4 in the Morning
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| “4 in the Morning” | |||||
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| Single by Gwen Stefani from the album The Sweet Escape |
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| Released | June 21, 2007 (See release history) |
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| Recorded | 2006 | ||||
| Genre | Pop, synthpop | ||||
| Length | 4:51 (album version) 4:27 (radio edit) |
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| Label | Interscope | ||||
| Writer(s) | Gwen Stefani, Tony Kanal | ||||
| Producer | Tony Kanal | ||||
| Gwen Stefani singles chronology | |||||
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"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 generally received 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]
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[edit] Background and writing
Stefani began working with No Doubt bassist and former boyfriend 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]
[edit] Critical reception
"4 in the Morning" was generally well-received by contemporary pop music critics. Stephen Thomas Erlewine of All Music Guide 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]
[edit] Release history
| Region | Date |
|---|---|
| World | June 21, 2007 |
| United States | July 2, 2007 |
| France | September 17, 2007 |
[edit] 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 that did not peak on any U.S. Billboard Chart.[9] 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.[10] The song was successful at the clubs and reached number two on the Hot Dance Music/Club Play[11] behind Nelly Furtado's "All Good Things (Come to an End)".[12] The single was more successful on the Canadian Hot 100, where it peaked at number seventeen.[13]
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.[13] The song had the highest points increase for the week of July 14 on the United World Chart and jumped from number 25 to 14.[14] It has peaked at number nine. The overall average success helped the song to gather 2 million United World Chart points. [15] The song was ranked #17 in Romanian Top 100 Year-End Chart.[1]
[edit] Music video
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.[16] 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.[17]
[edit] Track listings
CD single
- "4 in the Morning" (Album Version) -4:51
- "4 in the Morning" (Jacques Lu Cont's Thin White Duke Edit) -4:55
- "4 in the Morning" (Oscar the Punk Remix) -5:43
- "4 in the Morning" (Music Video) -4:24
[edit] Charts
| Chart (2007)[10][13] | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australian ARIA Singles Chart | 9 |
| Austrian Singles Chart | 18 |
| Billboard Canadian Hot 100 | 7 |
| Belgium top 50 | 50 |
| Chile Top 100 | 14 |
| Euro 200 Singles Chart[18] | 9 |
| MTV European Top 20 Singles[19] | 6 |
| Finland Top 20[20] | 10 |
| French Singles Chart | 21 |
| German Singles Chart | 18 |
| Irish Singles Chart | 5 |
| Italian Singles Chart | 17 |
| New Zealand RIANZ Singles Chart | 5 |
| Norwegian Top 20 [21] | 14 |
| Romanian Singles Chart | 4 |
| Russian Top 20[22] | 4 |
| South African Singles Chart[23] | 2 |
| Swiss top 100 singles[24] | 18 |
| Swedish Singles Chart | 30 |
| Turkish Top 20 Chart[25] | 5 |
| UK Singles Chart | 22 |
| Ukraine Airplay Chart[26] | 1 |
| United World Chart | 9 |
| United World Chart (Airplay)[27] | 3 |
| 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 |
