Peak
9
Weeks
20
Score
3,347
Chart Year
2008
The song's music video was shot on Hollywood Boulevard in Los Angeles, with director Joseph Kahn.[citation needed] American recording artist Britney Spears filmed a cameo appearance for the video on June 4 at the Warner Bros. lot in Los Angeles.[60] An on set "insider" said that Spears' scene was short, only consisting of her driving in a passing car and waving to the other girls.[61] On June 12, 2008, it was announced by MTV News that the cameo had been cut from the final video.[62] Scherzinger was asked why Spears got cut from the video.[63] She said: "I honestly am not so sure. You shoot a lot of things when you do a video. Some things stay in but other things don't make the cut and Britney just didn't make it. I've seen a little clip of her performance and she looked adorable so I really wish she was in it! Hopefully we'll work together in the future."[64] A short clip of the music video was released online on June 12, 2008;[65] a day before the video's premiere on June 13, 2008, on FNMTV.[66] In the video, the Pussycat Dolls are shown sitting in a car in the middle of a traffic jam, where Scherzinger flashes a ring that says "famous". They sing the introduction of the song in the car before jumping out. When the chorus kicks in, the women leave the car and stand on the roofs of the other cars and start dancing a routine. Then they walk down a street of Hollywood stars with bubbles floating all around them. As they walk down the street, they also stop to sing on a bench. As the second chorus starts, the Dolls climb scaffolding and begin to dance. During Scherzinger's solo, she stands in a small area with the Pussycat Dolls logo to the left and a mirror to the right, with lights flashing. The Dolls then dance in the breakdown section with the logo behind them and the camera zooms out to reveal filming equipment and playback screens. Nick Levine from Digital Spy, wrote that: "The Pussycat Dolls have a novel way of amusing themselves during traffic jams" and described the dance breakdown as "entertaining" and "nostalgic".[67] In Australia, the video was criticized for the video being too raunchy.[68] On August 17, 2008, it was announced that the video was nominated for Video of the Year, Best Dance Video, Best Art Direction, Best Cinematography, and Best Choreography at the 2008 MTV Video Music Awards, having the most VMA nominations of that year.[69] The ceremony was held on September 7, 2008, and the video won the award for the Best Dancing.[70] The music video was the fifteenth-most streamed video on MTV.com in 2008
This song about the desire for fame was produced by Rodney Jerkins ("If You Had My Love" by Jennifer Lopez, "The Boy Is Mine" by Brandy & Monica, "Deja Vu" by Beyoncé). Pussycat Doll Nicole Scherzinger explained this song to MTV: "All of us started with a dream. I know when I was young, and I would sign people's notebooks, I wrote, 'Remember me when I'm famous,' and I don't know of a little kid who hasn't aspired to be someone. The lyrics go, 'When I grow up, I wanna be famous, I wanna be a star, I wanna be in movies,' but there's a twist at the end, because it says, 'Be careful what you wish for, because you might just get it.'" Britney Spears, herself a high profile casualty of fame, shot a cameo for the song's video, but it was dropped from the final edit. It would have been the second time that the "Toxic" hitmaker had performed with the Dolls as Spears had previously joined them on stage during a private performance at her older brother Bryan's birthday party in 2004. Joseph Kahn, who was also the mastermind behind many of Spears' own videos ("Toxic," "Stronger," "Womanizer," "Perfume") directed this. He would also take the reins for the Pussycat Dolls' "I Hate This Part." Rodney Jerkins wrote this with the songwriting brothers Theron and Timothy Thomas, who go by the name of Rock City. The song samples the main riff of The Yardbirds 1966 track "He's Always There," which was originally on their Roger the Engineer album. Because of the sample, that song's writers - Jim McCarty and Paul Samwell-Smith - also receive writing credits on "When I Grow Up." >>
Boys call you sexy And you don't care what they say See every time you turn around They screaming your name Boys call you sexy And you don't care what they say See every time you turn around They screaming your name Now I've got a confession When I was young I wanted attention And I promised myself that I'd do anything Anything at all for them to notice me But I ain't complaining We all wanna be famous So go ahead and say what you wanna say You don't know what its like to be nameless Want them to know what your name is 'Cause see when I was younger I would say When I grow up I wanna be famous I wanna be a star I wanna be in movies When I grow up I wanna see the world Drive nice cars I wanna have groupies When I grow up Be on TV People know me Be on magazines When I grow up Fresh and clean Number one chick When I step out on the scene Be careful what you wish for 'Cause you just might get it You just might get it You just might get it Be careful what you wish for 'Cause you just might get it You just might get it You just might get it They used to tell me I was silly Until I popped up on the TV I always wanted to be a superstar And knew that singing songs would get me this far But I ain't complaining We all wanna be famous So go ahead and say what you wanna say You don't know what its like to be nameless Want them to know what your name is 'Cause see when I was younger I would say When I grow up I wanna be famous I wanna be a star I wanna be in movies When I grow up I wanna see the world Drive nice cars I wanna have groupies When I grow up Be on TV People know me Be on magazines When I grow up Fresh and clean Number one chick When I step out on the scene Be careful what you wish for 'Cause you just might get it You just might get it You just might get it Be careful what you wish for 'Cause you just might get it You just might get it You just might get it I see them staring at me Ooh I'm a trendsetter Yes this is true 'cause what I do No one can do it better You can talk about me 'Cause I'm a hot topic I see you watching me watching me And I know you want it, oh When I grow up I wanna be famous I wanna be a star I wanna be in movies When I grow up I wanna see the world Drive nice cars I wanna have groupies When I grow up Be on TV People know me Be on magazines When I grow up Fresh and clean Number one chick When I step out on the scene Be careful what you wish for 'Cause you just might get it You just might get it You just might get it Be careful what you wish for 'Cause you just might get it You just might get it You just might get it When I grow up I wanna be famous I wanna be a star I wanna be in movies When I grow up I wanna see the world Drive nice cars I wanna have groupies When I grow up Be on TV People know me Be on magazines When I grow up Fresh and clean Number one chick When I step out on the scene Be careful what you wish for 'Cause you just might get it You just might get it You just might get it Be careful what you wish for 'Cause you just might get it You just might get it You just might get it
| Week | Chart Date | Position | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jun 14, 2008 | 76 | 50 |
| 2 | Jun 21, 2008 | 31 | 95 |
| 3 | Jun 28, 2008 | 18 | 108 |
| 4 | Jul 5, 2008 | 9 | 117 |
| 5 | Jul 12, 2008 | 13 | 113 |
| 6 | Jul 19, 2008 | 12 | 114 |
| 7 | Jul 26, 2008 | 12 | 114 |
| 8 | Aug 2, 2008 | 12 | 114 |
| 9 | Aug 9, 2008 | 12 | 114 |
| 10 | Aug 16, 2008 | 9 | 117 |
| 11 | Aug 23, 2008 | 13 | 113 |
| 12 | Aug 30, 2008 | 15 | 111 |
| 13 | Sep 6, 2008 | 11 | 115 |
| 14 | Sep 13, 2008 | 11 | 115 |
| 15 | Sep 20, 2008 | 14 | 112 |
| 16 | Sep 27, 2008 | 22 | 104 |
| 17 | Oct 4, 2008 | 32 | 94 |
| 18 | Oct 11, 2008 | 37 | 89 |
| 19 | Oct 18, 2008 | 50 | 76 |
| 20 | Oct 25, 2008 | 56 | 70 |