Uptown Girl

"Uptown Girl" is a song written and performed by American musician Billy Joel. It was released on September 29, 1983 on his ninth studio album An Innocent Man (1983). The lyrics describe a working-class "downtown man" attempting to woo a wealthy "uptown girl."

The 12" EP featured the tracks "My Life", "Just the Way You Are" and "It's Still Rock and Roll to Me" (catalogue number TA3775). Whereas some 7" single versions featured 'Careless Talk' as a B-side (TBC).

Inspiration

According to an interview with Howard Stern, Joel had originally titled the song "Uptown Girls" and it was conceived on an occasion when he was surrounded by Christie Brinkley, Whitney Houston and his then-girlfriend Elle Macpherson. According to numerous interviews with Joel, the song was initially written about his relationship with Macpherson, but it ended up also becoming about his soon-to-be wife, Brinkley (both women being two of the most famous supermodels of the 1980s). Joel also has said that the song was inspired by the music of Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons.

Success

Although "Uptown Girl" was not as successful in the U.S. as previous single "Tell Her About It", it was still a big hit. It peaked at number three on the Billboard Hot 100,[5] and number one in the United Kingdom, staying at that position for five weeks; it was the second biggest-selling single of 1983 in the United Kingdom behind only Culture Club's "Karma Chameleon", which Joel had knocked off the number one position on November 1, 1973. The song was the 19th biggest-selling single of the 1970s in the United Kingdom, selling 975,000 copies. It has sold over 1 million copies as of 2012.

Music video Christie Brinkley appears as the main character of the video and later married Joel. Christie Brinkley appears as the main character of the video and later married Joel. The title character in the music video was played by Christie Brinkley. Joel and Brinkley married in 1985 and divorced in 1994. Subsequently, the song was missing from the setlist during Joel's 1994 "River of Dreams" tour.

Different versions of the music video opening were produced, in which an auto mechanic is watching the end of Joel's previous hit "Tell Her About It" on a small TV. Then, depending on the version, the next image on the TV is either a blank screen or the logo of the network or TV show the video was on. The only logos known to be used are MTV and Friday Night Videos. A fourth version, which skipped the prologue segment, aired on Night Tracks, America's Top 10 and other music video shows. This is also the version posted on the music video website Vevo.

Charts and certifications Weekly charts Chart (1983)	Peak position Australia (ARIA)[7]	1 Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[8]	18 Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[9]	3 Canada (Nielsen SoundScan)[10]	4 Finland (Suomen virallinen lista)[11]	26 Germany (Official German Charts)[12]	18 Ireland (IRMA)	1 Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[13]	10 New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[14]	1 Norway (VG-lista)[15]	3 South Africa (RiSA)[16]	8 UK Singles (Official Charts Company)	1 US Billboard Hot 100[17]	3 US Adult Contemporary (Billboard)[18]	2 US Mainstream Rock (Billboard)	22 Zimbabwe Singles (ZIMA)[19]	9 Year-end charts[edit] Chart (1983)	Position Canada (RPM)	46 UK Singles (Official Charts Company)	2 Chart (1984)	Position US (Billboard Hot 100)	39 Certifications[edit] Region	Certification	Sales/shipments United Kingdom (BPI)[20]	Platinum	1,020,000[21] ^shipments figures based on certification alone xunspecified figures based on certification alone Preceded by "Karma Chameleon" by Culture Club	UK Singles Chart 5 November 1983 (5 weeks)	Succeeded by "Only You" by The Flying Pickets Preceded by "They Don't Know" by Tracey Ullman	Irish Singles Chart 12 November 1983 (3 weeks)	Succeeded by "Love of the Common People" by Paul Young Preceded by "Karma Chameleon" by Culture Club	New Zealand Singles Chart 11 December 1983 (3 weeks)	Succeeded by "Come Back and Stay" by Paul Young Preceded by "Reckless (Don't Be So)" by Australian Crawl	Australian Singles Chart 5 December 1983 (1 week)	Succeeded by "Islands in the Stream" by Kenny Rogers and Dolly Parton Westlife version "Uptown Girl"
 * sales figures based on certification alone

Single by Westlife from the album World of Our Own Released	March 5, 2001 Format	CD single, cassette Recorded	Rokstone Studios, London Genre	Teen pop, dance-pop Length	3:06 Label	BMG Producer(s)	Steve Mac Certification	Platinum (UK) Gold (Sweden) Westlife singles chronology "I Lay My Love on You" (2001)	"Uptown Girl" (2001)	"When You're Looking Like That" (2001) "Uptown Girl" was recorded by Irish boy band Westlife for their third studio album, World of Our Own (2001). It was released on March 5, 2001 as the fifth single from the album. It was also the 2001 Comic Relief charity single. The song was also included on the European Special Edition and Asian Deluxe Edition Bonus Disc of the group's second album, Coast to Coast (2000).

"Uptown Girl" reached number one on in Ireland and the United Kingdom. It became the sixth best-selling single of 2001 and the 24th best-selling single of the decade in the UK, with sales of 756,215 copies. It became the band's biggest-selling single in the UK, and also achieved the highest first-week sales (292,318 copies) of any of their singles. It has since been certified Platinum by the British Phonographic Industry for shipments of 600,000 copies.[22] As of October 2011, the song had sold almost 800,000 copies.[23]

Music video The video for this song was shot in a Cafe setting with the band working there. Claudia Schiffer starred as the title character, while Robert Bathurst, James Wilby, Ioan Gruffudd, Crispin Bonham-Carter and Tim McInnerny were featured as high class customers.

Tracklisting United Kingdom CD1 "Uptown Girl" (Radio Edit) - 3:06 "Angel's Wings" (2001 Remix) - 4:14 "Uptown Girl" (Video) - 3:14 CD2 "Uptown Girl" (Radio Edit) - 3:06 "Uptown Girl" (Extended Version) - 5:02 "Behind The Scenes Footage & Band Messages" DVD "Uptown Girl" (Video) - 3:14 "Behind The Scenes Footage & Band Messages" Japan "Uptown Girl" (Radio Edit) - 3:06 "Uptown Girl" (Extended Version) - 5:02 "Angel's Wings" (Original Version) - 4:02 "Close Your Eyes" - 4:32 "Uptown Girl" (Video) - 3:14 "Behind The Scenes Footage & Band Messages" Charts Weekly charts[edit] Chart (2001)	Peak position Australia (ARIA)[24]	6 Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[25]	12 Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[26]	5 Belgium (Ultratip Wallonia)[27]	2 Denmark (Tracklisten)[28]	2 Europe (Eurochart Hot 100)[29]	8 Finland (Suomen virallinen lista)[30]	13 France (SNEP)[31]	8 Germany (Official German Charts)[32]	8 Ireland (IRMA)	1 Italy (FIMI)[33]	10 Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[34]	2 New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[35]	4 Norway (VG-lista)[36]	3 Spain (PROMUSICAE)[37]	7 Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[38]	2 Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[39]	13 UK Singles (Official Charts Company)[40]	1 Year-end charts[edit] Chart (2001)	Position Ireland (IRMA)	1 UK Singles (Official Charts Company)	6 Decade-end charts[edit] Chart (2001)	Position Chart (2000–2009)	Peak position UK Top 100 Songs of the Decade	23[41] Chart successions Preceded by "It Wasn't Me" by Shaggy featuring Rikrok	Irish IRMA number one single 10 March 2001 (6 weeks)	Succeeded by "Survivor" by Destiny's Child Preceded by "It Wasn't Me" by Shaggy featuring Rikrok	UK number-one single March 11, 2001 (1 week)	Succeeded by "Pure and Simple" by Hear'Say