Released May 2, 2000 (US) Length 3:32 | Recorded 1999 Producer(s) Glen Ballard | |
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B-side "Big Distraction", "Leftovers" Writer(s) Tom Dumont
Tony Kanal
Gwen Stefani | ||
"Ex-Girlfriend" is a song written by Tom Dumont, Tony Kanal, and Gwen Stefani for No Doubt's fourth studio album Return of Saturn (2000). The song was released as the album's first official single in mid-2000 (see 2000 in music) and it was moderately successful, reaching the top 40 in most countries.
Contents
Background and writing
Gwen Stefani originally composed the song as a dirge about her relationship with Bush's lead singer Gavin Rossdale, whom she married in 2002. After listening to it, the band increased the tempo because the album already included several ballads. The line "you say you're gonna burn before you mellow" is a reference to the lyrics in the Bush song "Dead Meat": "I'm doing you in tomorrow/I'll burn before I mellow".
"Ex-Girlfriend" is a song composed in the key of E minor. It is written in common time and moves at a fast tempo of 168 beats per minute. Stefani's vocal range in the song covers nearly an octave and a half, from G3 to C5. It features flamenco guitar riffs and influence from new wave and hip hop.
Music video
The song's music video, which the video itself indicated was "presented" by Hype Williams, was partially based on the highly controversial anime Kite. In the video, Stefani cross-dresses to enter a men's bathroom and, upon being discovered, assaults Tony Kanal (who plays her ex-boyfriend) and several other men. When Kanal regains consciousness, he grabs Stefani and jumps out the window, and the two plummet to the ground. The storyline is cut with scenes of the band playing on a stage. No Doubt's guitarist Tom Dumont initially played the part of a police officer but was cut from the final version of the "Ex-Girlfriend" video. He enacts the role in MTV's Making the Video.
Formats and track listings
These are the formats and track listings of major single releases of "Ex-Girlfriend".
UK CD1
- "Ex-Girlfriend" – 3:31
- "Leftovers" – 4:31
- "Ex-Girlfriend" (CD-ROM video)
UK CD2
- "Ex-Girlfriend" – 3:31
- "Big Distraction" – 3:34
- "Full Circle" – 3:16
Netherlands/UK/Australia
- "Ex-Girlfriend" – 3:31
- "Leftovers" – 4:31
- "Full Circle" – 3:16
- "Ex-Girlfriend" video
Netherlands/UK 2-track
- "Ex-Girlfriend" – 3:31
- "Full Circle" – 3:16
Chart performance
"Ex-Girlfriend" failed to enter the U.S. Hot 100 chart and spent only one week on the Canadian Singles Chart, on which it peaked at number forty. Elsewhere the single experienced more success, and reached the Australian top ten and UK top thirty. It managed to be successful on U.S. alternative rock stations peaking number two on the Modern Rock Tracks chart tying with their highest charting and breakthrough hit single, "Don't Speak", that managed more mainstream success on other U.S. charts than "Ex-Girlfriend".