"Girlfriend" is a song recorded by American singer-songwriter

Alicia Keys Alicia Augello Cook (born January 25, 1981), known professionally as Alicia Keys, is an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. A classically trained pianist, Keys started composing songs when she was 12 and was signed at 15 years old by Col ...

for her debut studio album ''

Songs in A Minor ''Songs in A Minor'' is the debut studio album by American singer and songwriter Alicia Keys, released on June 5, 2001, by J Records. Keys began writing songs for the album in 1995 at age 14 and recording the album in 1998 for Columbia Records, ...

'' (2001). It was written by Keys,

Jermaine Dupri Jermaine Dupri Mauldin (born September 23, 1972) is an American rapper, songwriter, record producer, record executive, entrepreneur, and DJ. Early life Jermaine Dupri Mauldin was born on September 23, 1972, the son of Tina (Mosley) and Michael ...

, and Joshua Thompson, while production was helmed by Dupri and Keys. The song is built around an interpolation from

Ol' Dirty Bastard Russell Tyrone Jones (November 15, 1968 – November 13, 2004), better known by his stage name Ol' Dirty Bastard (often abbreviated as ODB), was an American rapper. He was one of the founding members of the Wu-Tang Clan, a rap group primarily fr ...

's 1995 song " Brooklyn Zoo". Due to the inclusion of the sample, Robert Diggs and Russell Jones are also credited as songwriters. "Girlfriend" was released as the fourth and final single from ''Songs in A Minor'' outside the United States on November 25, 2002, by

J Records J Records was an American record label owned and operated by Bertelsmann Music Group until it was transferred to Sony Music Entertainment when they acquired all of BMG’s record labels in late 2008. It was distributed through the RCA Music Gro ...

. In the US, "Girlfriend" peaked at number 82 on the

Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs The Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart ranks the most popular R&B and hip hop songs in the United States and is published weekly by '' Billboard''. Rankings are based on a measure of radio airplay, sales data, and streaming activity. The chart had 100 ...

as an album cut. Although it outpeaked previous single " How Come You Don't Call Me" in the United Kingdom and Australia, it failed to make an impact elsewhere. The song's KrucialKeys Sista Girl Mix, which appears on the re-release ''Songs in A Minor: Remixed & Unplugged'', was used in the song's accompanying

music video A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing device ...

, directed by Patrick Hoelck, and was serviced to radio instead of the album version.

Music and lyrics

Lyrically, in "Girlfriend", Keys cannot help but think that her boyfriend is having a relationship with his close female friend. She says she knows that the woman is only a friend of him, but she cannot stop thinking that her boyfriend may leave her. Keys then proceeds to say that she thinks she is jealous of his "girlfriend". Musically, the song contains an interpolation from

's 1995 song " Brooklyn Zoo".

Music video

The video for "Girlfriend" was directed by Patrick Hoelck and shot on location in East London,

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

, the video uses the Krucialkeys Sista Girl Mix. The video starts in Keys' bedroom where her boyfriend is talking to his close female friend on the phone. She gets frustrated so she leaves the house to take a long walk through the city. While walking, she sees her boyfriend also on a walk with his female friend across the street. Keys then walks into a clothing store, performing in the fitting room. Strolling through clothing aisles, she spots a pair of red leather pants—at the same time the female friend had seen them. Keys yanks the hanger into her own hands. After the second verse is performed, the video shifts to a large, empty basement where she plays a musical piece on the piano. The video then goes back to the store, where Keys leaves out of to perform choreography with three other dancers at the corner of a street. Shortly after, she returns home to discover that her boyfriend and his female friend had been planning a surprise party for her all along.

Track listings and formats

*European CD single # "Girlfriend" (KrucialKeys Sista Girl Mix) – 3:27 # "Girlfriend" (Original Album Version) – 3:34 * European and Australian CD maxi-single # "Girlfriend" (KrucialKeys Sista Girl Mix) – 3:27 # "Girlfriend" (Brat Pac Remix) – 3:54 # "Girlfriend" (Original Album Version) – 3:34 # " Fallin'" (Ali Version) – 4:30 * UK CD and 12-inch single # "Girlfriend" (KrucialKeys Sista Girl Mix) – 3:27 # "Girlfriend" (Brat Pac Remix) – 3:54 # "Troubles" (Jay-J & Chris Lum Bootleg Mix) – 4:24 * UK cassette single :A1. "Girlfriend" (KrucialKeys Sista Girl Mix) – 3:27 :A2. "Troubles" (Jay-J & Chris Lum Bootleg Mix) – 4:24 :B1. "Girlfriend" (KrucialKeys Sista Girl Mix) – 3:27 :B2. "Troubles" (Jay-J & Chris Lum Bootleg Mix) – 4:24 * US 12-inch single :A1. "Girlfriend" (Club Mix) – 3:30 :A2. "Girlfriend" (Instrumental) – 3:30 :B1. "Girlfriend" (Acappella) – 3:30 :B2. "Fallin'" – 3:16

Credits and personnel

Credits adapted from the liner notes of ''

''. *

Bryan-Michael Cox Bryan-Michael Paul Cox (born December 1, 1977) is an American record producer and songwriter who is notable for his work with artists such as Usher, Mariah Carey, Mary J. Blige, and Toni Braxton. Among his most notable productions are "Be Wit ...

– keyboards *

– producer * Alicia Keys – producer, arranger, vocal arranger, lead

vocals Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or withou ...

backing vocals A backing vocalist is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists. A backing vocalist may also sing alone as a lead-in to the main vocalist's entry or to sing a counter-melody. Backing vocalists are ...

piano The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keybo ...

* Phil Tan – mixing

Charts

Release history

References

External links

Girlfriend
at

Discogs Discogs (short for discographies) is a database of information about audio recordings, including commercial releases, promotional releases, and bootleg or off-label releases. While the site was originally created with a goal of becoming the ...

{{Authority control 2001 songs 2002 singles Alicia Keys songs Songs written by Jermaine Dupri Songs written by Alicia Keys Song recordings produced by Jermaine Dupri Hip hop soul songs Songs written by RZA