"Are You Gonna Be My Girl" is a song by Australian rock band Jet from their 2003 debut album, Get Born. It was released as the first single from the album on 18 August 2003 in the United States and on 1 September 2003 in Australia.
| "Are You Gonna Be My Girl" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Single by Jet | ||||
| from the album Get Born | ||||
| B-side |
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| Released | 18 August 2003 | |||
| Studio |
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| Genre | Garage rock revival | |||
| Length | 3:33 | |||
| Label |
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| Songwriters |
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| Producer | Dave Sardy | |||
| Jet singles chronology | ||||
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| Music video | ||||
| "Are You Gonna Be My Girl" on YouTube | ||||
The song peaked at number 20 in Australia and reached the top 20 in Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom. In the United States, it reached number 29 on the Billboard Hot 100, making it their first top-40 hit and their highest charting single; it also peaked at number three on the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart and number seven on the Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks chart. The single has sold 1.3 million copies in the United States since 2012.
The song was voted number one in the 2003 Triple J Hottest 100. In January 2018, as part of Triple M's "Ozzest 100", the 'most Australian' songs of all time, "Are You Gonna Be My Girl" was ranked number 38. In 2025, the song placed 23 in the Triple J Hottest 100 of Australian Songs.
Structure
Written by Nic Cester and Cameron Muncey, the song is often cited for similarities to Iggy Pop's "Lust for Life" (particularly its drum pattern and near-identical guitar riff). The band, however, argues that "Are You Gonna Be My Girl" has more in common with 1960s Motown songs, namely "I'm Ready for Love" by Martha and the Vandellas and "You Can't Hurry Love" by the Supremes. Nic Cester said he was influenced by the stop-start structure of "My Generation" by the Who, as well as singers like Mick Jagger and Van Morrison who could "speak" verses and choose lyrics based on diction rather than poetry.
Chris Cester responded to media commentary regarding the similarities, stating in a 2009 interview that the beat was taken from Motown, referring to a meeting between Pop and himself:
It's funny because I asked him point blank about that. He said I was crazy. He said that when he and David Bowie were writing "Lust for Life", they were ripping off Motown's beat. It's funny that he said that to me because we also thought we were ripping off Motown more than "Lust for Life". To be honest with you that kind of annoyed me a lot, because I always thought it was really lazy. People just go well Lust for Life is more well-known so that's what they go for, but if you listen to a song like "You Can't Hurry Love" (The Supremes) I think you'll find its closer to "Are You Gonna Be My Girl" than "Lust for Life" ever was. And that's what Iggy said as well.
Background
Nic Cester wrote an early version of the song sometime between the ages of 17-19. The original lyrics were about being rejected by a girl - with the original hook being "She's just like every other girl". The song was fleshed out by Cameron Muncey, who also convinced Caster to make the lyrics more positive, so he changed the hook to "Are you gonna be my girl". The cough was an accident in the demo, but the producers thought it should be in the final mix. Nic refused to fake the cough, so they copied it from the demo and put it in the final mix.
Music video
The music video is shot in black and white, and shows Jet performing in a blank studio. As they play, black ink starts pouring out of their equipment and forms a landscape resembling the cover art on their album Get Born, the Beatles album Revolver and silhouettes of dancing girls. The video was shot at Vinopolis, London. Cameron Muncey can be seen wearing an AC/DC shirt.
Awards and nominations
APRA Awards
The APRA Awards are presented annually from 1982 by the Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA).
| Year | Nominee / work | Award | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 | "Are You Gonna Be My Girl" | Song of the Year | Nominated |
| 2005 | Most Performed Australian Work Overseas | Won | |
| 2006 | Most Performed Australian Work Overseas | Won | |
| 2007 | Most Performed Australian Work Overseas | Won |
MTV Video Music Awards
| Year | Nominee / work | Award | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 | "Are You Gonna Be My Girl" | Best New Artist | Nominated |
| Best Rock Video | Won | ||
| Best Editing | Nominated |
Track listings
| Australian CD single
Australian 12-inch single
UK CD1
| UK CD2
UK DVD single
European CD single
|
Personnel
- Nic Cester – vocals, guitar, handclaps
- Cameron Muncey – lead guitar
- Mark Wilson – bass guitar
- Chris Cester – drums, tambourine
Charts
Weekly charts
| Year-end charts
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Certifications
| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| Australia (ARIA) | Gold | 35,000^ |
| Italy (FIMI) | Platinum | 100,000‡ |
| New Zealand (RMNZ) | 3× Platinum | 90,000‡ |
| Spain (PROMUSICAE) | Platinum | 60,000‡ |
| United Kingdom (BPI) | 2× Platinum | 1,200,000‡ |
| United States (RIAA) | Gold | 500,000* |
| * Sales figures based on certification alone. | ||
Release history
| Region | Date | Format(s) | Label(s) | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| United States | 18 August 2003 |
| Elektra | |
| United Kingdom | 25 August 2003 |
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| Australia | 1 September 2003 | Capitol | ||
| United States | 8 December 2003 | Triple A radio | Elektra | |
| 26 January 2004 | Contemporary hit radio | |||
| United Kingdom (re-release) | 24 May 2004 |
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