"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.
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:
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 Cester to make the lyrics more positive, so he changed the hook to "Are you gonna be my girl".
While the band was recording a demo of the song, the studio microphones picked up the sound of a cough by accident during the introduction. The producers wanted to include that sound in the final mix, but when Nic refused to fake the cough, they copied it from the demo and edited it into the music.
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).
|+ | 2004 || rowspan="4" | "Are You Gonna Be My Girl" || Song of the Year || |- | 2005 || Most Performed Australian Work Overseas || |- | 2006 || Most Performed Australian Work Overseas || |- | 2007 || Most Performed Australian Work Overseas ||
MTV Video Music Awards
|+ | rowspan="3" | 2004 || rowspan="3" | "Are You Gonna Be My Girl" || Best New Artist || |- | Best Rock Video || |- | Best Editing ||
Track listings
Australian CD single "Are You Gonna Be My Girl" "Last Chance" "Hey Kids" "You Were Right" (demo)
Australian 12-inch single A1. "Are You Gonna Be My Girl" B1. "Hey Kids" B2. "That's Alright Mama" (live)
UK CD1 "Are You Gonna Be My Girl" "Hey Kids" "You Were Right" (demo) "Are You Gonna Be My Girl" (video)
UK CD2 "Are You Gonna Be My Girl" (alternative version) "That's Alright Mama" (live) "Take It or Leave It" (video)
UK DVD single "Are You Gonna Be My Girl" (video) "Rollover DJ" (video) "Are You Gonna Be My Girl" (audio) "Ain't That a Lotta Love" (audio)
European CD single "Are You Gonna Be My Girl" "Cigarettes & Cola"
Personnel Nic Cester – vocals, guitar, handclaps Cameron Muncey – lead guitar Mark Wilson – bass guitar Chris Cester – drums, tambourine
Charts
Weekly charts +Chart (2003–2004)PeakpositionCanada Rock Top 30 (Radio & Records)15US Top 40 Tracks (Billboard)22 +Chart (2013)Peakposition +Chart (2023)Peakposition
Year-end charts +Chart (2003)PositionAustralia (ARIA)96US Modern Rock Tracks (Billboard)64 +Chart (2004)PositionUS Billboard Hot 10076US Mainstream Rock Tracks (Billboard)35US Modern Rock Tracks (Billboard)20US Triple-A (Billboard)6
Certifications
Release history +RegionDateFormat(s)Label(s)United States18 August 2003ElektraUnited Kingdom25 August 2003Australia1 September 2003CapitolUnited States8 December 2003Triple A radioElektra26 January 2004Contemporary hit radioUnited Kingdom (re-release)24 May 2004
References