''Songs About Girls'' is the third

studio album 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 c ...

by American singer will.i.am, known from his work with

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 (rapper), Taboo. The group's line-up during the height of their popularity in the 2000s featured Fergie (singer ...

. The original title of the album was ''Keep the Beeper''. The album was released on September 19, 2007. The first single released from the album was a club track titled " I Got It from My Mama" which debuted on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 at #93 on August 17, 2007. will.i.am enlisted guest appearances from

Cheryl Cheryl is a female given name common in English speaking countries. There are several prevailing theories about its etymology. The most common is that it has Italo-Celtic roots and is an Anglicised version of either the French name Cherie (from L ...

and

Snoop Dogg Calvin Cordozar Broadus Jr. (born October 20, 1971), known professionally as Snoop Dogg (previously Snoop Doggy Dogg and briefly Snoop Lion), is an American rapper. His fame dates back to 1992 when he featured on Dr. Dre's debut solo single, " ...

. The album was recorded by Pardraic Kerin and will.i.am, and mixed by

Dylan Dresdow Dylan Dresdow aka "3-D", is an audio mixer. He has mixed songs for such artists as Prince, Michael Jackson, Madonna, Usher, Black Eyed Peas, Nas, Afrojack, Talib Kweli, Britney Spears, Ice Cube, Redman, The Wu Tang Clan, Bone Thugs-n-Harmony, ...

Background

The album has been described by will.i.am as semi-autobiographical conceptual album "where all the songs could tell a story of falling in love, falling out of love, trying to get back in love, destructing love and destroying love and then starting a new situation. That journey is what makes this unique." The album is partially based on a seven-year relationship that will.i.am experienced and the infidelities and the break-up of that relationship. According to will.i.am's video on MySpace TV, he considers ''Songs About Girls'' to be his debut album, with his first two being production compilations.

Collaborations

will.i.am revealed on the Canadian

MTV e2 ''MTV e2'' was a Canadian entertainment news program that aired on MTV and A; hosted by Anna Cyzon; produced at the Masonic Temple in downtown Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a re ...

show that the album would feature collaborations with:

Slick Rick Richard Martin Lloyd Walters (born January 14, 1965), better known as Slick Rick, is an English-American rapper and record producer. He rose to prominence with Doug E. Fresh & the Get Fresh Crew in the mid-1980s. Their songs " The Show" and " ...

Ice Cube An ice cube is a small piece of ice, which is typically rectangular as viewed from above and trapezoidal as viewed from the side. Ice cubes are products of mechanical refrigeration and are usually produced to cool beverages. They may be p ...

, Q-Tip,

Common Common may refer to: Places * Common, a townland in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland * Boston Common, a central public park in Boston, Massachusetts * Cambridge Common, common land area in Cambridge, Massachusetts * Clapham Common, originally ...

Too Short Todd Anthony Shaw (born April 28, 1966), better known by the stage name Too Short (stylized as Too $hort), is an American rapper and record producer. He became famous in the West Coast hip hop scene in the late 1980s, with lyrics often based on ...

Busta Rhymes Trevor George Smith Jr. (born May 20, 1972), known professionally as Busta Rhymes, is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer and actor. Chuck D of Public Enemy gave him the moniker Busta Rhymes, after NFL and CFL wide receiver ...

and

Ludacris Christopher Brian Bridges (born September 11, 1977), known professionally as Ludacris (, homophonous with 'ludicrous' in American English), is an American rapper, actor, record producer and record executive. Born in Champaign, Illinois, Ludac ...

. Unfortunately, the only collaboration that made the final cut is the Snoop Dogg collaboration. Kat Graham sings in "I Got It from My Mama", "One More Chance" and "The Donque Song" but she is not credited. will.i.am also recorded a song with American R&B singer

Justin Timberlake Justin Randall Timberlake (born January 31, 1981) is an American singer, songwriter, and actor. He is one of the world's best-selling music artists, with sales of over 88 million records. Timberlake is the recipient of numerous awards and ac ...

on a song called: "Going Crazy" - though never made the final album cut.

Album release

In September 2006, will.i.am became the head of marketing of the online music distribution company Musicane. Musicane allows artists to directly sell their songs to the public without a record company overseeing the distribution of the album. will.i.am has stated that he intends for ''Songs About Girls'' to be an infinitely expandable collection of songs that are distributed through Musicane and other online music services. According to will.i.am; "If I have an album filled with songs about girls, what happens if tomorrow I write another song about a girl?", he explains. "So something that started off just with 15 songs, in the next ten years could have 100 songs. Having 12 songs on a record? That day is done". Despite Will's success with

and as a producer for numerous other artists, the album was not a commercial success. It debuted at #38 on the ''Billboard'' 200 with sales of just 21,000 copies according to

Nielsen SoundScan Luminate (formerly Nielsen SoundScan, Nielsen Music Products, and MRC Data) is a provider of music sales data. Established by Mike Fine and Mike Shalett in 1991, data is collected weekly and made available every Sunday (for albums sales) and eve ...

.Katie Hasty
"Rascal Flatts Races To No. 1 In Debut-Heavy Week"
Billboard.com, October 3, 2007 This was significantly less than The Black Eyed Peas' ''

Elephunk ''Elephunk'' is the third studio album by the American musical group Black Eyed Peas. It was released on June 24, 2003, by the will.i.am Music Group and A&M Records. The album charted at number 14 on the American ''Billboard'' 200 albums chart an ...

'' (#14) and '' Monkey Business'' (#2) and also Fergie's solo effort '' The Dutchess'' (#2). The album leaked to the Internet on September 19, 2007. The album debuted on the Australian

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 ...

on October 1, 2007 at number 58 with sales of 870 copies. Cashmere, Paul, (October 1, 2007)
"Foo Fighters Slaughter Competition for Number 1 Spot"
. Undercover Media Pty Ltd. Retrieved November 16, 2007. The album was released on

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest ...

on October 5, 2007. The album went Gold in Poland three days before its release. "Dynamite Interlude" has no writing or production credits.

Track listing

All songs produced by will.i.am, except where noted. ;Samples credits: * "Over" samples " It's Over" by

Electric Light Orchestra The Electric Light Orchestra (ELO) are an English rock band formed in Birmingham in 1970 by songwriters and multi-instrumentalists Jeff Lynne and Roy Wood with drummer Bev Bevan. Their music is characterised by a fusion of pop, classical ...

and it samples a break from T-Ski Valley's 1981 rap classic "Catch the Beat". * "Get Your Money" samples "Body Language" by M.A.N.D.Y. and

Booka Shade Booka Shade is a German house duo. It is made up of Walter Merziger and Arno Kammermeier, described as veterans of the Frankfurt electronic music scene. They have released 7 studio albums including Memento (2004) Movements (2006), The Sun & The ...

* "Impatient" samples " Love Foolosophy" by

Jamiroquai Jamiroquai () are an English funk and acid jazz band from London. Formed in 1992, they are fronted by vocalist Jay Kay, and were prominent in the London-based funk and acid jazz movement of the 1990s. They built on their acid jazz sound in th ...

* "Fantastic" samples the guitar hook played by

David T. Walker David T. Walker (born June 25, 1941) is an American guitarist, born in Tulsa, Oklahoma. In addition to numerous session musician duties since the early 1970s, Walker has issued fifteen albums in his own name. Career David T. Walker was born to ...

in "

I Want You Back "I Want You Back" is the first national single by the Jackson 5. It was released by Motown on October 6, 1969, and became the first number-one hit for the band on January 31, 1970. It was performed on the band's first television appearances, on ...

" by the

Jackson 5 The Jackson 5 (sometimes stylized as the Jackson 5ive, also known as the Jacksons) are an American pop band composed of members of the Jackson family. The group was founded in 1964 in Gary, Indiana, and for most o ...

* "S.O.S. (Mother Nature)" samples

Steve Gadd Stephen Kendall Gadd (born April 9, 1945) is an American drummer, percussionist, and session musician. Gadd is one of the best-known and highly regarded session and studio drummers in the industry, recognized by his induction into the '' Modern ...

's drumming in "

50 Ways to Leave Your Lover "50 Ways to Leave Your Lover" is a song by the American singer-songwriter Paul Simon. It was the second single from his fourth studio album, '' Still Crazy After All These Years'' (1975), released on Columbia Records. Backing vocals on the singl ...

" by

Paul Simon Paul Frederic Simon (born October 13, 1941) is an American musician, singer, songwriter and actor whose career has spanned six decades. He is one of the most acclaimed songwriters in popular music, both as a solo artist and as half of folk roc ...

* "Mamma Mia" samples "What'd I Say" by

Ray Charles Ray Charles Robinson Sr. (September 23, 1930 – June 10, 2004) was an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. He is regarded as one of the most iconic and influential singers in history, and was often referred to by contemporaries as "The Ge ...

Charts and certifications

Charts

Certifications

Release history

References

External links

Official will.i.am website
{{Authority control 2007 albums Albums produced by Polow da Don Albums produced by will.i.am Will.i.am albums Albums produced by Fernando Garibay Albums produced by Michael Jackson