"Nasty Girl" is a song written and composed by American musician Prince. The song was first recorded by his protégée girl groupVanity 6 in 1982, who charted at number one on the US Hot Dance Club Play chart with their version. Prince gave the songwriting credit to lead singer Vanity, although he was the writer and composer.[4]Inaya Day recorded a hit cover version of the song in 2004 that reached number nine in the UK Singles Chart. There have also been several other versions of this song.
Background
"Nasty Girl" was originally recorded by Vanity 6 on the Warner Bros. Records label for their self-titled debut studio album Vanity 6. The song was produced by Prince and issued as the album's second single on September 24, 1982. Due to its explicit lyrics, "Nasty Girl" met with resistance on mainstream American radio, peaking within the US Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles chart.
It became a sizable hit on US R&B radio and it hit number one on the US Hot Dance Club Play chart for four weeks in November 1982. The song was knocked off the number one position by Prince's own "1999."
The lyrics's explicit content ultimately ends in a let-down for the woman from whose perspective they are written, concluding with the disappointed recitation, "Oh, is that it? / Hmph--wake me when you're done. / I guess you'll be the only one having fun."
"Nasty Girl" reached number 7 on the Dutch singles chart in November 1982,[5] and number 11 on the Belgian (Flanders) chart in December 1982.[6] Lead singer Vanity, who later became a Christian preacher, subsequently denounced the song and told members of her congregation who listened to the song to "keep praying for the Holy Spirit".[7]
Billboard named the song number 37 on their list of 100 Greatest Girl Group Songs of All Time.[8]
American singer Inaya Day recorded a cover version of "Nasty Girl" in 2004. It first experienced success in Australian dance clubs the same year, peaking at number one on the ARIA Club Chart that December. The following month, a commercial single was released in Australia and peaked at number 18 on the ARIA Singles Chart in February 2005, remaining on the chart for 11 weeks. "Nasty Girl" was released in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Ireland later the same year, reaching number five on the US BillboardDance Singles Sales chart, number nine on the UK Singles Chart, and number 42 on the Irish Singles Chart.
^Sheffield, Rob (September 27, 2022). "100 Best Songs of 1982". Rolling Stone. Retrieved September 9, 2023. A hyper-sexual disco ode to the aphrodisiac powers of limousine floors and drum machines.
^Whitburn, Joel (2005). Bubbling Under The Billboard Hot 100 1959-2004 (2nd ed.). Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin: Record Research Inc. p. 277. ISBN0-89820-162-4.