page_title: Just a Girl
section_title: Background and release
hierarchical_section_title: Just a Girl / Background and release
caption_attribution_description: Gwen Stefani, Bloomingdales
context_page_description: "Just a Girl" is a song by American band No Doubt for their third studio album, Tragic Kingdom. Released as the record's lead single in the United States on September 21, 1995, it was written by Gwen Stefani and Tom Dumont, and produced by Matthew Wilder. It has also made an appearance on their 2003 greatest hits album, The Singles 1992–2003. Lyrically, "Just a Girl" is a new wave song written about Stefani's perspective of life as a woman and her struggles with having strict parents. "Just a Girl" was the first song Stefani wrote without the assistance of her brother Eric.
  "Just a Girl" received positive reviews from music critics, who commended the feminist lyrics and Stefani's vocals. The single is typically regarded as being the breakthrough that popularized No Doubt. "Just a Girl" became No Doubt's first charting single in the United States, peaking at number 23 on the Billboard Hot 100 and entering the Alternative Songs, Hot Rock Songs, and Mainstream Top 40 component charts. It also reached the top ten in several other countries, including Australia, Ireland, New Zealand, Norway, Scotland, and the United Kingdom.
context_section_description: In 1992, No Doubt released their eponymous debut album with Interscope Records, which was commercially unsuccessful and caused their record label to cancel funding for further albums and projects. In response, the band independently recorded The Beacon Street Collection (1995). Impressed by the album, Interscope agreed to resume funding for a third album, which became Tragic Kingdom (1995). "Just a Girl" was written by Gwen Stefani and Tom Dumont, with production handled by Matthew Wilder. Unlike previous songs written by the band, "Just a Girl" was not co-written by Gwen's brother Eric Stefani, who left No Doubt due to creative differences in early 1995. In response to reviewers criticizing No Doubt for changing their sound and selling out during this time, Dumont said:
  Well, there is a reason that the sound of our music has changed and it's not because we've sold out, easy for me to say. Eric [...] used to write most of our songs. [This] was Gwen's first time really writing all the lyrics herself so to me, it went the opposite from selling out. We have done something that is even more personal. In the past, Eric was writing songs about his life and having Gwen sing them. Now we have Gwen singing and writing about her own experiences. It makes it more natural. She's a singer, she should sing about herself or sing what she wants to sing. I think that is the main reason why our musical style has changed.
  The first song written for Tragic Kingdom, "Just a Girl" was penned by Stefani after her father reprimanded her for driving from her bandmate Tony Kanal's house late at night. Commenting on her first experience with writing a song by herself, she explained: "I just wanted to write a song to express how I was feeling in that moment and I never in my wildest dreams thought that anyone would hear it. I remember coming up with every single line [and] I have a really bad memory but I really, really remember that moment and feeling I could really relate to myself and this song … I felt like it really echoed exactly how I felt." "Just a Girl" was the first song mixed with newcomer David J. Holman, founder of Trauma Records. Following this, Holman co-signed No Doubt to his label and began working on more songs to be featured on Tragic Kingdom.
  The song was first released in the United States on September 21, 1995. It was distributed on 7" records, cassettes, and CDs. The B-side pairing for the American release was album track "Different People", which was written by Eric Stefani, Gwen Stefani, and Tony Kanal. A two-part CD single series released in the United Kingdom includes The Beacon Street Collection track "Open the Gate", Tragic Kingdom tracks "Different People", "End It on This" and "Hey You", and a cover of the Beatles' song "Ob-La-Di-Ob-La-Da" (1968). On March 24, 1997, "Just a Girl" was re-released in Europe as a CD maxi single and features the album and live versions of "Just a Girl", in addition to live versions of "Don't Speak" and "Hey You". An enhanced CD released in the United States includes the official music video to "Just a Girl".
caption: "Just a Girl" was the first song Gwen Stefani wrote without the assistance of her brother Eric Stefani.
exif: {"Image Make": "Canon", "Image Model": "Canon EOS 40D", "Image Orientation": "Horizontal (normal)", "Image XResolution": "72", "Image YResolution": "72", "Image ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Image Software": "Adobe Photoshop CS Windows", "Image DateTime": "2009:11:07 13:29:47", "Image YCbCrPositioning": "Co-sited", "Image ExifOffset": "232", "GPS GPSVersionID": "[2, 2, 0, 0]", "Image GPSInfo": "1000", "Thumbnail Compression": "JPEG (old-style)", "Thumbnail XResolution": "72", "Thumbnail YResolution": "72", "Thumbnail ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormat": "1114", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormatLength": "5304", "EXIF ExposureTime": "1/60", "EXIF FNumber": "5", "EXIF ExposureProgram": "Program Normal", "EXIF ISOSpeedRatings": "400", "EXIF ExifVersion": "0221", "EXIF DateTimeOriginal": "2009:09:10 19:31:12", "EXIF DateTimeDigitized": "2009:09:10 19:31:12", "EXIF ComponentsConfiguration": "YCbCr", "EXIF ShutterSpeedValue": "6", "EXIF ApertureValue": "37/8", "EXIF ExposureBiasValue": "0", "EXIF MeteringMode": "Pattern", "EXIF Flash": "Flash fired, compulsory flash mode", "EXIF FocalLength": "70", "EXIF SubSecTime": "45", "EXIF SubSecTimeOriginal": "45", "EXIF SubSecTimeDigitized": "45", "EXIF FlashPixVersion": "0100", "EXIF ColorSpace": "sRGB", "EXIF ExifImageWidth": "800", "EXIF ExifImageLength": "1200", "Interoperability InteroperabilityIndex": "R98", "Interoperability InteroperabilityVersion": "[48, 49, 48, 48]", "EXIF InteroperabilityOffset": "968", "EXIF FocalPlaneXResolution": "324000/73", "EXIF FocalPlaneYResolution": "2592000/583", "EXIF FocalPlaneResolutionUnit": "2", "EXIF CustomRendered": "Normal", "EXIF ExposureMode": "Auto Exposure", "EXIF WhiteBalance": "Auto", "EXIF SceneCaptureType": "Standard"}