Girls Fall like Dominoes
Encyclopedia
"Girls Fall Like Dominoes" is a song by Trinidadian rapper Nicki Minaj
. It serves as the sixth single from Minaj's debut album Pink Friday
(2010). The chorus is sampled from "Dominos
", a 2009 single by British indie rock
band The Big Pink
. "Girls Fall Like Dominoes" was originally released as an iTunes Store
bonus track on Minaj's debut album, Pink Friday; however it was released later included on all editions of the album in the United Kingdom
on March 11, 2011. The single was released on April 11, 2011 in Australia. It was released on April 15, 2011 as the fourth UK single after "Moment 4 Life
".
The song was written by Nicki Minaj herself, J. R. Rotem
, Robbie Furze, Millo Cordell, Cleveland Browne, Greville Gordon and Wycliffe Johnson, and was produced by J. R. Rotem. The song also contains interpolations of "Trailar Load a Girls". The song contains a strong feminist side to it, as Minaj implies that she can take fans away from other rappers, she also names divas. After the release of the track, it debuted at number thirty-two, in the United Kingdom. The song gained positive reveiws from critics; with one describing the song as having a "youthful glean" and another saying that "fellas should be warned". The single will be accompanied by a music video
inspired by Cyndi Lauper
's "Girls Just Want to Have Fun
" which was released in 1984.
bonus track during the release of Pink Friday. The song was later included on the album's official track listing during the UK re-release of the album.
Produced by J.R. Rotem, "Girls Fall Like Dominoes" has been described as a "jubilant, poppy song." Lyrically, Minaj raps about how she is hot enough to steal the fans of other male rappers, in this case Lil Wayne
and Drake
. Minaj name checks other people in the entertainment industry
Including:
"Girls Fall Like Dominoes" samples "Dominos" from British
band The Big Pink
. Dan Martin of NME
stated that Minaj improved the classic song in a "masterclass" way. Stripping away the unnecessary verses and leering sexism of the original song and adding disco breakbeats and stoppy-starty vocal effects, Minaj sends a powerful message to females.
magazine New Musical Express
placed "Girls Fall Like Dominoes" at number two on a list of "10 Tracks You Have To Hear", adding that Minaj upgrades the original classic that is sampled in the song.
, marking her fourth top 30 urban single. The single gained a new peak on the UK R&B Chart, peaking at number eight. The single also debuted at number 50 on the Irish Singles Charts, peaking at 28, her third top 40 single in that country. Girls Fall Like Dominoes also charted in Scotland, charting at 27, making it her second top 30 single in that country also.
's 1984 "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun", Minaj stated "When I saw Cyndi Lauper's videos as a kid I wanted to jump into the TV and run down the street with her and shout, 'girls just wanna have fun'. In my head I've always wanted to be that crazy person. She's one of the people who inspired me." Via Twitter
, Minaj asked fans "two questions: How many divas did I name in 'Girls Fall Like Dominoes' and who should make a cameo in the video?" Minaj has stated that she is very interested in having the divas mentioned in the song make cameo appearances in the music video. However, there were no further plans to release a music video for the song as of November, 2011.
Nicki Minaj
Onika Tanya Maraj , better known by her stage name Nicki Minaj; ), is a Trinidadian-born American recording artist...
. It serves as the sixth single from Minaj's debut album Pink Friday
Pink Friday
Pink Friday is the debut studio album by hip hop recording artist Nicki Minaj. It was released on November 19, 2010 in both standard and deluxe editions through Young Money Entertainment, Cash Money Records, and Universal Motown. The intended lead single from the album, "Massive Attack", flopped...
(2010). The chorus is sampled from "Dominos
Dominos (The Big Pink song)
"Dominos" is the first single from The Big Pink's debut album A Brief History of Love. "Dominos" was released as a digital download and on 7" vinyl on September 7, 2009, a week before the release of the album. The song was co-produced by the band and record producer Paul Epworth, and mixed by Rich...
", a 2009 single by British indie rock
Indie rock
Indie rock is a genre of alternative rock that originated in the United Kingdom and the United States in the 1980s. Indie rock is extremely diverse, with sub-genres that include lo-fi, post-rock, math rock, indie pop, dream pop, noise rock, space rock, sadcore, riot grrrl and emo, among others...
band The Big Pink
The Big Pink
The Big Pink is an English electro-rock duo comprising multi-instrumentalists Robbie Furze and Milo Cordell. The duo signed to the 4AD label in 2009, and won the prestigious NME Philip Hall Radar Award for best new act...
. "Girls Fall Like Dominoes" was originally released as an iTunes Store
ITunes Store
The iTunes Store is a software-based online digital media store operated by Apple. Opening as the iTunes Music Store on April 28, 2003, with over 200,000 items to purchase, it is, as of April 2008, the number-one music vendor in the United States...
bonus track on Minaj's debut album, Pink Friday; however it was released later included on all editions of the album in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
on March 11, 2011. The single was released on April 11, 2011 in Australia. It was released on April 15, 2011 as the fourth UK single after "Moment 4 Life
Moment 4 Life
"Moment 4 Life" is a song by Trinidadian rapper Nicki Minaj featuring Canadian rapper Drake. It serves as the third single from Minaj's debut album Pink Friday . The song was produced by T-Minus and written by both artists...
".
The song was written by Nicki Minaj herself, J. R. Rotem
J. R. Rotem
- Early life :Rotem was born in South Africa to Israeli immigrant Jewish parents. He moved to Toronto at the age of two and finally to Moraga, California when he was twelve.Rotem's entry point into music was in receiving classical piano tuition at a young age...
, Robbie Furze, Millo Cordell, Cleveland Browne, Greville Gordon and Wycliffe Johnson, and was produced by J. R. Rotem. The song also contains interpolations of "Trailar Load a Girls". The song contains a strong feminist side to it, as Minaj implies that she can take fans away from other rappers, she also names divas. After the release of the track, it debuted at number thirty-two, in the United Kingdom. The song gained positive reveiws from critics; with one describing the song as having a "youthful glean" and another saying that "fellas should be warned". The single will be accompanied by a music video
Music video
A music video or song video is a short film integrating a song and imagery, produced for promotional or artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a marketing device intended to promote the sale of music recordings...
inspired by Cyndi Lauper
Cyndi Lauper
Cynthia Ann Stephanie "Cyndi" Lauper is an American singer, songwriter, actress and LGBT rights activist. She achieved success in the mid-1980s with the release of the album She's So Unusual and became the first female singer to have four top-five singles released from one album...
's "Girls Just Want to Have Fun
Girls Just Want to Have Fun
Girls Just Want to Have Fun may refer to:In music:* "Girls Just Want to Have Fun", the first major single released by singer Cyndi Lauper on She's So UnusualIn film:...
" which was released in 1984.
Background and composition
"Girls Fall Like Dominoes" was released as an iTunes StoreITunes Store
The iTunes Store is a software-based online digital media store operated by Apple. Opening as the iTunes Music Store on April 28, 2003, with over 200,000 items to purchase, it is, as of April 2008, the number-one music vendor in the United States...
bonus track during the release of Pink Friday. The song was later included on the album's official track listing during the UK re-release of the album.
Produced by J.R. Rotem, "Girls Fall Like Dominoes" has been described as a "jubilant, poppy song." Lyrically, Minaj raps about how she is hot enough to steal the fans of other male rappers, in this case Lil Wayne
Lil Wayne
Dwayne Michael Carter, Jr. , better known by his stage name Lil Wayne, is an American rapper. At the age of nine, Lil Wayne joined Cash Money Records as the youngest member of the label, and half of the duo, The B.G.'z, with B.G.. In 1997, Lil Wayne joined the group Hot Boys, which also included...
and Drake
Drake (entertainer)
Aubrey Drake Graham , who records under the mononym Drake, is a Canadian recording artist and actor. He originally became known for playing Jimmy Brooks on the television series Degrassi: The Next Generation....
. Minaj name checks other people in the entertainment industry
Including:
- Lil WayneLil WayneDwayne Michael Carter, Jr. , better known by his stage name Lil Wayne, is an American rapper. At the age of nine, Lil Wayne joined Cash Money Records as the youngest member of the label, and half of the duo, The B.G.'z, with B.G.. In 1997, Lil Wayne joined the group Hot Boys, which also included...
- DrakeDrake (entertainer)Aubrey Drake Graham , who records under the mononym Drake, is a Canadian recording artist and actor. He originally became known for playing Jimmy Brooks on the television series Degrassi: The Next Generation....
- Kristin CavallariKristin CavallariKristin Elizabeth Cavallari is an American television personality and actress. She is best known for her starring roles on the former MTV reality television programs Laguna Beach: The Real Orange County and its spin-off, The Hills.-Early life:Cavallari was born in Denver, Colorado, the second of...
- Kourtney KardashianKourtney KardashianKourtney Mary Kardashian is an American businesswoman, socialite, model, actress and reality television personality who gained fame as a cast member of Keeping Up with the Kardashians, Kourtney and Kim Take New York, and Kourtney and Khloé Take Miami.She is the oldest child of Kris Jenner and...
- Kim KardashianKim KardashianKimberly Noel "Kim" Kardashian is an American socialite, television personality, model, actress and businesswoman. She is known for the E! reality series that she shares with her family—Keeping Up with the Kardashians, and its spin-offs including Kourtney and Kim Take New York...
- Khloe KardashianKhloe KardashianKhloé Kardashian Odom is an American businesswoman, television personality, radio host, socialite, and model...
- CiaraCiaraCiara Princess Harris , known mononymously as Ciara, is an American singer-songwriter, dancer, actress and fashion model. Born in Austin, Texas, she traveled around the world during her childhood, only to land in Atlanta, Georgia where she met music producer, Jazze Pha...
- Keri HilsonKeri HilsonKeri Lynn Hilson is an American R&B singer-songwriter. Born and raised in Decatur, Georgia, Hilson began her music career as a songwriter, penning tracks for several artists in the mid-2000s as part of the five-person production and songwriting team, The Clutch...
- M.I.A.M.I.A. (artist)Mathangi "Maya" Arulpragasam , better known by her stage name M.I.A. , is an English singer-songwriter, rapper, record producer, painter and director of Sri Lankan Tamil descent. Her compositions combine elements of hip hop, electronica, dance, alternative and world music. M.I.A...
- Mariah CareyMariah CareyMariah Carey is an American singer-songwriter, record producer, and actress. She made her recording debut with the release of her eponymous studio album in 1990, under the guidance of Columbia Records executive Tommy Mottola, whom she later married in 1993...
- Mo'Nique
- MadonnaMadonna (entertainer)Madonna is an American singer-songwriter, actress and entrepreneur. Born in Bay City, Michigan, she moved to New York City in 1977 to pursue a career in modern dance. After performing in the music groups Breakfast Club and Emmy, she released her debut album in 1983...
and her 1984 single "Material Girl" - Angelina JolieAngelina JolieAngelina Jolie is an American actress. She has received an Academy Award, two Screen Actors Guild Awards, and three Golden Globe Awards, and was named Hollywood's highest-paid actress by Forbes in 2009 and 2011. Jolie is noted for promoting humanitarian causes as a Goodwill Ambassador for the...
- Al PacinoAl PacinoAlfredo James "Al" Pacino is an American film and stage actor and director. He is famous for playing mobsters, including Michael Corleone in The Godfather trilogy, Tony Montana in Scarface, Alphonse "Big Boy" Caprice in Dick Tracy and Carlito Brigante in Carlito's Way, though he has also appeared...
- Grace JonesGrace JonesGrace Jones is a Jamaican-American singer, model and actress.Jones secured a record deal with Island Records in 1977, which resulted in a string of dance-club hits. In the late 1970s, she adapted the emerging electronic music style and adopted a severe, androgynous look with square-cut hair and...
- RihannaRihannaRobyn Rihanna Fenty , better known as simply Rihanna, is a Barbadian recording artist. Born in Saint Michael, Barbados, Rihanna moved to the United States at the age of 16 to pursue a recording career under the guidance of record producer Evan Rogers...
- Donatella VersaceDonatella VersaceDonatella Versace is an Italian fashion designer and current Vice-President of the Versace Group, as well as chief designer. She owns 20 percent of the entire stock market assets of Versace. Her brother, Santo Versace, owns 30 percent...
- John GallianoJohn GallianoJohn Charles Galliano CBE, RDI is a Gibraltan-born British fashion designer who was best known as head designer of French haute couture houses Givenchy and Christian Dior , and his own self titled fashion house.-Family:He was born in Gibraltar to a Gibraltarian father, Juan Galliano, and a...
- Jada Pinkett SmithJada Pinkett SmithJada Koren Pinkett Smith is an American actress, producer, director, author, singer-songwriter, and businesswoman. She began her career in 1990, when she made a guest appearance in the short-lived sitcom True Colors. She starred in A Different World, produced by Bill Cosby, and she featured...
- Beyoncé KnowlesBeyoncé KnowlesBeyoncé Giselle Knowles , often known simply as Beyoncé, is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and actress. Born and raised in Houston, Texas, she enrolled in various performing arts schools and was first exposed to singing and dancing competitions as a child...
- Wilhelmina ModelsWilhelmina ModelsWilhelmina Models is a modeling agency founded in 1967 by the model Wilhelmina Cooper and her husband Bruce Cooper in Manhattan Starting in 2010, Wilhelmina Models started a sub-brand called "Digital Empire Modeling" for new digital-era modeling talents....
. As Rotem creates characteristically colossal chords, Minaj discusses her love for women. Rotem's production on the song has been described as diabolically catchy and synth-drenched.
"Girls Fall Like Dominoes" samples "Dominos" from British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
band The Big Pink
The Big Pink
The Big Pink is an English electro-rock duo comprising multi-instrumentalists Robbie Furze and Milo Cordell. The duo signed to the 4AD label in 2009, and won the prestigious NME Philip Hall Radar Award for best new act...
. Dan Martin of NME
NME
The New Musical Express is a popular music publication in the United Kingdom, published weekly since March 1952. It started as a music newspaper, and gradually moved toward a magazine format during the 1980s, changing from newsprint in 1998. It was the first British paper to include a singles...
stated that Minaj improved the classic song in a "masterclass" way. Stripping away the unnecessary verses and leering sexism of the original song and adding disco breakbeats and stoppy-starty vocal effects, Minaj sends a powerful message to females.
Critical reception
Reviews for the song were generally positive. With a three and a half out of five star-rating, DJBooth stated that the song is exactly what one would expect from a Minaj and Rotem collaboration and that fellas should be warned. Dan Martin of UK popular musicPopular music
Popular music belongs to any of a number of musical genres "having wide appeal" and is typically distributed to large audiences through the music industry. It stands in contrast to both art music and traditional music, which are typically disseminated academically or orally to smaller, local...
magazine New Musical Express
NME
The New Musical Express is a popular music publication in the United Kingdom, published weekly since March 1952. It started as a music newspaper, and gradually moved toward a magazine format during the 1980s, changing from newsprint in 1998. It was the first British paper to include a singles...
placed "Girls Fall Like Dominoes" at number two on a list of "10 Tracks You Have To Hear", adding that Minaj upgrades the original classic that is sampled in the song.
Chart performance
"Girls Falls like Dominoes" first charted on the UK Singles Charts at number 54, and in the UK Urban chart at 12. In its second week it appeared at numbers 32 and 8, becoming Minaj's third UK Top 40 single, and second Top 10 UK Urban song. A week later, the single charted at number 24. The song debuted at number ten on the UK R&B ChartUK R&B Chart
The Official UK R&B Chart is a forty-position R&B/Hip-Hop chart compiled by The Official UK Charts Company. Although the chart does not receive any airplay, its compilation is viewed on BBC Radio 1's website and publications such as ChartsPlus and Music Week...
, marking her fourth top 30 urban single. The single gained a new peak on the UK R&B Chart, peaking at number eight. The single also debuted at number 50 on the Irish Singles Charts, peaking at 28, her third top 40 single in that country. Girls Fall Like Dominoes also charted in Scotland, charting at 27, making it her second top 30 single in that country also.
Music video
Minaj discussed a music video for the song during the album release, however, only recently did she actually talk in depth about what the video will feature. Inspired by Cyndi LauperCyndi Lauper
Cynthia Ann Stephanie "Cyndi" Lauper is an American singer, songwriter, actress and LGBT rights activist. She achieved success in the mid-1980s with the release of the album She's So Unusual and became the first female singer to have four top-five singles released from one album...
's 1984 "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun", Minaj stated "When I saw Cyndi Lauper's videos as a kid I wanted to jump into the TV and run down the street with her and shout, 'girls just wanna have fun'. In my head I've always wanted to be that crazy person. She's one of the people who inspired me." Via Twitter
Twitter
Twitter is an online social networking and microblogging service that enables its users to send and read text-based posts of up to 140 characters, informally known as "tweets".Twitter was created in March 2006 by Jack Dorsey and launched that July...
, Minaj asked fans "two questions: How many divas did I name in 'Girls Fall Like Dominoes' and who should make a cameo in the video?" Minaj has stated that she is very interested in having the divas mentioned in the song make cameo appearances in the music video. However, there were no further plans to release a music video for the song as of November, 2011.
Track listing
UK Digital single- "Girls Fall Like Dominoes" (clean radio edit) – 3:22
- "Girls Fall Like Dominoes" (Distance Remix - explicit) – 3:50
Charts
| Chart (2011) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australia (ARIA ARIA Charts The ARIA charts are the main Australian music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling singles and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA commenced compiling its own charts in-house from the week ending 26 June... ) |
99 |
| Australia Urban (ARIA ARIA Charts The ARIA charts are the main Australian music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling singles and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA commenced compiling its own charts in-house from the week ending 26 June... ) |
30 |
Radio date and release history
| Country | Date | Type |
|---|---|---|
| Australia | April 11, 2011 | Digital download Music download A music download is the transferral of music from an Internet-facing computer or website to a user's local computer. This term encompasses both legal downloads and downloads of copyright material without permission or payment... |
| United Kingdom United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages... |
April 13, 2011 | BBC Radio 1 (airplay) |
| April 15, 2011 | Digital download |