Hella Good

Album: Rock Steady (2001)
Charted: 12 13
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • "Hella" was a popular saying in 2001, used as a modifier to indicate something even better than "super," but maybe not quite "uber." In this song, No Doubt is feeling hella good, so they're gonna keep on dancing. It the only hit song with that word in the title.
  • Gwen Stefani and Tony Kanal of No Doubt teamed with Chad Hugo and Pharrell Williams (The Neptunes) to write this song. The Neptunes didn't produce it though - Nellee Hooper did. At least that's what the credits say, but Williams implied they were producers on the track but their effort went unrecognized.

    "I wasn't happy with the way those production credits went," he told Q magazine in 2003.

    The Neptunes had worked on a number of big songs by this point ("Got Your Money" by ODB, "The City Is Mine" by Jay-Z) but weren't yet hella famous. That changed soon after, when they lent their talents Nelly for "Hot In Herre" and Kelis for "Milkshake." Losing their producers' credit on "Hella Good" stung, but it didn't prevent them from working with Stefani again. They co-wrote and produced her smash solo single "Hollaback Girl."

    As for Nellee Hooper, he was a member of Soul II Soul and produced Sinéad O'Connor's album I Do Not Want What I Haven't Got.
  • This was the second single from No Doubt's fifth album, Rock Steady, following "Hey Baby." They expanded their sonic palette a great deal on the album, working with a host of producers and songwriters. "Hella Good" is a voyage into modern electronic sounds and pop melodies, but they also have some songs with a ska influence, including "Underneath It All," written with Dave Stewart of Eurythmics.
  • The music video, directed by Mark Romanek, looks like a cross between the movie Waterworld and various James Bond films. It finds the band at sea in a leaky vessel on some kind of mission, or possibly as pirates. The band members are all dressed quite fashionably considering they're on the water.
  • "Hella Good" plays in the 2005 movie The Longest Yard in the opening scene, where it soundtracks a house party. The song also shows up in the movies Sweet Home Alabama (2002) and Don't Make Me Go (2022).

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Muhammad Ali: His Musical Legacy and the Songs he Inspired

Muhammad Ali: His Musical Legacy and the Songs he InspiredSong Writing

Before he was the champ, Ali released an album called I Am The Greatest!, but his musical influence is best heard in the songs he inspired.

Michael Sweet of Stryper

Michael Sweet of StryperSongwriter Interviews

Find out how God and glam metal go together from the Stryper frontman.

Devo

DevoSongwriter Interviews

Devo founders Mark Mothersbaugh and Jerry Casale take us into their world of subversive performance art. They may be right about the De-Evoloution thing.

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."

Tom Bailey of Thompson Twins

Tom Bailey of Thompson TwinsSongwriter Interviews

Tom stopped performing Thompson Twins songs in 1987, in part because of their personal nature: "Hold Me Now" came after an argument with his bandmate/girlfriend Alannah Currie.

Evolution Of The Prince Symbol

Evolution Of The Prince SymbolSong Writing

The evolution of the symbol that was Prince's name from 1993-2000.