EW!

Album: Single Release Only (2014)
Charted: 26
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • This single finds Jimmy Fallon, the host of NBC's The Tonight Show, teaming up with Black Eyed Peas frontman will.i.am. The song is based on the show's "Ew!" series, in which Fallon and a guest dress up as as a couple of teenage girls who are constantly disgusted by all the things around them.

    The pairing with will.i.am marked the first musical collaboration in the series – the previous "Ew!" sketches were spoken-word only.
  • Fallon told the On Air With Ryan Seacrest radio show how the song came about: "So, we had will.i.am on the show about two months ago," he explained. "Backstage we're talking and he goes, 'I really like that sketch that you do, "Ew!," where you dress up as a 15-year-old girl and everything is like, "Ew!"' I said, 'You know, we're doing it with Taylor Swift this week, but next time you come back, I'll write you in and we'll do one."

    "In three days, before the writers [and I] could even write any lyrics, he sent me a full-on produced song," Fallon continued. "So then he flies to New York, I go to a recording studio, we tweak it a little, and I write some raps for myself. So this is me rapping, as well, which is sad."
  • Proceeds from sales of the single go toward the SeriousFun Children's Network and will.i.am's i.am.angel Foundation.
  • The song reached the Top 40 of the Billboard Hot 100. Fallon wasn't the first Tonight Show host to reach the Top 40. Back in 1955 the show's first host, Steve Allen, peaked at #35 with his version of the old jazz standard "Autumn Leaves."

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Philip Cody

Philip CodySongwriter Interviews

A talented lyricist, Philip helped revive Neil Sedaka's career with the words to "Laughter In The Rain" and "Bad Blood."

Michael Franti

Michael FrantiSongwriter Interviews

Franti tells the story behind his hit "Say Hey (I Love You)" and explains why yoga is an integral part of his lifestyle and his Soulshine tour.

Graham Parker

Graham ParkerSongwriter Interviews

When Judd Apatow needed under-appreciated rockers for his Knocked Up sequel, he immediately thought of Parker, who just happened to be getting his band The Rumour back together.

Dennis DeYoung

Dennis DeYoungSongwriter Interviews

Dennis DeYoung explains why "Mr. Roboto" is the defining Styx song, and what the "gathering of angels" represents in "Come Sail Away."

Chris Frantz of Talking Heads

Chris Frantz of Talking HeadsSongwriter Interviews

Talking Heads drummer Chris Frantz on where the term "new wave" originated, the story of "Naive Melody," and why they never recorded another cover song after "Take Me To The River."

Dar Williams

Dar WilliamsSongwriter Interviews

A popular contemporary folk singer, Williams still remembers the sticky note that changed her life in college.