La La (song) - Definition and Overview

"La La" is a song by the American singer Ashlee Simpson from her 2004 album Autobiography. In the U.S., it began its run as the album's third song on radio and television in November 2004; in the United Kingdom (where it is the second single), a CD single was released in January 2005.

"La La" was written by Ashlee Simpson, Kara DioGuardi, and John Shanks, the producer of the album. Jeff Rothschild played drums on the track, Shanks played guitars and bass, and Simpson and DioGuardi did background vocals. The track is three minutes and 42 seconds long. [1] (http://www.ashleesimpsonmusic.com/discography/ALBUMS.asp?AssetID=663795&count=1&ArtistID=488)

The song was not initially planned as the album's third single. In October 2004, fans chose "Autobiography" as the next single via Internet poll. However, following Simpson's Saturday Night Live incident, "La La" was chosen as the third single instead.

Following its release as a single in the U.K. on January 24, 2005, "La La" debuted at number 11 before falling to number 20 in the subsequent week. In Ireland, it debuted at number 18 on that country's chart in late January, and in February it debuted at number 10 on the Australian singles chart. "La La" is also currently being used as the backing music for a ThermaSilk shampoo commercial in heavy rotation on NBC television.

Description

"La La" is perhaps the most rock-oriented track on Autobiography, and has been described as a "punk inspired, fast beat, screaming anthem". [2] (http://youthradio.org/music/040908_ashlee.shtml) Reactions to the song have been mixed: People magazine called the song "insipid" in its review of the album¹, while Billboard was more positive, saying that "La La" was one of the songs that could "keep Autobiography on the charts in the foreseeable future."²

The lyrics to the song are quite sexual, with "la la" being used as a euphemism for sex and a reference to Simpson dressing up as a French maid included. However, Simpson has described the lyrics as tongue-in-cheek: "It was one of those songs where every silly thing that was sexual that [sic] I could think of I put into the song."³

In one interview, Simpson said of the song:

"Another song, 'La La' is flirty and very sexy. It's very tongue in cheek; it can be interpreted in all different ways. It's about sexual fantasies... I didn't have a song on my record that was like sexy. So I thought, I'm a girl and I'm feminine and I can be sexy, so here it goes." [3] (http://www.therecordmag.com/sep2004/ashlee.htm)

Television performances

Performances of "La La" featured twice in the first season of The Ashlee Simpson Show, Simpson's reality show, which aired in the U.S. on MTV from mid-June to early August 2004.

The music video for "La La", directed by Joseph Kahn, debuted on AOL's "First View" on November 22 and on MTV's Making the Video on November 23. Following its premiere, "La La" debuted on the TRL countdown on December 1.

The video takes place in the suburbs of Huntington Beach, California. Simpson is seen singing the song, dancing on top of a car, and laying on a couch playing a skateboarding video game. A late-night party around a swimming pool gets broken up by the police, whereupon the partygoers travel to a laundromat. Simpson's two best friends, Lauren and Stephanie, appear alongside her in the video.

Live performances

• December 6: Simpson performed "La La" as an encore at the end of a concert at the El Rey Theatre in Los Angeles, California, which was shown live on the Internet by AOL.com.
• December 17: Simpson performed "La La" at the beginning of Jingle Ball Rock (http://www.kiisfm.com/jingleball2004/).
• December 31: Simpson performed the song on Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve 2005, in which she also hosted the West Coast portion of the show.
• January 4: Simpson performed at the Orange Bowl halftime show, receiving "a discernible chorus of boos" according to the Associated Press (http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20050105/ap_en_mu/people_ashlee_simpson). The lyrics she performed during this show were bowdlerized, with a reference to "lemonade" replacing "French maid", for example.
• January 8: Simpson performed the song on .
• January 12: Simpson performed the song on Today with Des and Mel.

Track listings

• Catalog 2103875
  1. La La
  2. Endless Summer
  3. Pieces Of Me (29 Palms Remix Vocal Mix)
  4. La La (Video)
• Catalog 2103876
  1. La La
  2. La La (Sharp Boys Remix)

Peak chart positions

"La La"

See also

• 2004 in music

References

1. People, album review, (http://www.ashleemedia.net/displayimage.php?album=86&pos=37) August 2, 2004, page 41.
2. Billboard, album review, (http://www.billboard.com/bb/reviews/album_article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1000589778) August 7, 2004.
3. Hayden, Chaunce. Steppin' Out (http://www.steppinoutmagazine.com), "Ashlee Simpson Sings Her Way to Number One!", (http://www.ashleemedia.net/displayimage.php?album=218&pos=4) August 4–10, 2004, pages 24–25, 52–53, 62–63. Interview.