"Who's That Girl" is an up-tempo
electro R&B song performed by Australian singer-songwriter
Guy Sebastian
Guy Theodore Sebastian (born 26 October 1981) is an Australian singer and songwriter who was the winner of the first '' Australian Idol'' in 2003, judge on Australia's ''The X Factor'' from 2010 to 2012 and again from 2015 to 2016, and coach ...
which features American rapper
Eve
Eve (; ; ar, حَوَّاء, Ḥawwāʾ; el, Εὕα, Heúa; la, Eva, Heva; Syriac: romanized: ) is a figure in the Book of Genesis in the Hebrew Bible. According to the origin story, "Creation myths are symbolic stories describing how the ...
. It was written by Sebastian, with Eve writing and performing the rap. Sebastian co-produced the song with
Andre Harris
Andre "Dre" Harris is an American songwriter and record producer.
Biography
Born and raised in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Harris grew up in a city known for its contributions to Black American music, namely the sub-genre of Philly soul. De ...
.
[''Twenty Ten'' liner notes. Sony Music Entertainment, 2010] Released as a digital download on 5 November 2010, it was the only single released in Australia from Sebastian's
retrospective
A retrospective (from Latin ''retrospectare'', "look back"), generally, is a look back at events that took place, or works that were produced, in the past. As a noun, ''retrospective'' has specific meanings in medicine, software development, popu ...
album ''
Twenty Ten''.
[Who's That Girl Australia](_blank)
iTunes Australia. Archived fro
the original
on 28 January 2012. "Who's That Girl" reached number one on the
ARIA Singles 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 ...
, Sebastian's fifth of six number one singles in Australia and Eve's first. It was also Sebastian's seventh of 12 top ten singles on the Australian charts.
[Guy Sebastian in the Australian Charts](_blank)
ARIA Chart archives. Hung Medien. Archived fro
the original
on 21 January 2012.[Eve in the Australian Charts](_blank)
ARIA Chart archives. Hung Medien. Archived fro
the original
on 3 February 2012. It reached 5× platinum certification in 2014.
Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved 14 March 2014
"Who's That Girl" was shortlisted for the 2011
APRA APRA or Apra may refer to:
Places
*Apra, Punjab, a census town city in Jalandhar District of Punjab, India
* Apra Harbor, the main port of Guam
Acronyms
* American Popular Revolutionary Alliance (Alianza Popular Revolucionaria Americana), a Peruvi ...
Song of the Year and won the APRA Urban Work of the Year.
[Treuen, Jason (24 March 2011)]
APRA reveals Song of the Year contenders
The Music Network
''The Music Network'' is an Australian magazine launched in 1994 by John Woodruff. In 2017, it was acquired by Jake Challenor, who serves as its publisher and editor.
History
''The Music Network'' was founded by John Woodruff in 1994, initi ...
. Archived fro
the original
on 21 January 2012.[Kelton, Sam (22 June 2011)]
Our Guy, his girl crowned the best
''Adelaide Now''. Archived fro
the original
on 21 January 2012. Sebastian received
ARIA Award
The Australian Recording Industry Association Music Awards (commonly known informally as ARIA Music Awards, ARIA Awards, or simply the ARIAs) is an annual series of awards nights celebrating the Australian music industry, put on by the Austr ...
nominations for Single of the Year and Best Pop Release and won the Highest Selling Single ARIA. He was also nominated as "Most Popular Australian Artist".
[ARIA Award nominees announced for 2011](_blank)
thevine.com.au. 12 October 2011. Archived fro
the original
on 30 November 2012.
''The Sydney Morning Herald''. 27 November 2011. Archived fro
on 30 November 2012. "Who's That Girl" also reached number one and platinum certification in New Zealand, Sebastian's second number one single there.
[Guy Sebastian in the NZ charts](_blank)
RIANZ Charts archives. Hung Medien. Archived fro
the original
on 21 January 2012.[Latest Gold/Platinum Singles](_blank)
RadioScope New Zealand. Archived fro
the original
on 24 July 2011. Retrieved 15 January 2012.
Background
"Who's That Girl" was recorded in Australia and London.
[McCabe, Kathy (22 November 2010)]
One very suave Guy Sebastian
''The Daily Telegraph
''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a national British daily broadsheet newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed across the United Kingdom and internationally.
It was fo ...
''. Archived fro
the original
on 29 January 2012.
Sebastian stated in an interview that he recorded his own vocals at his home, "The funny thing about that single is that I did all the vocals in my dining room in Australia and we sent it across to
Andre Harris
Andre "Dre" Harris is an American songwriter and record producer.
Biography
Born and raised in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Harris grew up in a city known for its contributions to Black American music, namely the sub-genre of Philly soul. De ...
who did his thing on the track by adding his magic production touch." He also spoke about writing the song, "It's actually a completely original song that I kept going back to rewrite over and over again because, at first, the musician in me thought it was too simple in its structure... but then I realised that sometimes simplicity is the best way forward to keep things fun and hook-y." Sebastian told ''
The New Zealand Herald
''The New Zealand Herald'' is a daily newspaper published in Auckland, New Zealand, owned by New Zealand Media and Entertainment, and considered a newspaper of record for New Zealand. It has the largest newspaper circulation of all newspapers ...
'' that it was based on songs he was hearing on the radio from the likes of
David Guetta
Pierre David Guetta ( , ; born 7 November 1967) is a French DJ and music producer. He has over 10 million album and 65 million single sales globally, with more than 10 billion streams. In 2011, 2020 and 2021, Guetta was voted the number one D ...
, and
The Black Eyed Peas
Black Eyed Peas (also known as The Black Eyed Peas) is an American musical group consisting of rappers will.i.am, apl.de.ap, Taboo. The group's line-up during the height of their popularity in the 2000s featured Fergie, who replaced Kim Hil ...
. "I'm not reinventing the wheel, not at all. I had that melody, and I could have gone so many ways with it. I could have produced an old-school soul album, but I went towards what you hear on the radio. I'm not going to lie, I listen to what's popular at the moment, and it's what I'm really liking as well."
[Smith, Jacqueline (2 December 2010)]
It's a Guy Sebastian thing
''The New Zealand Herald
''The New Zealand Herald'' is a daily newspaper published in Auckland, New Zealand, owned by New Zealand Media and Entertainment, and considered a newspaper of record for New Zealand. It has the largest newspaper circulation of all newspapers ...
''. Archived fro
the original
on 2 February 2012.
Sebastian considered getting Eve on the song as quite a coup. He said she was on her way to London when she opened the email with the song attached and responded immediately, saying she would love to be involved.
Eve said in an interview with
Nova FM while she was in Australia to film the video, "I got an email, and when I heard it I was like 'hot song. Ok lets do it'. When asked if she did any research on Sebastian before agreeing to do the song she said "No. This is the thing. I don't really get into that. Like as an artist. It's more about the music, and if the song is hot, I'll deal with it. And I was like 'Ok, I'll do this song'."
Release and promotion
"Who's That Girl" was serviced to Australian radio stations on 5 November 2010. It was initially scheduled for radio release four days earlier, but had to be delayed due to last minute tinkering of the song. It was the most added song to radio in its second week and peaked at 13 in national radio airplay. Sebastian and Eve performed "Who's That Girl" on the grand final episode of ''
The X Factor
''The X Factor'' is a television music competition franchise created by British producer Simon Cowell and his company Syco Entertainment. It originated in the United Kingdom, where it was devised as a replacement for ''Pop Idol'' (2001–2003 ...
'' in November 2010, which aired in both Australia and New Zealand. This was the only time Sebastian and Eve performed the song together on stage. Since then either his current backing vocalist Carmen Smith performs the rap or he performs it himself. In the week following ''The X Factor'' final Sebastian visited
Auckland
Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The List of New Zealand urban areas by population, most populous urban area in the country and the List of cities in Oceania by po ...
New Zealand to promote the single and album with an instore appearance and media interviews.
"Who's That Girl" was used by
Channel 7 throughout December 2010 and January 2011 in commercials promoting the new season of
Desperate Housewives
''Desperate Housewives'' is an American comedy-drama soap opera television series created by Marc Cherry and produced by ABC Studios and Marc Cherry, Cherry Productions. It aired for eight seasons on American Broadcasting Company, ABC from Octobe ...
. In December 2010 Sebastian performed at a private event to welcome
Oprah Winfrey
Oprah Gail Winfrey (; born Orpah Gail Winfrey; January 29, 1954), or simply Oprah, is an American talk show host, television producer, actress, author, and philanthropist. She is best known for her talk show, ''The Oprah Winfrey Show'', br ...
to
Sydney
Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...
during her trip to Australia. Footage of him singing "Who's That Girl" with Winfrey in the front row of the audience was shown during ''Oprah! The Interview'' which screened on
Channel Ten on 14 December. Sebastian sang "Who's That Girl" during
Channel Nine's ''
Today
Today (archaically to-day) may refer to:
* Day of the present, the time that is perceived directly, often called ''now''
* Current era, present
* The current calendar date
Arts, entertainment, and media Films
* ''Today'' (1930 film), a 1930 A ...
'' at
Suncorp Stadium
Lang Park, also known as Brisbane Football Stadium, by the sponsored name Suncorp Stadium, and nicknamed: 'The Cauldron', is a multi-purpose stadium in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia, located in the suburb of Milton. The current facility co ...
in
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 ...
on Australia Day 2011. On the first live show of the 2011 season of ''The X Factor'' in September the judges performed a medley of their hits. Sebastian sang "Who's That Girl". In November he performed at the annual ARIA Awards for the second year in succession. He sang a medley of "Who's That Girl" and his following single "
Don't Worry Be Happy
"Don't Worry, Be Happy" is a 1988 song by American musician Bobby McFerrin, released as the first single from his fourth album, '' Simple Pleasures'' (1988). It was the first '' a cappella'' song to reach number-one on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 ...
".
Reception
Critical response
''
The Daily Telegraph
''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a national British daily broadsheet newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed across the United Kingdom and internationally.
It was fo ...
'' music editor Kathy McCabe wrote, "This one has one of those choruses which will be on a continuous loop in your head all day.
...But this isn't one of those throw away tracks artists stick on a best-of album; not only has it reached the upper echelon of the Australian charts but it has a good shot at breaking him overseas." In a review of ''Twenty Ten'' Jamie Horne of ''
The Border Mail
''The Border Mail'' is a daily newspaper and online news brand published in Albury-Wodonga, Australia, serving the twin cities and the surrounding region. It was originally published as ''The Border Morning Mail and Riverina Times'' and later a ...
'' said, "the dancefloor-ready "Who's That Girl" with US rapper Eve should make it clear that the former 'Fro' is not that uncool after all". Chris Havercroft from X-Press Magazine wrote, "It is the dancefloor where Sebastian does his most damage and when teaming up with rapper Eve for new single Who's That Girl he shows his knack for targeting his audience".
Commercial performance
"Who's That Girl" debuted on the
ARIA Singles 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 ...
at number 11, and reached number one in its fifth week, Sebastian's fifth of six number one singles in Australia and Eve's first.
[Who's That Girl on the Australian Charts](_blank)
ARIA Chart archives. Hung Medien. Archived fro
the original
on 2 February 2012. Sebastian is currently the only Australian male artist in Australian music history to achieve six number one singles, and he is third overall for all Australian acts. Only
Kylie Minogue
Kylie Ann Minogue (; born 28 May 1968) is an Australian singer, songwriter and actress. She is the highest-selling female Australian artist of all time, having sold over 80 million records worldwide. She has been recognised for reinve ...
and
Delta Goodrem
Delta Lea Goodrem AM (born November 9, 1984) is an Australian singer, songwriter, and actress. Goodrem signed to Sony Music at the age of 15. Her debut album, '' Innocent Eyes'' (2003), topped the ARIA Albums Chart for 29 non-consecutive week ...
have achieved more. It was also Sebastian's seventh of 12 top ten singles in Australia. "Who's That Girl" spent ten weeks in the ARIA top ten, including two non-consecutive weeks at number one. It stayed in the ARIA Top 50 for 19 weeks, spending 37 weeks in total in the ARIA Top 100.
"Who's That Girl" became the second highest selling Australian artist single of 2010 within six weeks of release, and was also the fifth highest selling Australian artist song in 2011.
[Top 50 Australian Artist Singles 2010](_blank)
Australian Recording Industry Association. Archived fro
on 31 January 2012.
Australian Recording Industry Association. Archived fro
on 2 February 2012. It reached 5× platinum certification in September 2014.
"Who's That Girl" won the Highest Selling Single ARIA and Sebastian was nominated as "Most Popular Australian Artist" in the 2011
ARIA Music Awards
The Australian Recording Industry Association Music Awards (commonly known informally as ARIA Music Awards, ARIA Awards, or simply the ARIAs) is an annual series of awards nights celebrating the Australian music industry, put on by the Austr ...
.
"Who's That Girl" debuted at number 16 on the
New Zealand Singles Chart
The Official New Zealand Music Chart ( mi, Te Papa Tātai Waiata Matua o Aotearoa) is the weekly New Zealand top 40 singles and albums charts, issued weekly by Recorded Music NZ (formerly Recording Industry Association of New Zealand). The Music ...
, and reached number one in its eleventh week. It was Sebastian's fourth New Zealand top 10 single and second number one there.
It received platinum certification from 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 Mus ...
(RIANZ).
Accolades
"Who's That Girl" was shortlisted for the
APRA APRA or Apra may refer to:
Places
*Apra, Punjab, a census town city in Jalandhar District of Punjab, India
* Apra Harbor, the main port of Guam
Acronyms
* American Popular Revolutionary Alliance (Alianza Popular Revolucionaria Americana), a Peruvi ...
Song of the Year in 2011, Sebastian's third song to be shortlisted for this award, and it was awarded the APRA Urban Work of the Year.
It also received industry voted 2011 ARIA Award nominations for Single of the Year and Best Pop Release.
Music video
The music video for "Who's That Girl" was shot at the
Paddington Town Hall
The Paddington Town Hall is a heritage-listed former town hall building located at 249 Oxford Street in the inner eastern Sydney suburb of Paddington, in the City of Sydney local government area of New South Wales, Australia. Sir Henry Parkes la ...
in
Sydney
Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...
. Eve came to Australia in mid November to film the video with Sebastian.
It premiered on
YouTube
YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...
on 26 November 2010. The simple, uncluttered video shows Sebastian singing about seeing the mystery girl in a dance club, with his mental images of her projected onto the walls. Eve makes a cameo appearance for the rap part of the track.
Track listing
*Digital download
#"Who's That Girl" (featuring Eve) – 3:39
*Indonesian CD single
Guy Sebastian Feat. Cinta Laura - Who's That Girl
Musicstore.kapanlagi.com. Archived fro
the original
on 2 February 2012.
#"Who's That Girl" (featuring Cinta Laura) – 3:41
;Other versions
* No Rap Version
* 7th Heaven Club Mix
* 7th Heaven Radio Edit
* Club Junkies Club Mix
Credits and personnel
*Writers
A writer is a person who uses written words in different writing styles and techniques to communicate ideas. Writers produce different forms of literary art and creative writing such as novels, short stories, books, poetry, travelogues, plays ...
– Guy Sebastian (song lyrics
Lyrics are words that make up a song, usually consisting of verses and choruses. The writer of lyrics is a lyricist. The words to an extended musical composition such as an opera are, however, usually known as a "libretto" and their writer, a ...
and music
Music is generally defined as the art of arranging sound to create some combination of form, harmony, melody, rhythm or otherwise expressive content. Exact definitions of music vary considerably around the world, though it is an aspect ...
), Eve
Eve (; ; ar, حَوَّاء, Ḥawwāʾ; el, Εὕα, Heúa; la, Eva, Heva; Syriac: romanized: ) is a figure in the Book of Genesis in the Hebrew Bible. According to the origin story, "Creation myths are symbolic stories describing how the ...
(rap
Rapping (also rhyming, spitting, emceeing or MCing) is a musical form of vocal delivery that incorporates "rhyme, rhythmic speech, and street vernacular". It is performed or chanted, usually over a backing beat or musical accompaniment. The ...
)
*Lead vocals
The lead vocalist in popular music is typically the member of a group or band whose voice is the most prominent melody in a performance where multiple voices may be heard. The lead singer sets their voice against the accompaniment parts of t ...
– Guy Sebastian
* Featured rap – Eve
Eve (; ; ar, حَوَّاء, Ḥawwāʾ; el, Εὕα, Heúa; la, Eva, Heva; Syriac: romanized: ) is a figure in the Book of Genesis in the Hebrew Bible. According to the origin story, "Creation myths are symbolic stories describing how the ...
*Production
Production may refer to:
Economics and business
* Production (economics)
* Production, the act of manufacturing goods
* Production, in the outline of industrial organization, the act of making products (goods and services)
* Production as a stati ...
– Andre Harris
Andre "Dre" Harris is an American songwriter and record producer.
Biography
Born and raised in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Harris grew up in a city known for its contributions to Black American music, namely the sub-genre of Philly soul. De ...
, Guy Sebastian
Credits are taken from ''Twenty Ten'' album liner notes
Charts
Weekly charts
Year-end charts
Certifications
Release history
See also
* List of number-one singles in Australia in 2010
* List of number-one singles in Australia in 2011
The ARIA Singles Chart ranks the best-performing singles in Australia. Its data, published by the Australian Recording Industry Association, is based collectively on each single's weekly physical and digital sales. In 2011, thirteen singles cl ...
* List of top 10 singles in 2010 (Australia)
This is a list of singles that charted in the top ten of the ARIA Charts in 2010.
Top-ten singles
;Key
2009 peaks
2011 peaks
Entries by artist
The following table shows artists who achieved two or more top 10 entries in 2010, in ...
* List of top 10 singles in 2011 (Australia)
This is a list of singles that charted in the top ten of the ARIA Charts in 2011.
Top-ten singles
;Key
2010 peaks
2012 peaks
Entries by artist
The following table shows artists who achieved two or more top 10 entries in 2011, inc ...
*
* List of best-selling singles in Australia
This is a list of highest-certified singles in Australia according to the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA). Since 1983, ARIA certifies a single Platinum for shipment of 70,000 copies across Australia. Single figures can include "qu ...
* List of number-one singles from the 2010s (New Zealand)
This is the Recorded Music NZ list of number-one singles in New Zealand during the 2010s decade, starting from Monday 4 January 2010. From 7 November 2014, the chart also included data from audio on demand streaming services.
Chart
Key
: – Nu ...
References
{{Eve
2010 singles
2010 songs
APRA Award winners
ARIA Award-winning songs
Eve (rapper) songs
Guy Sebastian songs
Number-one singles in Australia
Number-one singles in New Zealand
Songs written by Guy Sebastian
Songs written by Eve (rapper)
Sony Music Australia singles