"About a Girl" is the first single by The Academy Is...

The Academy Is...

The Academy Is... was an American rock band from Chicago, Illinois, formed in 2003. Before dispersing, they were signed by the Decaydance imprint of the Fueled by Ramen label. They were originally known as "The Academy", but added the "Is..." in 2004 to avoid legal complications with other...

 from their third studio album, Fast Times at Barrington High

Fast Times at Barrington High

Fast Times at Barrington High is the third and final studio album by American rock band The Academy Is..., released in August 2008. It was produced by S*A*M and Sluggo. The title refers to the high school William Beckett and Adam Siska went to, and a play on the title of the 1982 film Fast Times at...

. The single reached the pop charts at #88, making it the band's first charting single and this song was ranked #74 on MTV latinoamerica list of the Top 100 Hits of 2008. This song was number 39 on Rolling Stone

Rolling Stone

Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...

's list of the 100 Best Songs of 2008. It has been noted that the chorus shares a similar melody to that of a-ha

A-ha

A-ha were a Norwegian pop band formed in Oslo in 1982. The band was founded by Morten Harket , Magne Furuholmen , and Pål Waaktaar...

's hit single "Take on Me

Take on Me

"Take on Me" is a song by the Norwegian pop band A-ha. Written by the band members, the song was produced by Alan Tarney for the group's first studio album Hunting High and Low, released in 1985...

".

Music video

The video for the single revolves around William Beckett and his bandmates in high school. Beckett has it made; he has the girl, the friends and the popularity. However, this turns out to just be a daydream; his sole friends at school are his bandmates and the girl (played by American model Brittany Moser) is in a relationship with a jock football player. Throughout the course of the video, Beckett dreams of having the girl until finally, they embrace and drive off in what appears to be another one of his daydreams. However, this daydream is revealed to be that of the girl's, longing for Beckett though trapped in a relationship with another guy (played by American male model James Ellis). Beckett and she exchange eye contact, creating a possible future for the two.

This music video was created as a spoof of Fast Times at Ridgemont High

Fast Times at Ridgemont High

Fast Times at Ridgemont High is a 1982 American coming-of-age teen comedy film written by Cameron Crowe and adapted from his 1981 book of the same name...

. The iconic daydream sequence in the film may have influenced the theme of the video. It was filmed at Van Nuys High School in Los Angeles

Los Ángeles

Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...

, California

California

California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...

, which was also the location where Fast Times at Ridgemont High was shot.

Charts

Chart (2009)

Peak position

U.S. Billboard Billboard (magazine) Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis... Pop 100 Pop 100 The Pop 100 was a songs chart that debuted in February 2005 and was released weekly by Billboard magazine in the United States until its discontinuation in 2009...

88