"4 in the Morning" | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Single by Gwen Stefani | ||||
from the album The Sweet Escape | ||||
Released | May 8, 2007 | |||
Format | ||||
Recorded |
|
|||
Genre | Synthpop | |||
Length | 4:51 | |||
Label | Interscope | |||
Writer(s) |
|
|||
Producer(s) |
|
|||
Gwen Stefani singles chronology | ||||
|
"4 in the Morning" is a song by American singer and songwriter Gwen Stefani from her second studio album The Sweet Escape (2006). It was written by Stefani and co-written and produced by Tony Kanal, with additional production by Mark "Spike" Stent. Interscope Records serviced the song to US mainstream radio on May 8, 2007, as the album's third single; elsewhere it was released in June 2007. Described as one of her favorite songs on the album, Stefani began writing the song while pregnant and finished with Kanal, having Roberta Flack and Billy Idol hits as influences to build the track.
"4 in the Morning" was defined as a 1980s-inspired midtempo synthpop ballad, with its instrumentation of a light keyboard during its intro through its break, a guitar, synthetic strings and a slick sheen. Lyrically, the song talks about a relationship on the edge, with the protagonist trying to save her love. The song received generally positive reviews from music critics, who noted it as an improvement over her last singles, while praising its tempo and highlighting her vocals.
Commercially, it failed to replicate the commercial success of previous singles in the United States, peaking at number 54; it proved to be successful elsewhere, reaching the top-ten in New Zealand and Australia, while reaching the top 20 in several European countries. Its accompanying music video was directed by Stefani's longtime collaborator Sophie Muller and features the singer lying in bed and walking around her apartment while performing the song in a melancholic mood. The song was performed during The Sweet Escape Tour and in some concerts Stefani made during 2015.