sound module is an electronic musical instrument without a human-playable interface such as a piano-style musical keyboard. Sound modules have to be operated using an externally connected device, which is often a MIDI controller, of which th ...

and running them through a

guitar amp A guitar amplifier (or amp) is an electronic device or system that strengthens the electrical signal from a pickup on an electric guitar, bass guitar, or acoustic guitar so that it can produce sound through one or more loudspeakers, which a ...

, complemented by a harmonic guitar note with a filter pulse applied. All of Shirley's vocal, drum and bass parts (performed by the band's touring

bassist A bassist (also known as a bass player or bass guitarist) is a musician who plays a Bass (instrument), bass instrument such as a double bass (upright bass, contrabass, wood bass), bass guitar (electric bass, acoustic bass), synthbass, keyboar ...

Daniel Shulman Daniel Shulman (born 2 October 1966) is an American performer; playing bass guitar. Although he has made a significant contribution as a session musician, working with Run-DMC and Meredith Brooks, he is best known for his work with the Scottish ...

) were recorded to analogue "to get tape compression", while loops and sound effects were left in ProTools. A MicroLynx deck synchronizer was used to marry the analogue tape and

digital audio workstation A digital audio workstation (DAW) is an electronic device or application software used for Sound recording and reproduction, recording, editing and producing audio files. DAWs come in a wide variety of configurations from a single software pro ...

outputs, while the final mix was printed utilizing two

Studer Studer is a designer and manufacturer of professional audio equipment for recording studios and broadcasters. The company was founded in Zürich, Switzerland, in 1948 by Willi Studer. It initially became known in the 1950s for its professiona ...

2" tape machines. Guitarist

Steve Marker Steve Marker (born March 16, 1959) is an American musician, songwriter, and record producer, best known as a cofounder and guitarist of the alternative rock band Garbage. Early life Steven W. Marker was born in Mamaroneck, New York on Marc ...

credited Garbage front-woman

Shirley Manson Shirley Ann Manson (born 26 August 1966) is a Scottish musician and actress. She is best known as the lead singer of the American alternative rock band Garbage. Manson gained media attention for her forthright style, rebellious attitude, and di ...

for coming up with a lot of the "sunny-pop"

melodies A melody (from Greek language, Greek μελῳδία, ''melōidía'', "singing, chanting"), also tune, voice or line, is a Linearity#Music, linear succession of musical tones that the listener perceives as a single entity. In its most liter ...

on the song, explaining "that's something that we've always tried to do - have a dark lyric disguised by a happy pop melody. We like that sort of contradiction and juxtaposition." Lyrically, Manson described "When I Grow Up" as being about "that delirious state of wishing and hoping and dreaming for things, not giving up. There's a great quote by

Flaubert Gustave Flaubert ( , , ; 12 December 1821 – 8 May 1880) was a French novelist. Highly influential, he has been considered the leading exponent of literary realism in his country. According to the literary theorist Kornelije Kvas, "in Flauber ...

where he says, 'Sometimes the forces of the world hold us back for a while, but not for ever' ... ". Manson stated that despite the song dealing with growing up, it actually questions whether adulthood brings maturity ("Even though you're sussed and you're smart and you've worked it all out, you haven't even got the remotest inkling of what it's all about. And you can never hope to") and mocks those who feel that way; "I'm constantly patronised by people who think they're really mature and have their life in order and are really together. That's so small minded." "When I Grow Up" notably snuck the phrase "

golden shower Golden means made of, or relating to gold. Golden may also refer to: Places United Kingdom *Golden, in the parish of Probus, Cornwall *Golden Cap, Dorset *Golden Square, Soho, London *Golden Valley, a valley on the River Frome in Gloucestershir ...

(s)" onto daytime radio, of which Manson remained proud of afterwards: "It's our little

trojan horse The Trojan Horse was a wooden horse said to have been used by the Greeks during the Trojan War to enter the city of Troy and win the war. The Trojan Horse is not mentioned in Homer's ''Iliad'', with the poem ending before the war is concluded, ...

!" "When I Grow Up" was

remastered Remaster refers to changing the quality of the sound or of the image, or both, of previously created recordings, either audiophonic, cinematic, or videographic. The terms digital remastering and digitally remastered are also used. Mastering A ...

in 2007 for Garbage's

greatest hits A greatest hits album or best-of album is a type of compilation album that collects popular and commercially successful songs by a particular artist or band. While greatest hits albums are typically supported by the artist, they can also be crea ...

album ''

Absolute Garbage ''Absolute Garbage'' is a greatest hits album by American rock band Garbage. It was released worldwide on July 23, 2007 through Warner Music imprint A&E Records with a North American release through Almo Sounds, Geffen Records, and Universal Mus ...

'' and remastered from the original studio tapes in 2018 for ''Version 2.0 (20th Anniversary Deluxe Edition)''.

Single release

"When I Grow Up" was released to UK radio stations at the end of 1998 and was A-listed at Radio One,

Atlantic 252 Atlantic 252 was an Irish longwave radio station broadcasting across Ireland and Great Britain on 252 kHz (1190 metres) from its 1988 purpose-built transmission site at Clarkstown radio transmitter, County Meath, which provided service to Atlan ...

, XFM and GLR, B-listed at

Virgin Virginity is the state of a person who has never engaged in sexual intercourse. The term ''virgin'' originally only referred to sexually inexperienced women, but has evolved to encompass a range of definitions, as found in traditional, modern ...

and playlisted at a further sixty-eight regional radio stations.

KISS FM Kiss FM, Kiss Radio or variants may refer to: Asia-Oceania * Various Kiss FM-branded stations in the Philippines ** 95.1 Kiss FM, Lucena, Quezon ** 102.3 Kiss FM, Tagbilaran, Bohol * Kiss92 FM, Singapore * KISS 969, Sri Lanka * Kiss Radio Taiwan ...

also playlisted the Danny Tenaglia remix. The music video was placed on heavy rotation by both

MTV MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...

(who sponsored the upcoming tour) and The Box. Import copies of "When I Grow Up" from Europe were sold in a few UK record stores, leading the single to chart early at number 198 on the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

as the band's arena tour kicked off in Ireland and then routed into the United Kingdom. Supported by the tour and airplay for the single, ''Version 2.0'' climbed back into the top forty of the

UK Albums Chart The Official Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales and (from March 2015) audio streaming in the United Kingdom. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the Official Charts C ...

Mushroom Records Mushroom Records was an Australian flagship record label, founded in 1972 in Melbourne. It published and distributed many successful Australian artists and expanded internationally, until it was merged with Festival Records in 1998. Festival Mu ...

issued "When I Grow Up" on January 25 as a 2×CD single set and a

cassette single A cassette single (CS), also known by the trademark cassingle, or capitalised as the trademark Cassette Single, is a music single supplied in the form of a Compact Cassette. The cassette single was first introduced in 1980. History The debu ...

. The first CD and the cassette was backed with " Can't Seem to Make You Mine"; the CD also included the Danny Tenaglia remix. The second CD single included "Tornado" and the Rickedy Raw version of "Special". After a week on sale, "When I Grow Up" debuted at number 28 on the

Irish Singles Chart The Irish Singles Chart is the Republic of Ireland's music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by the Irish Recorded Music Association (IRMA) and compiled on their behalf by the Official Charts Company. Chart rankings are bas ...

, and debuted at number 9 on the UK Singles Chart. This was the band's fifth UK top ten hit. At the end of January, Garbage performed "When I Grow Up" on '' Friday Night's All Wright'', ''

Top of The Pops ''Top of the Pops'' (''TOTP'') is a British Record chart, music chart television programme, made by the BBC and originally broadcast weekly between 1January 1964 and 30 July 2006. The programme was the world's longest-running weekly music show ...

'' and ''

Pepsi Chart Show The Pepsi Chart (previously known as "The Pepsi Network Chart Show") was a networked Sunday afternoon Top 40 countdown on UK radio that started life on 1 August 1993 with Neil 'Doctor' Fox hosting the show live from the Capital Radio studios ...

'' The single received strong radio support and peaked at number 7 in Ireland and at number 17 on the UK airplay chart. On February 1, in the fourth of a series of

limited edition The terms special edition, limited edition, and variants such as deluxe edition, or collector's edition, are used as a marketing incentive for various kinds of products, originally published products related to the arts, such as books, prints, r ...

3" CD Garbage singles, this edition for "When I Grow Up", was issued. The same week, the resurgent ''Version 2.0'' album hit number 12. "When I Grow Up" ultimately spent seven weeks in the Top 75. At the start of January 1999, "When I Grow Up" was serviced to European radio, where it was one of the Most Added titles in its first week. In its third week at radio, "When I Grow Up" peaked at number 34 on the European airplay chart as it debuted at number 39 on the

European Hot 100 The European Hot 100 Singles was compiled by '' Billboard'' and '' Music & Media'' magazine from March 1984 until December 2010. The chart was based on national singles sales charts in 17 European countries: Austria, Belgium (two charts separately ...

. Buoyed by the release of the single, and tourdates, ''Version 2.0'' recharted and climbed to number 44 on the European Top 100 albums due to strong sales in Belgium, Denmark, Finland, Greece, Spain and Sweden. In February, "When I Grow Up" debuted at number 5 in Spain, peaking at four a week later. At the end of the month,

IFPI 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 19 ...

certified ''Version 2.0'' platinum for one million sales across Europe. Although "The Trick Is to Keep Breathing" was released instead in Germany, after the success of Garbage's

James Bond theme The "James Bond Theme" is the main signature theme music of the James Bond films and has featured in every Eon Productions#James Bond series, Eon Productions Bond film since ''Dr. No (film), Dr. No'', released in 1962. Composed by Monty Norman ...

The World Is Not Enough ''The World Is Not Enough'' is a 1999 spy film, the nineteenth in the ''James Bond'' series produced by Eon Productions and the third to star Pierce Brosnan as the fictional MI6 agent James Bond. It was directed by Michael Apted, from an ori ...

" in (where it reached number 38 on the single sales chart)

BMG BMG may refer to: Organizations * Music publishing companies: ** Bertelsmann Music Group, a 1987–2008 division of Bertelsmann that was purchased by Sony on October 1, 2008 *** Sony BMG, a 2004–2008 joint venture of Bertelsmann and Sony that wa ...

released "When I Grow Up" as the sixth single from ''Version 2.0'' on March 6, 2000. "When I Grow Up" was released in North America as Garbage were at the end of a two-month arena tour around the United States opening for

Alanis Morissette Alanis Nadine Morissette ( ; born June 1, 1974) is a Canadian-American singer, songwriter, and actress. Known for her emotive mezzo-soprano voice and confessional songwriting, Morissette began her career in Canada in the early 1990s with tw ...

. A month prior, the Danny Tenaglia remixes had reached

nightclub A nightclub (music club, discothèque, disco club, or simply club) is an entertainment venue during nighttime comprising a dance floor, lightshow, and a stage for live music or a disc jockey (DJ) who plays recorded music. Nightclubs gener ...

s around the country on import from Europe achieving Hot Dance Breakout status. "When I Grow Up" subsequently debuted on the

Hot Dance Music/Club Play Dance Club Songs is a chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine in the United States. It is a national look over of club disc jockeys to determine the most popular songs being played in nightclubs across the country. It was launched as th ...

chart at #47. By the end of March, third ''Version 2.0'' single "Special" was gaining traction at

Top 40 In the music industry, the Top 40 is the current, 40 most-popular songs in a particular genre. It is the best-selling or most frequently broadcast popular music. Record charts have traditionally consisted of a total of 40 songs. "Top 40" or " con ...

radio, and the song thereafter started climbing the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. On March 20, Garbage performed both "Special" and "When I Grow Up" on ''

Saturday Night Live ''Saturday Night Live'' (often abbreviated to ''SNL'') is an American late-night live television sketch comedy and variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC and Peacock. Michaels currently serves a ...

''.

Almo Sounds Almo Sounds was a record label which was started in 1994 by Herb Alpert and Jerry Moss after they sold A&M Records to PolyGram. The intent for the label was to recreate the initial concept of A&M Records as a small, "boutique" label. The label ...

serviced "When I Grow Up" to

radio in the United States on April 12. The song debuted at #40 a week after "Special" left the alternative charts. In May, "When I Grow Up" remixes reached number four on the Club Play chart; and by the first week of June, reached a high of 23 in its sixth week on the Modern Rock chart. In June 1999, "When I Grow Up" was

licensed A license (or licence) is an official permission or permit to do, use, or own something (as well as the document of that permission or permit). A license is granted by a party (licensor) to another party (licensee) as an element of an agreeme ...

to the soundtrack of the upcoming

-vehicle '' Big Daddy''. To help promote the movie release, Almo, in partnership with

Sony , commonly stylized as SONY, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. As a major technology company, it operates as one of the world's largest manufacturers of consumer and professional ...

C2 Records Columbia Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the North American division of Japanese conglomerate Sony. It was founded on January 15, 1889, evolving from the Amer ...

, serviced two new pop radio edits of "When I Grow Up" to Top 40 radio on June 15. A week later, as

Almo Almo may refer to: * Almo (god), a river deity from Roman mythology * Almo, the ancient name for the River Almone near Rome (whence the name of the above deity) *Almo, Idaho, a town in the United States *Almo, Kentucky, a town in the United States ...

released a

12" vinyl The twelve-inch single (often written as 12-inch or 12″) is a type of vinyl ( polyvinyl chloride or PVC) gramophone record that has wider groove spacing and shorter playing time with a 'single' or a few related sound tracks on each surfac ...

featuring the Danny Tenaglia mix of "When I Grow Up" and a

Brothers In Rhythm Brothers in Rhythm are a British electronic music group comprising Dave Seaman, Steve Anderson and Alan Bremner. The group was originally a duo comprising Seaman and Anderson, with Bremner joining later in 1999. They have remixed and/or produc ...

mix of "Special" to record stores, a new version of the music video featuring shots from the film premiered on MTV and

VH1 VH1 (originally an initialism of Video Hits One) is an American basic cable television network based in New York City and owned by Paramount Global. It was created by Warner-Amex Satellite Entertainment, at the time a division of Warner Commun ...

. ''Big Daddy'' opened in North America the weekend of June 25, and debuted at number 1 with a box office take of almost $42 million. After dropping for two weeks, "When I Grow Up" stabilized at number 24 for a fortnight before leaving the Modern Rock chart at the start of August. "When I Grow Up" had spent a total of fifteen weeks on the alternative charts and fourteen on the dance charts. "When I Grow Up" was released by Festival Mushroom in New Zealand in mid-July on CD (featuring "Can't Seem to Make You Mine", "Tornado" and the Danny Tenaglia remix) and cassette single (featuring only the remix). The single debuted on the

RIANZ Singles Chart 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 Mus ...

as the second-highest new entry at number 27 at the end of the month. "When I Grow Up" peaked at 24 two weeks later. The single stayed on the charts for seven weeks before recharting at number 42 at the end of September. ''Version 2.0'' charted in New Zealand for the first time since May on the RIANZ Album chart in mid-September, reaching 26, the same week that Version 2.0 tour reached the country. In Australia, Festival Mushroom launched a two-week national

advertising campaign An advertising campaign is a series of advertisement messages that share a single idea and theme which make up an integrated marketing communication (IMC). An IMC is a platform in which a group of people can group their ideas, beliefs, and conc ...

on Channel Ten to promote the single and the planned

album repackage (''Version 2.0 Special Live Edition'') which featured a

bonus disc An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early 20th century as individual 78 rpm records coll ...

of four tracks recorded live at the

Roskilde Festival The Roskilde Festival is a Danish music festival held annually south of Roskilde. It is one of the largest music festivals in Europe and the largest in the Nordic countries. It was created in 1971 by two high school students and a promoter. In 1 ...

. "When I Grow Up" was released by Festival Mushroom as a CD single on August 2, and debuted the following week as the second-highest new entry at number 22 on the

ARIA Charts The ARIA Charts are the main Australian music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling songs and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA became the offici ...

. The same week, ''Version 2.0'' re-entered the

ARIA Albums Chart The ARIA Charts are the main Australian music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling songs and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA became the offici ...

for the first time in a year. ''Big Daddy'' was released to cinemas across Australia on September 16, while Garbage visited the country to perform at

Brisbane Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the states and territories of Australia, Australian state of Queensland, and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a populati ...

's Livid Festival and co-headline a tour with Alanis Morissette the following month. On October 9, Garbage appeared on ''

Hey Hey It's Saturday ''Hey Hey It's Saturday'' was a long-running variety television program on Australian television. It initially ran for 28 years on the Nine Network from 9 October 1971 to 20 November 1999, with a recess in 1978. Its host throughout its entire ...

'' to perform the single. "When I Grow Up" moved back up the charts to number 25 by the end of the month, while the ''Version 2.0'' album surged up to number 8. "When I Grow Up" eventually dropped off the ARIA chart when Garbage released follow-up single "

You Look So Fine "You Look So Fine" is a single released in 1999, and was the final single taken from Garbage's second album '' Version 2.0'', where it was also the closing track. "You Look So Fine" closed either the main set or encore at every headlining show G ...

" on December 6. That single did not make the chart. "When I Grow Up" reappeared at 47 at the end of the month and charted for a final time in mid-January 2000, having clocked up a total of twenty-one weeks. "When I Grow Up" became Garbage's most successful single release in Australia at that point in their career.

Music video

The original "When I Grow Up" music video documented the frenzy of a ''Version 2.0'' tour concert.

director Director may refer to: Literature * ''Director'' (magazine), a British magazine * ''The Director'' (novel), a 1971 novel by Henry Denker * ''The Director'' (play), a 2000 play by Nancy Hasty Music * Director (band), an Irish rock band * ''Di ...

Sophie Muller Sophie Luise Elisabeth Muller (born 31 January 1962) is a British music video director who has directed more than 300 music videos. She won a Grammy Award for Annie Lennox's 1992 ''Diva'' video album, and an MTV Video Music Award for Lennox's son ...

shot footage over the course of four Garbage shows over November 17–21, 1998 in

Indianapolis Indianapolis (), colloquially known as Indy, is the state capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the seat of Marion County. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the consolidated population of Indianapolis and Marion ...

, Indiana,

St. Louis, Missouri St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi River, Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the Greater St. Louis, ...

Kansas City, Kansas Kansas City, abbreviated as "KCK", is the third-largest city in the U.S. state of Kansas, and the county seat of Wyandotte County. It is an inner suburb of the older and more populous Kansas City, Missouri, after which it is named. As of ...

, and

Madison, Wisconsin Madison is the county seat of Dane County and the capital city of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. As of the 2020 census the population was 269,840, making it the second-largest city in Wisconsin by population, after Milwaukee, and the 80th-lar ...

, during the band's North American tour. At all of the concerts, the band performed "When I Grow Up" twice, once in the main set and a second time as an encore, to provide enough footage for Muller to utilise. Footage for the music video for " The Trick Is to Keep Breathing" was also filmed by Muller on the same nights. Unlike the special effects-laden videos for their previous three singles, "When I Grow Up" was intended to focus on the performance side of the band. Both videos were ready to air by December 3, 1998, and was broadcast in support of the single releases in United Kingdom, Europe and Australia. A remastered version of the "When I Grow Up" video was included on Garbage's 2007

DVD ''

'' and later uploaded to the band's YouTube channel in 2018. A second music video was directed by Muller in London at the start of June 1999. It was filmed on a

stage set Set construction is the process undertaken by a construction manager to build full-scale scenery, as specified by a production designer or art director working in collaboration with the director of a production to create a set for a theatrica ...

backed by lighted replicas of the band's ''G'', ''Version 2.0'' globe and "When I Grow Up"

thought balloon Speech balloons (also speech bubbles, dialogue balloons, or word balloons) are a graphic convention used most commonly in comic books, comics, and cartoons to allow words (and much less often, pictures) to be understood as representing a char ...

logos. Three sequences within the video featured Manson performing choreographed dance moves with two

dancers Dance is a performing art form consisting of sequences of movement, either improvised or purposefully selected. This movement has aesthetic and often symbolic value. Dance can be categorized and described by its choreography, by its repertoire ...

. The second video was filmed to promote ''Big Daddy'' in North America; a second edit of the video also incorporated montage footage from the movie. The video premiered on MTV's ''

Total Request Live ''Total Request Live'' (known commonly as ''TRL'') was an American television program broadcast on MTV that premiered on September 14, 1998. TRL featured popular music videos played during its countdown, and was also used as a promotion tool by ...

'' and

on June 21, 1999. The edit of the "When I Grow Up" video that incorporated footage from the movie was included as a bonus feature on the 2000 ''Big Daddy'' DVD.

Alternate versions

For the single release "When I Grow Up" was remixed by

Danny Tenaglia Daniel "Danny" Tenaglia (born March 7, 1961) is an American DJ and record producer. He is a Grammy nominee for the best remixed recording (44th Annual Grammy Award). He is also a three time International Dance Music Award winner, 3 time DJ Awa ...

; he provided a full club remix and a dub version ("Golden Shower dub"), as well as a short vocal cut ("Shirlapella"). All three mixes were pressed to vinyl for club play in Europe, the full club mix and a radio edit were also serviced to North American DJs. In 2007, an edit of the club mix was included on the ''Garbage Mixes'' bonus disc of the ''Absolute Garbage (Special Edition)'' two-disc set. Both club and dub mixes were remastered and included on 2018's '' Version 2.0: The Official Remixes'' digital album. Garbage themselves produced a new single version, downplaying the guitar elements and with additional synth, for the North American Top 40 radio release. This mix was serviced in two forms; one ("Pop Mix Main") and the other ("Alt Pop Mix") replaced the lyrics "Happy hours, golden showers" with "Happy lovers, ache for hours" and "Unexpected, unprotected, damn the consequences" with "Unprotected, unexpected, fear the consequences" for radio play. This new version was remastered for ''Version 2.0: The Official Remixes'', however used the standard lyrics, and was cut a few bars longer, and included an extra lyric: "How'd you like it best, you'll let me know".

Critical reception

"When I Grow Up" experienced a mostly positive response from

music journalists Music journalism (or music criticism) is media criticism and reporting about music topics, including popular music, classical music, and traditional music. Journalists began writing about music in the eighteenth century, providing commentary on w ...

upon the impact of ''Version 2.0'' and again upon single release. Stephen Jones of ''

Music Week ''Music Week'' is a trade publication for the UK record industry distributed via a website and a monthly print magazine. It is published by Future. History Founded in 1959 as '' Record Retailer'', it relaunched on 18 March 1972 as ''Music W ...

'' posted a track-by-track review of ''Version 2.0'' as the album campaign launched, where he described "When I Grow Up" as "pure pop in a

Strawberry Switchblade Strawberry Switchblade were a Scottish new wave/ pop duo formed in Glasgow in 1981 by Jill Bryson and Rose McDowall, best known for their song "Since Yesterday" from 1985, and their flamboyant clothing with bows and polka-dots. History Before ...

vein", and adding that the song was his favourite track. Bradley Bamberger, in his album campaign launch write-up for ''

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 advertise ...

'', described the song as "a

disco Disco is a genre of dance music and a subculture that emerged in the 1970s from the United States' urban nightlife scene. Its sound is typified by four-on-the-floor beats, syncopated basslines, string sections, brass and horns, electric pia ...

-fied

girl group A girl group is a music act featuring several female singers who generally harmonize together. The term "girl group" is also used in a narrower sense in the United States to denote the wave of American female pop music singing groups, many of who ...

essay on teen angst the long-term benefits of a forward-minded attitude". ''

Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, and popular cul ...

s album reviewer compared the song's "breathy

refrain A refrain (from Vulgar Latin ''refringere'', "to repeat", and later from Old French ''refraindre'') is the line or lines that are repeated in music or in poetry — the "chorus" of a song. Poetic fixed forms that feature refrains include the vi ...

" to 70's/80's group Blondie, while Paul Brannigan also compared the song to Blondie ..._gone_Eurodisco".html" ;"title="Eurodisco.html" ;"title="... gone Eurodisco">... gone Eurodisco"">Eurodisco.html" ;"title="... gone Eurodisco">... gone Eurodisco"in his album review for ''Kerrang!''. In a review for ''Select (magazine), Select'', John Harris wrote that "When I Grow Up" was "one of the album's only real troughs", adding that the lyrical matter makes the song sound like "the kind of icky floss they play at the end of ''

California Dreams ''California Dreams'' is an American teen sitcom that aired on NBC. It was part of the network's Saturday morning block, TNBC, premiering on September 12, 1992. Created by writers Brett Dewey and Ronald B. Solomon, and executive produced by Pet ...

''. Tom Laskin, in his review for '' Goldmine'', noted Manson's "fluffy

Kim Wilde Kim Wilde (born Kim Smith, 18 November 1960) is an English pop singer, DJ and television presenter. She first saw success in 1981 with her debut single "Kids in America", which peaked at No. 2 in the UK. In 1983, she received the Brit Award f ...

delivery" wasn't very interesting, but that it fitted the "buoyant pop setting". In single reviews for ''Billboard'', Chuck Taylor wrote that the song was "edgier, more daring, and lots more fun than the average pop hit", and later described the "Pop Mix" as "an artful slice of bubblegum". Michael Paolettea wrote of the Danny Tenaglia remixes, "with a rubbery bassline, squiggly synth patterns and "

Plastic Dreams "Plastic Dreams" is the debut single by Dutch producer Jaydee, and is generally considered to be one of the classics of the house music genre (initially released on R&S Records). It was successful in European countries and also achieved success i ...

" inspired drum programming... the song now travels down a road less rocky, but no less energetic".

Track listings

*UK cassette ''Mushroom MUSH43MCS'' #"When I Grow Up" – 3:24 #"Can't Seem to Make You Mine" – 2:55 *UK CD1 ''Mushroom MUSH43CDS'' #"When I Grow Up" – 3:24 #"Can't Seem to Make You Mine" – 2:55 #"When I Grow Up" (Danny Tenaglia's Club mix) – 11:08 *UK CD2 ''Mushroom MUSH43CDSX'' #"When I Grow Up" – 3:24 #"Tornado" – 3:45 #"Special" (Rickidy Raw's R+B mix) – 3:25 *UK 3" CD ''Mushroom MUSH43CDSXXX'' #"When I Grow Up" – 3:24 #"Can't Seem to Make You Mine" – 2:55 #"Tornado" – 3:45 #"When I Grow Up" (Danny Tenaglia's Club mix) – 11:08 *American 12" single ''Almo Sounds AMS12-88007'' #"When I Grow Up" (Danny Tenaglia's Club mix) – 11:08 #"Special" (Brothers in Rhythm mix) – 7:24 #"When I Grow Up" (Danny Tenaglia's Club mix edit) – 4:00 *Australia CD maxi ''Festival MUSH01863.2'' *Europe CD maxi ''BMG 74321 63492 2'' #"When I Grow Up" – 3:24 #"Can't Seem to Make You Mine" – 2:55 #"Tornado" – 3:45 #"When I Grow Up" (Danny Tenaglia's Club mix) – 9:59 *Europe CD single ''BMG 74321 63493 2'' #"When I Grow Up" – 3:24 #"Can't Seem to Make You Mine" – 2:55

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Release history

References

External links

Garbage official website

"When I Grow Up" music video

US version

''Big Daddy'' version

"When I Grow Up" release discography
{{Authority control 1999 singles Garbage (band) songs Music videos directed by Sophie Muller Song recordings produced by Butch Vig 1998 songs Mushroom Records singles American power pop songs Songs written by Shirley Manson Songs written by Duke Erikson Songs written by Steve Marker Songs written by Butch Vig