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4 in the Morning

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This article is about the pop song by Gwen Stefani. For the country song by Faron Young, see It's Four in the Morning.
"4 in the Morning"
Song

"4 in the Morning" is a song written by Gwen Stefani and Tony Kanal for Stefani's second solo album The Sweet Escape (2006). The song is a 1980s-inspired ballad that Stefani began writing while pregnant and finished with No Doubt bandmate Tony Kanal. It received generally positive reviews from music critics.

The song was released as the album's third single in 2007 (see 2007 in music). It was commercially unsuccessful in the United States but fared somewhat better worldwide. Stefani has stated that "4 in the Morning" is one of her favorite songs from The Sweet Escape.[1]

Background and writing

Stefani began working with No Doubt bassist Tony Kanal just after finishing the Harajuku Lovers Tour in 2005, referring to him as her "comfort zone". The two wrote "4 in the Morning" based on a tape of melodies left from working on Stefani's previous album Love. Angel. Music. Baby (2004). It is based on ballads such as Roberta Flack's "Killing Me Softly with His Song" and Billy Idol's "Eyes Without a Face".[2]

Critical reception

"4 in the Morning" was generally well-received by contemporary pop music critics. Stephen Thomas Erlewine of Allmusic called it "coolly sensual",[3] and PopMatters referred to it as one of the "few real compositions" from the album.[4] NME called the song "an expertly conceived tear-jerker", stating that "it feels like the kind of song a teenage Stefani, miming along to Talk Talk, would have dreamt of singing one day."[5] Pitchfork Media, however, disapproved of the song, stating that it destroyed "the mallpop cred that Stefani accrued with L.A.M.B.'s impeccable 'Cool'."[6] Chuck Taylor compared the song to the soundtrack to the 1983 film Flashdance and commented that "we truly respect Stefani in the 'Morning.'"[7] Bill Lamb from About.com called the song "the best song from…The Sweet Escape."[8]

Music video

File:4InTheMorningVideo3.PNG
Stefani singing while lying on the bed.

The music video was directed by Sophie Muller and features a tearful and distraught Stefani, lying in bed as she begins to sing to the camera. In a white inside out L.A.M.B. T-shirt, she wanders around her apartment lost and questioning her lover, who is in fact absent from the video. The lyrics describe an argument, which she has with an off-screen lover throughout the video.[9] After lying around her apartment and crying during a bath, she leaves her house and travels in a car, as she sits tearfully in the back. The video ends with Stefani rolling on the bed.

"4 in the Morning" was given a "First Look" on MTV's Total Request Live on April 27 and has peaked at number seven. On MuchMusic's Countdown, it became Stefani's second least-successful charting video (next to Early Winter which peaked at #23 on the MuchMusic Countdown since "Luxurious" (2005), peaking at number seven for two consecutive weeks after a slow ascent.[10]

Track listings

CD single
  1. "4 in the Morning" (Album Version) -4:51
  2. "4 in the Morning" (Jacques Lu Cont's Thin White Duke Edit) -4:55
  3. "4 in the Morning" (Oscar the Punk Remix) -5:43
  4. "4 in the Morning" (Music Video) -4:24
CD Promo/12 in Promo
  1. "4 in the Morning" Thin White Duke Mix - 7:01
  2. "4 in the Morning" Album Version 4:51
  3. "4 in the Morning" Thin White Duke Dub - 7:29
  4. "4 in the Morning" Thin White Duke Edit - 4:55

Chart performance

"4 in the Morning" was commercially unsuccessful in the United States. It peaked at number fifty-four on the Billboard Hot 100, becoming Stefani's lowest charting American single until "Now That You Got It".[11] It was somewhat more successful in the mainstream market, reaching number thirty on the Pop 100 and the top twenty of the Top 40 Mainstream and Pop 100 Airplay charts.[12] The song was successful at the clubs and reached number two on the Hot Dance Music/Club Play[13] The single was more successful on the Canadian Hot 100, where it peaked at number seventeen.[14]

The song was more successful outside of North America. It peaked at number twenty-two on the UK Singles Chart and remained on the chart for eight weeks. It fared somewhat better across Europe, reaching the top fifteen in Finland, Ireland, the Netherlands, and Norway, the top twenty in Austria, Germany, and Switzerland ant the top five in Romania. The song debuted at number nine on the ARIA Singles Chart but was unable to reach a higher position, and it peaked at number five on the New Zealand Singles Chart.[14] The song was ranked #17 in Romanian Top 100 Year-End Chart.[15]

Charts

Stefani performing "4 in the Morning".
Chart (2007)[12][14] Peak
position
Australian ARIA Singles Chart 9
Austrian Singles Chart 18
Billboard Canadian Hot 100 17
Belgium top 50 50
French SNEP Singles Chart 21
German Singles Chart 18
Irish Singles Chart 5
Italian Singles Chart 17
New Zealand RIANZ Singles Chart 5
Norwegian Top 20[16] 14
Russian Top 20[17] 4
Swiss top 100 singles[16] 18
Swedish Singles Chart 30
UK Singles Chart 22
U.S. Billboard Hot 100 54
U.S. Billboard Hot Adult Top 40 Tracks 18
U.S. Billboard Hot Dance Club Play 2
U.S. Billboard Pop 100 30
U.S. Billboard Hot Digital Songs 51
U.S. Billboard Top 40 Mainstream 16

Release history

Region Date
World June 21, 2007
United States July 2, 2007
France September 17, 2007

References

  1. ^ Gwen Stefani Q&A Retrieved March 28, 2007
  2. ^ "Four In The Morning - In Studio". Interscope Records. November 3, 2006. Retrieved July 7, 2007.
  3. ^ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "The Sweet Escape > Review". Allmusic. Retrieved February 26, 2007.
  4. ^ Huff, Quentin B. "Gwen Stefani: The Sweet Escape". PopMatters. December 14, 2006. Retrieved February 26, 2007.
  5. ^ Miller, Alex. "Gwen Stefani: The Sweet Escape. NME. Retrieved February 26, 2007.
  6. ^ Pytlik, Mark. "Gwen Stefani: The Sweet Escape: Pitchfork Record Review". Pitchfork Media. December 7, 2006. Retrieved February 26, 2007.
  7. ^ Taylor, Chuck."Producer: Tony Kanal". Billboard. Retrieved May 5, 2007.
  8. ^ Lamb, Bill. "Gwen Stefani - 4 in the Morning". About.com. Retrieved May 29, 2007.
  9. ^ Vineyard, Jennifer and Warburton, Richard. "Gwen Stefani Lets Her Lover Have It In New Clip". MTV News. March 12, 2007. Retrieved May 5, 2007.
  10. ^ Countdown. MuchMusic programming. Original airdate: July 27 2007. Retrieved August 4 2007.
  11. ^ "Gwen Stefani > Charts & Awards > Billboard Charts". Allmusic. Retrieved September 5, 2007.
  12. ^ a b "The Sweet Escape > Charts & Awards > Billboard Singles". Allmusic. Retrieved July 7, 2007.
  13. ^ "Hot Dance Club Play - 4 In The Morning". Billboard. Retrieved August 18, 2007.
  14. ^ a b c "Gwen Stefani - 4 In The Morning - Music Charts". αCharts.us. Retrieved September 3, 2007.
  15. ^ http://www.rt100.ro/romanian-top-100-2007.html rt100.ro
  16. ^ a b Gwen Stefani - 4 In The Morning - Music Charts
  17. ^ Gwen Stefani 4 In The Morning @ Top40-Charts.com - 40 Top 20 & Top 40 Music Charts from 25 Countries
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